Is a London West End escape still affordable this summer?
I watch with delight as my daughters’ eyes widen like saucers and their mouths fall open in disbelief. We’re stood in world-renowned toy emporium Hamleys, watching a magician perform tricks, and I’m reminded how sometimes, the best things in life are still free.
We may be in a cost-of-living crisis, with the summer holidays making spends spiral, and that weekend escape seeming virtually impossible, but actually – even in London – you can get away on a budget.
I love London, and bringing my girls here somehow seems to make them kids again. Rosie, 14, and Poppy, 11, are horrendously hormonal, desperate to be grown-ups and would prefer to spend every waking second with their friends, rather than me. But take them to the city and it’s a different story. Happy to hold hands or link arms in crowds, sing along at the theatre and generally lose the dark cloud of grumpiness that seems to follow us everywhere, there’s just something about central London that gives us all a lift.
But is it affordable?
The hotel is obviously going to be the main stumbling block. City centre stays are never cheap, but if you can make everything else surrounding that affordable, it means you can make it happen.
Post-pandemic, I vowed to take my kids to the theatre more often. It’s an experience we all absolutely love, but the reality is, most shows are simply unaffordable. Matilda? Worth every penny, but ouch. Hamilton? Same. A lot of the big shows are just out of reach if you want decent seats – and let’s be honest, when you’re taking small folk to the theatre, they need to be able to see.
Day time costs can be kept down, too. Rosie and Poppy weren’t exactly enamoured at the idea of a sculpture trail, but Scenes in the Square at Leicester Square Gardens is like a mini Madame Tussauds with absolutely no price tag. We spot four of the 10 bronze statue stars of the big screen quickly and easily, but the rest of them require a bit more effort. The girls find themselves getting properly into it (eventually having to resort to asking for Google’s help to spot Batman and Wonder Woman) and it’s a great place to keep kids – surprisingly of all ages – entertained.
If you have beauty-mad teens and tweens like me, you can also lose yourself in Lush on Oxford Street. Spanning three floors, with a spa and café, it takes us all of three minutes before Poppy’s nodding enthusiastically and pulling up a pew with the resident make-up artist for a free makeover. Knowledgeable staff and an amazing ethos mean you can find out all about skincare, make-up, allergens and sustainability here. And as an experience-based store, there’s no pressure to buy, simply come in and try, ask for a free sample, get a makeover, or have a minute of calm.
In the holidays, bath bomb stations are set up, so kids can come and create, completely free of charge and, as Poppy discovers when she’s gifted the concealer used as part of her makeover (to cover her desperately black 11-year old eye bags…) the staff here also take part in random acts of kindness, where they can gift a small something if they’ve made a connection with a member of the public.
Of course, there are pricier attractions the whole family will love (the new Twist Museum on Oxford Street is an epic, interactive, selfie-snapping wonder, but it’ll set you back £74 for a family ticket, and you can try your hand at AR darts or axe throwing at Boom Battle Bar, from £40) but it’s very possible to seek out the free stuff and get your capital family fix for half the price this summer.
How to plan your trip
Rooms at the Treehouse Hotel, sleeping one adult and two children, start from £377.37, with breakfast. Visit treehousehotels.com.