Cherry Court Hotel, London

We finally went to London a couple weeks ago, found the same problem with the hotels. We did not want to take the Tube in everyday and stay at a chain hotel. We stayed near Victoria Station at Morgan House. Clean and wonderful people running it and a great hot breakfast, but the room was so small that we had to have our designated dressing area's. Window so old we both had to lift it and hold open with a stick. The bathroom door would hardly roll open and closed. I don't really see us visiting London again so not to worry. But am not sure what the solution is unless you can spend quite a bit more a night than we could afford.

Rick describes London as one of the most expensive hotel cities in Europe. I think this is a problem with London hotels in general, it was what we experienced last week in London. It seems that unless you are ready to pay upwards of $300 to $400/night, you're not going to get an American style hotel room. It will be small, the bed(s) will be smaller, the toilet may have its idiosyncracies, windows with no screens, spotty wi-fi and not free, no fridge, no microwave. $200/night and you're not getting what you'd get in a typical Super 8 or Days Inn for $80/night here.
But you only have to sleep there, right?

You're in London and London is worth it.
And those who don't feel London is worth it, should probably either pay the $300-400/night for an American style room or pass on London.

I think my review sounded more negative than I intended. We felt that the room was just to sleep in, so we didn't mind the small size. I think we were just comparing it to Easyhotel, which was much cheaper. But it always feels much nicer to stay in a Mom & Pop place like Cherry Hotel instead of a chain. I just wanted anyone who is on a tight budget to realize that you are paying quite a lot of extra money to stay in a Mom & Pop place instead the Easyhotel chain, without gaining enough to justify the extra expense. For us, since we could afford the Cherry Hotel, I would do it all over again just because I want to support Mom & Pop businesses. Compared to most London accommodations, the Cherry Hotel is very reasonable, and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

We are booked to stay at Cherry Court Hotel in September. It will be our 3rd visit. I agree with your description...it is probably the smallest hotel room I have ever stayed at...and your positive comments ...can't beat the location, The Patels are wonderful hosts, etc. My sister and her husband are coming with us and it will be their first visit to Cherry Court. When showing them the place, I commented "I cannot stress enough how small the rooms are".

However, I agree with you overall sentiment. It is a great place to stay, and the price cannot be beat. (It tried). Even the Easy Hotel located close by is not really cheaper. (Unless you want a room without a window...which my husband, as a firefighter, refuses to consider). Also, if you look at value for the money...Cherry Court takes it. The TV and breakfast basket are included in the price, and they have other "niceties" as well. (When I stayed there last, they had a computer in the lobby we could use...is it still there? or do they offer wifi now?)

Anyway, I write all this more for informational purposes to those who would read this because they are considering Cherry Court. They should definitely be aware of the size of the room, but also consider the location, the hosts, My husband and I have made the small room work because we absolutely love the location and price. There are trade offs in life. Thanks for posting. I think your post will help others when deciding on the hotel.

On another note...good to see you are posting again Kent!

We were in London for the beginning & end of our trip. For the beginning of our trip, Cherry Court had no vacancy, so we got a windowless-but-well-ventilated Easyhotel room for 33 pounds per night, which was a little bit LESS THAN HALF of what we paid per night at Cherry Court when we came back to London at the end of our trip. (Easyhotel, like the English trains, is cheapest if you book well in advance, which I did.) Personally I would go back to Cherry Court, but for someone on a strict budget, I thought it would be useful to know that this might be the time to stay at a cheap chain & spend the extra money on the yummy desserts at St Martin's, or on the pricey-but-excellent sights like the Tower of London. Our room at Cherry Court was about 1-2 feet bigger (in both length & width) than the Easyhotel room, plus it had a shelf (Easyhotel does not have any shelves, only 2 hooks on the wall). Also, at Cherry Court you could sit on the toilet & your feet were not in the shower (Easyhotel's bathroom is that tiny). We have always been happy with our stays in the B&Bs recommended by Rick Steves on past trips (in Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland), and we will continue to prefer them to the chains, but the chains are a good Plan B when the B&Bs are full, so we are also grateful that RS makes us aware of the cheap chains. IMPORTANT NOTE: my husband hated the Easyhotel; I am only 5'4 but he is taller, and the bed was not long enough for his legs.

Thanks for your posts and reviews on Cherry Court Hotel. If the biggest trade-off for CCH is just size, I am glad I book it for my October trip. For budget travelers traveling alone, they have two single ensuite rooms which cut almost in half the prize of a double. By the way, Neha (a Patel's family member) was really polite and quick answering the emails and the phone to confirm the book and yhey have a great number system for every enquire (I wonder why the others locations do not use this great simple system, is so easy to identify mails and phone calls, instead of spelling names and last names)
Cleanliness, familiar ambience and good location is enough for me. Happy trip for everyone!

I have stayed at Morgan House twice, when staying over a night or two on business trips. I thought it was great value both times. (On our London stay last year we stayed in the Doubletree on Hilton points, right across from the station, which was even better.) I would highly recommend the Belgravia/Pimlico area to anyone visiting London. I always worry that on our next visit to London, Paris, Rome, it just won't be worth it any more because the darned hotels are more expensive than we might be willing to pay.

I stayed at the Tune Hotel Paddington last summer for two weeks. There are three others in central London. Best bargain I've found in London in over 10 years -- they met my comfortable bed and good shower requirements. Pay the extra few pounds for a room with a window though!