no point flying in sunshine all day every day when you're going to be bumbling around the uk skies.
it took some time to learn the ropes once I got back!
These are age-old arguments and there is some truth in them. It's up to you to weigh them off against the advantages.
One thing is for sure. You won't learn anything on a cancelled lesson due to bad (UK) weather. The cancellation % of your lessons when going to Florida will be virtually nil, whereas in the UK it's not unheard of to get three-four weeks of cancelled lessons in a row.
Furthermore, on an intensive course like they do in the US, you don't lose any currency inbetween lessons. That means you stand a pretty good chance to finish in 45 hours, spread over three to four weeks. Whereas in the UK, life and weather will intervene, making it far more likely that you need a year and maybe 60-70 hours before you pass the exam.
Why not simply take that (year minus four weeks) and (60-70 hours minus 45) and the money you save, and use it to get used to UK peculiarities, and the UK weather? In other words: Once you get back from the US, book a few lessons with a UK instructor, and use these lessons to "get back" as it were.
I want the best training I can get
That's a good intention, particularly if you're willing to back it up with your wallet. You'll find that the quality of training rests mostly with the quality of your instructor, and not so much with the school, location or aircraft.
Furthermore, tell your instructor you don't want to skimp on the first few lessons (S&L, climbing, descending, trimming properly, turning, slow flight and such; the basics really), and unusual attitudes/stalls/incipient spins and such. In fact, if possible, get a few "unusual attitudes"/"upset" lessons under your belt, to improve your handling skills and to get a better appreciation of what the aircraft is and is not capable of at the edges of the flight envelope.
(If your school is not able to provide this, plan on doing one of those "Advanced PPL" courses at places like Ultimate High, once you've got your PPL.)
The other thing that schools are not all that good about are real-world, practical flying skills that make life easier when traveling. Things like:
- Using the internet effectively to gather pre-flight information. (NOTAMs, Meteo, AIP and so forth)
- Using GPS effectively
- Making sound weather decisions, not just based on destination METARs, but also based on other Met sources
- Caring for the aircraft on a multi-leg, multi-day trip.