CFA CFA General Accommodation Suggestion for London Candidates

Accommodation Suggestion for London Candidates

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      For those out-of-town candidates planning to take Level 1 in London (UK) this December, or June next year, and who haven’t decided on their accommodation yet, I suggest the Premier Inn at London Docklands (Excel). I stayed here when I travelled to London to take Level 1 in December 2012 and I was very pleased with it. It is just 5 minutes walk from the East entrance of the Excel Centre, so you enter the complex and then walk through it (around 10 minutes) to go towards the West entrace, which is where the exam rooms were in 2012. The Premier Inn room was very clean, insulated against noise, and had equipment for making tea and coffee. There is an on-site restaurant with reasonable prices. Book your rooms at the earliest to get a cheaper rate.
      Of course, we are assuming that the London exam venue will remain at the Excel centre, but that is a reasonable assumption to make. I had already booked my room around this time last year for the December exam.

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      Good tip @Mockturtle! I think they are one of the better places in that area too… it’s great value for money

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      @mockturtle makes sense to book early! Excel has been the test center for a long time, so it’s a very safe bet, plus you can always cancel if the venue changes.

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      @zee do tell!

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      @zee I hate hotel rooms that don’t meet expectations.

      Conversely, I stayed at a premier inn down in Torquay last year. At check in, the receptionist made a massive song and dance about their ‘good night guarantee’. Apparently, if there is a fault/noise/issue that disrupts your nights sleep, and they can’t fix it within 15 mins, they refund your whole room costs. Anyway, after the wedding, we came back to the room and it was next to a road outside. There were loads of cars going past, and people talking loudly. Given the fuss the receptionis had made, I decided to complain. Obviously it wasn’t the hotels fault, but true to their word, they informed me that a night club was down the road and gave us all our money back! My room mate couldn’t believe it in the morning (he had passed out and missed all the action)!

    • shawngold
      Participant
        • CFA Level 1
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        Orlando Rentals offers a cheap and convenient way to stay.Our halls are available for short and long term stays during July and August. Stay with us for as long as you want

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        Don’t know if this topic is too old for anyone still to be reading it, but I also stayed at the (delightfully cheap) Premier Inn in 2011 and 2012, but found that it didn’t exist any more in 2013 – not sure whether that’s a temporary thing or not – I have a vague feeling it might have been being refurbished.
        This year, I stayed at something called Ibis Styles – also v cheap and cheerful, but comfy enough, reasonable parking/transport and a two ir three minute walk from the exam.
        Definitely worth booking lots in advance – it can get properly expensive if you leave it late.

      • Zee Tan
        Keymaster
          • CFA Charterholder
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          @mattyj nothing terribly exciting. Paid a fairly expensive rate as it was a last-minute booking (I actually missed my flight back to London), but given the rate I thought the room was going to be at least livable.

          Bed was maybe one grade higher than a flea-bitten mattress on the street, and the limescale-encrusted shower spouted rusty water. It was basically like staying at a low-grade YMCA. If you’re taking the CFA exam the next day you definitely want to steer clear of such an experience!

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          I stayed at the Ibis in June…wouldn’t recommend it!

        • Zee Tan
          Keymaster
            • CFA Charterholder
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            I much prefer Premier Inn to Ibis. Had a terrible Ibis experience in Berlin and never want to repeat it again!

          • Zee Tan
            Keymaster
              • CFA Charterholder
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              @mattyj wow. that’s quite an experience.

              I stayed at a Premier Inn in brighton once and at 2am in the morning the fire alarm went off and we all had to troop downstairs for about 30 mins or so. I didn’t really complain though since the hotel handled it quite well 🙂

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