Hotels near Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace, often called Ally Pally, stands on a hill in north London at Alexandra Palace Way, London N22 7AY, inside a 196 acre park. It is a large exhibition and events venue run by a charity, and it is a little way out from central London, so it helps to plan the last leg of your journey before you set off.

By train, Alexandra Palace has its own station. The venue says the station sits at the Wood Green entrance to the Park. Great Northern runs direct services from Moorgate, calling at Highbury & Islington, and there is also a direct service to and from King's Cross. The station is on Station Road, Alexandra Park, London N22 7ST. The live departure board on the Southeastern station page shows trains to London King's Cross, Hertford North and Moorgate, with arrivals from Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and King's Cross. The station page also lists a taxi rank and a bus service at the station. The venue does not publish a walking time from the station to the halls, so allow extra time for the walk uphill through the Park, particularly if you are carrying exhibition stock.

Step free access matters if you are bringing equipment or have reduced mobility. The Southeastern station page classes Alexandra Palace as a Category C station without step free access. Staff can provide assisted travel, booked or unbooked, and the assistance meeting point is in the ticket hall next to the taxi office. The assisted travel helpline given on that page is 0800 058 2844. If step free access is essential, consider the bus or a taxi instead.

By Tube, the nearest Underground station is Wood Green on the Piccadilly line. The venue gives a journey time of 20 minutes from Piccadilly Circus. From Wood Green, the W3 bus is the usual link up the hill. The venue says the W3 runs from Finsbury Park and Tottenham to Alexandra Palace Ice Rink or Alexandra Palace Palm Court. Because the Palm Court is the main entrance to the Great Hall and West Hall, a W3 that serves Palm Court is the useful one for most exhibitions. Check Transport for London for service changes before you travel, as the venue itself warns that Piccadilly line upgrade works and bus strike action have affected services on certain dates.

By road, the venue lists its address as Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7AY and operates several on site car parks, covered in the parking section below. By bike, there are uncovered bicycle racks in the East Court car park, and the venue marks Lime bike geofenced areas in the Grove and East Court car parks.

The venue does not list airport connections on its own pages, so for visitors flying in, plan to reach central London or Finsbury Park first and then use the rail or bus links above.

The venue's Get Here page lists several entrances, each with its own what3words address. These are the Palm Court entrance, the East Court entrance, the Phoenix B&K entrance, the BBC Tower entrance and the Ice Rink entrance. The site map also shows a Great Hall and West Hall entrance, a Transmitter Hall, a West Hall and a Park Entrance. The what3words addresses published for the main five are: Palm Court ///button.master.unit, East Court ///stands.bridge.rust, Phoenix B&K ///alive.daring.lies, BBC Tower ///year.link.hops and Ice Rink ///liability.ended.gangs. Always check your ticket or exhibitor pack for the entrance your event is using, because different events open different doors.

For trade and consumer shows the key space is the Great Hall and West Hall pair. The venue hire page describes the Palm Court, which measures 540 square metres, as the main entrance to the Great Hall and West Hall. The Great Hall is listed at 6,426 square metres, with a capacity of 10,250 standing, 7,000 seated and 5,000 banquet. The West Hall is listed at 2,700 square metres, with 2,500 standing or seated and 1,800 banquet.

Other spaces on the same page are the Theatre (474 square metres, 1,000 standing and 850 seated), the Ice Rink (1,456 square metres, with 1,000 in stands and standing and 700 in the stands seated) and two breakout rooms, the Londesborough Room (216 square metres) and the Palace Suite (364 square metres). The venue states that the Londesborough Room and Palace Suite are only available when the Great Hall and West Hall are hired.

The venue's what's on page also shows the Theatre, Ice Rink, East Court, Summit, Boating Lake, The Park and The Terrace as places where activity happens, so the Palace is not only an exhibition hall. On busy weekends several of these can be in use at once, which is one reason to confirm the entrance for your own event.

The venue hire page does not publish exhibition specific floor plans or capacities, and the Wikipedia entry for the Palace describes the Great Hall as used for exhibitions, concerts and conferences, with a capacity of 10,250. Exhibitors should ask the organiser for the hall plan rather than relying on general capacities.

We have not confirmed an official last train time for Alexandra Palace, so we are not quoting one here. Timetable aggregator sites disagree about the last weekday departures, and the operator's own journey page could not be read in full. Because the answer depends on the day, the direction and any engineering work, check the Great Northern or National Rail timetable on the day of your visit before you commit to a late finish.

What the venue does confirm is the pattern of service. Great Northern runs from Alexandra Palace to Moorgate via Highbury & Islington and also to King's Cross. The station page shows the departing services using Platform 1 for Moorgate, Platform 2 for King's Cross and Platform 4 for Hertford North. If your show finishes late, it is sensible to have a second route planned: the W3 bus down to Wood Green for the Piccadilly line, or a taxi from the station rank.

Ticket office hours on the station page are Monday to Friday 06:15 to 19:00, Saturday 09:00 to 15:25 and closed on Sunday, so buy or load your ticket in advance or use the ticket machines, which the page says are available, with Oyster top up at the machine.

If you are leaving after a big event, expect queues at the station and on the W3, since large events can release many people at once. Walking down to Wood Green is an alternative, but the venue does not publish a walking time, so allow for it yourself and use a lit, busy route.

The official parking page lists three car parks. The East Court car park is open seven days a week from 05:30 to 00:30, with last entry at 20:00 each day, except on event days when hours vary. The Grove car park is open seven days a week from 06:00 to 19:00, again except on event days when hours vary. The Paddocks car park opens only for specific events, which the venue says are typically live music gigs in the Great Hall and other large indoor events. The Get Here page site map also shows a Dives car park and a Pavilion car park, but it gives no hours for them.

Entry and exit are barrier free, with number plate recognition cameras at each car park entrance. You can pay at on site machines or cashless terminals when you leave, or within 24 hours afterwards through the ECP parkbuddy app or online. The venue warns that unpaid parking after 24 hours can result in a Penalty Charge Notice. A parking charge applies in all car parks, and prices change, so check the current tariff rather than relying on an old figure.

Outdoor events often close the car parks, so if you are visiting for an event in the Park, contact the venue first. Phone 020 8365 4343. The ATG venue page also gives visitor.services@alexandrapalace.com for parking questions.

Blue Badge holders should scan the barcode on the back of the badge at an on site pay machine to exempt the vehicle. Accessible bays are in the Grove car park, which the venue describes as a short walk up a slight hill, and in the East car park. A drop off point is outside the Palm Court entrance, reached by the west slip road, where staff assist. Accessible spaces are strictly first come, first served.

For exhibitors, the venue does not publish loading bay or vehicle access details on the pages we could read, so ask your organiser for the build and breakdown arrangements and vehicle passes.

The Palace sits between two very different neighbourhoods. On the Wood Green side, the station, the Park entrance and the Piccadilly line at Wood Green give the quickest link to central London. On the Muswell Hill side, Travelodge describes a village like suburb.

The Travelodge page for Muswell Hill describes Muswell Hill as a north London suburb between Finchley and Wood Green, with a village like atmosphere, and calls Alexandra Palace the most famous landmark close to it. It lists Travelodge London Wood Green and Travelodge London Finchley as the closest of its hotels, a short distance away.

The practical advice is to choose by how you plan to travel. If you will arrive by Tube and bus, Wood Green is convenient because it is the Piccadilly line station the venue names, with the W3 bus then running up to the Palace. If you will use the train, a hotel with a direct line towards King's Cross or Moorgate, or close to Finsbury Park where the W3 begins, can also work. If you are driving, a hotel with its own parking away from the venue may be better than relying on the Palace car parks, which can close on event days.

We have not verified distances from any specific hotel to the Palace halls, so treat all hotel locations in this guide as approximate and check a map and the walking route before booking.

The budget chain we can confirm from an official page is Travelodge. Travelodge's own Alexandra Park page lists twelve hotels under hotels near Alexandra Palace, starting with Travelodge London Wood Green, and followed by London Southgate, London Manor House, London Finsbury Park, London Finchley, London Whetstone, London Edmonton and others. The page gives no distances or street addresses, so you should check the walking or bus route yourself.

Travelodge describes London Wood Green as great for football fans with the Emirates stadium nearby, and London Southgate as having good transport links to get out of town. On its Muswell Hill page it names London Wood Green and London Finchley as the closest of its hotels to that area.

Because the venue sits on a hill, even a hotel that looks close on a map may involve a climb or a bus ride. For a multi day show, a hotel near Wood Green station or a Finsbury Park hotel on the W3 route gives you a simple bus link to the Palm Court and the Ice Rink stops.

We were unable to confirm Premier Inn locations near the Palace from the Premier Inn site itself, so we do not name specific Premier Inn hotels here.

We have not found an official source naming a hotel directly next to the Palace or giving a verified walking time from any hotel to its doors. The Palace's own accommodation page says to use its hotel finder and filter by the dates of your visit, and it states that Alexandra Palace is not responsible for hotel booking issues. It does not list specific hotels.

For that reason we do not claim any walking distance hotel. What the sources do show is that the closest groups of hotels are in Wood Green and Muswell Hill and in the wider Haringey area, and that the usual way to reach the Palace from them is the W3 bus or the train from the station at the Park entrance.

If walking is important to you, check the route on a map between the hotel and the Palm Court or the East Court entrance, remembering that the Park is on a hill.

If you are travelling with a team, Event Escapes can book hotels for a team with a company invoice, and a custom quote is available through the site.

We have not verified any upscale hotel adjacent to Alexandra Palace, so we do not recommend a named hotel as right next to the venue. The Palace's own accommodation page directs visitors to a hotel finder rather than naming hotels.

If you want a higher standard of hotel, the sensible approach is to look at hotels in central London on the Piccadilly line, since the venue says Wood Green is 20 minutes from Piccadilly Circus, and then travel out by Tube and W3. Alternatively, look at hotels along the Great Northern line towards King's Cross or Moorgate, so that you can reach Alexandra Palace station without changing.

When you compare options, check three things: the travel time to Wood Green or Alexandra Palace station, whether the route is step free if that matters to you, and how you will get back after an evening event.

Food and drink at the Palace itself is the easiest option on a show day. The venue's site lists Phoenix Bar & Pizzeria, the Boathouse Café, The Terrace, the East Court Café and the Grove Café under Food and Drink. A Boating Lake Café also appears on the Get Here page in the what3words list. The Phoenix B&K entrance is also listed on the venue map.

The venue's pages we could read do not give menus, prices or opening hours for these outlets, so check the individual pages on the day, as hours often change with the event.

Outside the Palace, the Travelodge Muswell Hill page describes Muswell Hill as having a village like atmosphere, and lists Crouch End, Hornsey, East Finchley, Bounds Green and Turnpike Lane as nearby areas. We have not verified individual restaurants or pubs in those areas, so we do not name any.

If you are staying more than one night, the park itself, with its boating lake and rose garden, is a pleasant place to walk between show days. The Summit, Go Ape and the Boating Lake are listed on the venue's attractions menu.

Confirm your entrance. The venue lists a Palm Court, East Court, Phoenix B&K, BBC Tower and Ice Rink entrance, plus a Great Hall and West Hall entrance, a Transmitter Hall and a Park entrance on its map. Which one is live depends on the event.

Travel light. For the Theatre, the venue advises against bringing suitcases, rucksacks and large bags, and says bag checks can cause queues, so arrive early. Exhibitors with stock should ask the organiser about the loading arrangements.

Check before you travel. The venue says outdoor events often close its car parks, and it flags Piccadilly line works and W3 bus strikes on specific dates. Check Transport for London and National Rail on the day.

Plan for the hill. The Palace and its car parks are on a hill. The venue describes the Grove accessible bays as a short walk up a slight hill. If you have heavy kit, use the East Court car park or the Palm Court drop off point, where staff assist.

Pay for parking on time. Payment is by number plate recognition, and the venue says to pay within 24 hours of leaving or risk a Penalty Charge Notice.

Contact the venue for anything unusual. The main number is 020 8365 4343. The venue's visitor services email is given on the ATG venue page.

Travelling as a team. Event Escapes can book hotels for a team with a company invoice, and a custom quote is available through the site. Book early for the busiest exhibition weekends.