Recommended in London

I took a trip to London in July ’08 with my mother and two sons and wish to highly recommend the area around Earls Court tube station both for restaurants and for the accessibility to Heathrow from there. There are a number of 3-star hotels in the area, as well.

We enjoyed our stay at the Best Western Burns Hotel (1826 Barkston Gardens; www.burnshotel.co.uk). A hot English breakfast was included in the rate of £98 (near $183) for a double room. This was a pay-ahead, nonrefundable rate; the walk-in rate was £165 per double.

The hotel’s restaurant was small but charming. The rooms were a bit on the small side but acceptable.

The hotel had a lift, which made getting luggage to our room much easier, and the tube station was about a 2-minute walk away. There were no steps from Earls Court Station to Heathrow, which made the transfer with our luggage easy.

The tube fare to Heathrow for four of us was £10.50 ($20), the same amount as the taxi fare coming in on the short ride from Victoria Station.

In Earls Court we stumbled upon an excellent exhibition (over as of Sept. 20, 2008) of Dr. Who, which made instant fans out of my two sons. My advice is to check on what is happening in the area during the time you plan to visit (www.eco.co. uk/visitors).

In addition to a number of ethnic and English restaurants, the area has stores like Boots and Marks & Spencer.

In the Piccadilly/Green Park area is my favorite British restaurant, Richoux of London (172 Piccadilly; www.richoux.co.uk). The Welsh rarebit (£7.25) is sublime. The shepherd’s pie (£11.25), sandwiches and afternoon tea (£8.25-£16.50) are also excellent. It is a lot cheaper than many upscale places in the area. And, as it is near Green Park, a nice stroll to Buckingham Palace will work off any extra calories.

We also went to Kew Gardens, and I want to recommend a nice takeaway restaurant right outside the Kew tube station, on the way to the gardens. As you exit the station, the place is immediately on the left. The fabulous meals run only a couple of pounds. Their meat is free range, and the food is of high quality. There is a small square just outside with benches where you can enjoy the cuisine.

Kew Gardens was lovely, with nice gift shops offering high-quality items; purchases benefit the gardens.

One final not-to-miss shop — Culpeppers, at Covent Gardens, has organic herb mixtures, lavender and lotions that are reasonably priced. It is my first stop on every trip to London.

NANCI SCHEITHAUER

Santa Fe, NM