We have entered the stage in our life where time or lack of it totally dictates our lives. With two busy teenagers at two different schools we only have a few holidays that actually match up and maybe this is you too. Recently we had the Thanksgiving weekend to work with and literally only that weekend. In the past we’ve been fortunate to have a whole week off together and because our extended families are all Canadian we don’t have traditional American Thanksgiving events. We found out last year that 4 nights plus the night on the flight was long enough for a cool trip to Ireland. So this year we chose to go to London from Seattle for Thanksgiving because it has a direct flight from our city which would avoid any stopovers in the USA that could disrupt our trip.
We left on Wednesday night and returned Sunday evening technically giving us four nights even though one was spent in the air. (This is the second time we headed to London for Thanksgiving break-the last time we used it as a gateway to Belgium and Germany for the Christmas markets but this time we only had 3 nights to work with-the direct flight is awesome from Seattle)
A short trip means that the hotel location can be very important
The most important thing I wanted to see at this time of the year is Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world as magical as this place during the holidays.
The last time we went was in 2019 and it feels like it’s gotten way bigger. There are ice slides and roller coasters, fun houses, hot chocolate with whip cream and Flake chocolate and food trucks of every sort. I also wanted to see the lights on Carnaby Street, the market in Trafalgar Square and the giant bells in Covent Garden that I saw on social media.
So we chose the Clermont hotel in Charing Cross because it was right over a train station. This isn’t a train station that connected to the airport but that one wasn’t very far away and we initially thought we would taxi or Uber but the train felt like the most convenient way to and from the airport from this hotel. I booked the Clermont Charing Cross through Expedia because it included a breakfast option that seemed quite reasonable and we found this was such a deal when we booked through Expedia to go to the Hana Maui in July too.
And yes, the Clermont hotel in Charing Cross was a really lovely stay. We had a family room and it was spacious with lots of windows and neat views of the city. Our room had one king bed and a sofa bed for the guys. It also came with a complimentary mini bar that was always full of drinks and snacks-this was really handy after our outings.
The breakfast was also pretty incredible which is helpful for a family with teenagers. There were lots of food choices and some traditional English Breakfast things like roast tomatoes and beans and it was in an ornately decorated room with a high ceiling and fancy decor-one you might imagine seeing ball gowns and coiffed powdered hair in another era. We don’t usually stay in one place for three days, so by the third day we were craving different breakfast options but it was still quite helpful to have a meal included to start the day. (there are two different Clermont hotels in London so if you are wanting to book this one make sure you choose the Clermont Charing Cross.) And the fancy breakfast was so holiday festive that even though we were in London from Seattle for Thanksgiving it still felt like Thanksgiving a little bit too.
Places we could walk to from the Clermont Charing Cross
We spent a lot of time in Covent Garden where we found great shopping and eating. We found Singaporean curry puffs and fancy festive cheesecake. There was a Sezane pop-up in Covent Garden like the one in Seattle except at this one you could buy coffee in cute Sezane cups.
And Glossier was here too but I think they just opened because there was a really long line. We wandered through the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen to see all the lights and then ate a spontaneous dinner at a delicious pasta restaurant but I don’t remember where or what it was called. Sometimes a bit of mystery on a trip makes it a memorable one too. We ate Marugame Udon across the street from our hotel one night because it was really convenient and I think we ate at this place in Honolulu before as well.
We were also really close to the National Gallery and we remembered it was free from our last visit but this time we needed to book tickets (still free) but the timed entries were very booked. So make sure you check the website before you go if this is something you want to see. A lot of things have changed for travel post 2020 and I’ve noticed bookings are necessary now in many places where we used to just walk up.
And if you are looking for a musical we absolutely loved Back to the Future
We ended up taking a train to get to the Back to the Future Musical and we also saw Wicked on another night (it’s still one of my favorites) but Back to the Future was phenomenal. It’s one of the newer shows-it was just starting up in NYC this year. The talent and set were all electrifying. I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to the movie but the actor who played Doc was exceptional and made it really fun.
Grind Coffee is my favorite London souvenir from this trip
I love to look for Fortnum and Mason and Cath Kidston when I go to London (I only found Cath Kidston at the airport this time). And this time I also found a sweater I love from Oliver Bonas (which we found when we went looking for Ted Lasso stops in Richmond). But my favorite souvenir is from Grind Coffee which we found at St Pancras Station (where I was shopping Fortnum and Mason last minute before our flight home because the main store was WAY too crowded the night I tried to visit) Grind has home compostable coffee pods that fit in my Nespresso machine and the coffee is really good too. So now I’ve subscribed at home and it’s pretty reasonably priced (right now anyways) and it makes me think of London every time I make myself a cup.
So did we need more time for this trip to London from Seattle?
After three nights we wished we had more time (there was a big football match the day we left that some of us really wanted to see) but we were also exhausted and ready to sit on a plane for a bit and rest up before we got home. This was such a great way to spend our Thanksgiving break and I’m glad we took a chance on it this year.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
One thought on “Yes, three nights can be a long enough in London from Seattle for Thanksgiving”
Comments are closed.