Our adventure started with an overnight flight to London Heathrow. As we landed Friday morning we had roughly 24 hours to experience London. We arranged for Smiths (Smithsforairports.com) to handle each leg of our transfer (to hotel, to port, to Heathrow). Cost was reasonable, drivers were early each leg, and arrangements were easily handled. I elected to pay each driver at the end of each leg the predetermined price with a few extra pounds for extraordinary service. I highly recommend this service!

We stayed at the Hilton Doubletree Westminster. Booked on-line which provided a great price and flexible cancellation. We opted for rooms on the executive level with breakfast buffet included. Everything was exceptional. They let us check in early, which afforded the opportunity for a 4 hour nap. Front desk staff were quite friendly; concierge suite available to executive floor guests was great: plenty of free drink choices, good food options and nice servers. As for the Buffett breakfast.....it really is awesome! We enjoyed a great mix of Americana and European fare. Honestly, though, the executive lounge would have been sufficient. The hotel location is better than most, but it's a 10 minute walk to Big Ben and Parliament area. We tried to walk to the London Tower and gave up. Would be better to opt for the hop-on/off bus, bikes, or other transport if you want to see a lot.

One last thing, we have three Gluten Free diners in our group and our research uncovered a wonderful restaurant in the Westminster area called Cotto. It has the most robust GF menu we have ever seen and the food quality was wonderful. Turns out the owner is also GF and caters to the intolerant. We highly recommend checking this place out. Read more