Accommodation

I will not lie: London is an expensive city. That said, the first thing I would ask you is what part of London do you want to stay in? Do you have any solid plans for activities? You might want to be near said activities. Something else to think about: Do you want to stay in a chain hotel, such as Premier Inn? Or something different, maybe something with "character"? Have you considered an Airbnb? Do you need an elevator in your accommodation or is walking up stairs OK?
Also, what is your price range? Affordable to me might not be affordable to you. :)

If you can answer some of these questions, I'm sure we'll be able to help you find something. Folks on this forum are pretty helpful and friendly.

hey hey pamela.j.holmes
what is affordable mean to you in pounds, dates and how many days? london is an expensive city and has been. august is high season being summertime. many people are traveling during this time even though there doesn't seem to be a high or low season anymore. any amenities you need, elevator/lift, climbing stairs with luggage, free breakfast. make sure you know about check-in is 2-4pm and check out 10-11am unless you get approval for early check-in/check-out. get it in writing
what part of london are you hoping for? sites are all over the place, what's important to see and do.
everything is expensive, all over europe and even USA/Canada, many looking for same thing you are.
booking.com
put in filters on left side, find hotel and email them directly to see if a better rate.
others here will holler in about different places to check out and if "floats your boat" good luck and enjoy
aloha

Hi

London prices are similar to other big cities, but there are a few important positive points:

1. Many important museums and galleries are free entry:
2. There are some chesp dining options (especially in August when the weather is warm, tou can always but a sandwich and eat in a park):
3. Public transport costs are capped and quite affordable, and London is very walkable.

Aside from the excellent suggestion of Premier Inns, take a look at small hotels around King's Cross/St Pancras stations for some budget options. As long as you are ok with very small rooms, no air-conditioning and stairs, they still exist.

But sharing your budget in £ would be helpful.

The Premier Inn chain is your best bet. They have lots of hotels in London, including near Euston. They are clean and comfortable. Non flexible dates rates are cheaper. Prices do vary by location so if budget is key then check alternate locations.

I did look at dates at the end of August and it is possible to get a Premier Inn room for around £100 per room, but best avoiding Friday and Saturday nights if possible. Their 'hub' hotels are cheaper than their regular ones.

£100 a night in London will put you in bargain basement/hostel territory, I’m afraid. Luckily Euston and nearby Bloomsbury can come up reasonably cheap but I suspect you’ll have to up your budget to get something clean and decent.

Here are a few cheaper but decent hotels near Euston, so you can get a sense of prices.

Harlingford Hotel in Cartwright Gardens: https://www.harlingfordhotel.com/

Arosfa Hotel or Jesmond Hotel in Gower Street.

Any of the Imperial Hotels (perennial favourites for budget coach trips). https://www.imperialhotels.co.uk/

A bit further from Euston, near Kings Cross, Point A can be very cheap but a lot of rooms don’t have windows.

Have a look on booking.com for hotels around Euston, Kings Cross and Bloomsbury then check back with what you find. But you may need to up the budget to £150 at least.

Premier Inns aren’t on Booking.Com so you’ll need to check their website - but you won’t get near Euston for £100 in August. Or ever, I suspect.

Even budget hotels with tiny rooms are going to be more like £150 a night - I also would recommend you revisit your budget. You just have to be realistic, and perhaps try to save money elsewhere.

You can get several close by Premier Inn Hubs (more compact rooms) at that price.

The killers (price wise) are Friday and Saturday nights (all year) and the Public (Bank) Holiday the last weekend in August.

Doing a check the usual suspects within your budget for PI are at Heathrow and Wimbledon among other places. Wimbledon is very handy for central London (fast frequent trains to Waterloo, also the District line tube) but less so for Euston (although Euston is only ten minutes on the Northern line from Waterloo, so very do-able).

Travelodge is another dependable chain (a step below Premier inn). Their Farringdon property is coming in just above budget.

Even the YHA (Youth Hostel) London Central (between Kings Cross and Euston) is over budget (for a private room as opposed to dorms) but the YHA St Paul's is within budget.

Thank you everyone, you have given me a few alternatives.
I guess I was being a bit hopeful with my budget.
I will continue my search. Is Kings Cross ok as an area?

It's fine - and it's near Euston, which was in your initial request. Basically you can't go too wrong as long as you're near a tube station at least.

If you look at a map to get your bearings, you'll see you're close to several major rail stations, multiple tube stations, the British Museum etc.

I stayed at the Alhambra Hotel in Argyle St about 4 years ago and found it adequate. I see they're quoting £110 a night for a double. The rooms and very basic and tiny, but it worked for me. It's one of many similar small hotels around King's Cross.

https://www.alhambrahotel.com/

Hi Pam -

Stuart beat me to it as I too was going to mention Travelodge. Like a less fancy Premier Inn in many ways, but usually secure, clean and comfortable, if not massively well equipped (I.e in terms of space, clothing storage, stuff like that). Prices seem to vary dependent on location. But a standard room will come in on budget at the Kings Cross Travelodge - a quick dummy booking for a weekday in late August came in at £80 per room.

I’ve also stayed at the Kings Cross Premier Hub. Fully automated reception, no visible staff members. Tiny - one up from a capsule - rooms, but comfortable, no luggage storage to speak of if you have big spinner suitcases (we travel light so our soft backpacks went under the bed if I recall). OK for a night, maybe two at most but not for much more I think. Cat swinging definitely off the menu, but reasonably priced!

Ian

I see that only the SuperRooms at that Travelodge are air conditioned. It's very easy to overlook key information like that when the basic infrastructure varies from room to room. I'd be thrilled with an air-conditioned room in London priced at around 100 GBP in August, but that's not what I saw for the random dates I checked.

I see that only the SuperRooms at that Travelodge are air conditioned. It's very easy to overlook key information like that when the basic infrastructure varies from room to room. I'd be thrilled with an air-conditioned room in London priced at around 100 GBP in August, but that's not what I saw for the random dates I checked.

The OP didn't ask for Air Conditioning as part of the deal. For us Brits it is not 'key information' which is why it is not universal. We open windows to provide natural AC, any Travelodge I have been in without AC has also had a fan in the room.

In any event the Farringdon property I originally suggested, their cheapest in the area, does have AC even in the standard rooms. At least you know a Travelodge room won't be the size of a broom cupboard. Unlike a PI wifi is extra.

I personally really don't think that air conditioning needs to be a factor when looking for hotel rooms in London. It really does not get very warm here in the summer at all- opening a window is usually more than enough. Honestly you'd be lucky to visit here when it's that warm!

The OP didn't ask for Air Conditioning as part of the deal. For us Brits it is not 'key information' which is why it is not universal.

Yes, but she's not a Brit, and most Americans are going to want a/c in the summer (especially August). That said, because it's so common in the states to have it, many travelers don't think about including it in their request for hotels. Acravan was being proactive and assuming she would want it (I might want it, too). :-)

That said, Stuart is right in that both the Standard and Super rooms have a/c.

I've virtually never had a hotel room with cross-ventilation, which can help a lot when it cools off at night after a hot day. Houses and apartments, typically being a lot larger than affordable London hotel rooms, usually have much better airflow. And how prevalent are window screens in London hotels?

It really doesn't matter how rare a hot day is if it happens when a tourist is in town and he/she cannot sleep at night.

I realize the financial calculation for a homeowner is different--do you lay out a lot of money for a/c you'll only want to use a few days a year?

On the other hand, most Premier Inns in London have a/c, which suggests the company has found enough of its customers want a/c to justify the installation expense. In other words, I don't think I'm all that rare.

The OP didn't ask for Air Conditioning as part of the deal. For us Brits it is not 'key information' which is why it is not universal.
Yes, but she's not a Brit, and most Americans are going to want a/c in the summer (especially August). That said, because it's so common in the states to have it, many travelers don't think about including it in their request for hotels. Acravan was being proactive and assuming she would want it (I might want it, too). :-)

It’s so interesting to get your perspective on this, Mardee. It would literally never occur to me to take aircon into account when making hotel recs unless the OP specifically asked, but yes - maybe it’s something that American visitors assume is going to be standard.

"And how prevalent are window screens in London hotels?"

I think that's what I'd call an insect screen. They're not common, but ive never found it and issue. Living in a country where everything is air-conditioned, I've never felt the need for it in London in summer.

I really can't understand this desire for air-conditioning in the UK, unless it's a building with sealed windows. And the OPs budget is at the low end.