accommodation in London

How many in your party? Any children?

What is your budget per night, in £££?

I don’t know about access to Gatwick, but we just stayed at the Darlington Hyde Park and loved it. I found the price to be reasonable, breakfast was included, and it was a very short walk to Paddington Station which in turn connects you to pretty much anywhere! There were only two in our party, so I’m not sure how the hotel would work for larger groups, but we did frequently see families of four eating breakfast.

Thanks for your reply. It is just two of us, going at the end of August and my budget is always "cheap" but not tacky... is that possible?😏

Look at the Premier Inn hotels in London. I searched the Premier Inn County Hall for a 4 night stay for 2 adults in late August (obviously not sure that matched your dates) and found some availability at a good price. And I don't mean the non-refundable saver rate which is cheaper and may be a good idea as we're getting so close to that date. Premier Inn is an inexpensive but not tacky chain. There are other Premier Inns in the central London area as well. The one in Earl's Court (on Knaresborough Place) is handy for the Tube via Earl's Court Road tube station. I think most of the Premier Inns in central London will be fine for access to public transportation and seeing the sights.

I'm cribbing this from what someone wrote on another site, but I agree with it: Anywhere inside the Circle (yellow) Tube (London Underground) line or along the South Bank between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge is regarded as central tourist London. You should be able to get anywhere else within 30 minutes by foot or public transport.

As to getting to Gatwick from a hotel in a central London neighborhood, generally the best way is to take the train (either the regular Southern trains or the Gatwick Express) which leaves from Victoria Station. In the past when flying out of Gatwick, we've taken a taxi from our hotel to Victoria Station, to avoid the hassles of lugging our bags on the Tube. Depending on your hotel's location you might find a Tube trip to Victoria feasible, or may be able to easily use one of London's regular buses.

I often recommend the Luna Simone Hotel, which is convenient to Victoria Station and well-placed for sightseeing, but it may already be booked for your dates but it's worth checking to see.

A hotel super convenient to Paddington, where you're arriving, probably won't be super convenient to getting to Victoria. And vice versa. I think your big challenge now is finding room availability as August is a busy time and rooms are getting booked up. One neighborhood to look at is Bloomsbury.

I stayed recently at the Luna Simone near Victoria Station and it was clean and inexpensive for London (however they have no lift if that matters to you). The Gatwick Express train goes to and from Victoria Station.
Cynthia

One thing to pay attention to is whether hotels have air conditioning. Quite a lot of inexpensive places do not, which works out OK most of the time but occasionally doesn't. It's fine to go with a non-air-conditioned place in order to save money and/or get a better location, but you should at least be aware of the (slight) weather risk you're assuming if yours is a summer trip.

I can second staying at a Premier Inn. We stayed at the Blackfriars which was a very good location for using the tube and Rick Steve's old city of London walking tour. We stayed in Stansted for our early morning flight to Gdansk. Also a bargain and just fine.

Thanks for your all your help! You have got me focused on Victoria station area for ease of sightseeing and then getting to Gatwick. Now that I've searched … 'tacky' might describe my budget better!! Again, many thanks.

Look at the booking.com site , it will help you narrow down some choices , tell you the amenities , and you can book through them or contact hotel directly.