London hotels/B and B

I do agree. London is hard for hotels unless you want to spend a lot. If you haven't already tried some of the hotels in Rick's London guidebook, here are a few you might try. I stayed in the Luna Simone last year and I thought it was pleasant. It was small but the staff was very nice, the breakfast was decent, and it was definitely clean. There are a lot of other suggestions in that book as well. London is the kind of city that you may need to spend a little more to get something good.

[$$] Luna Simone Hotel rents 36 fresh, spacious, remodeled rooms with modern bathrooms. It’s a smartly managed place, run for more than 40 years by twins Peter and Bernard--and Bernard’s son Mark--and they still seem to enjoy their work (Sb-£75, Db-£110, Tb-£135, Qb-£165, these prices with cash and this book in 2014, free guest computer and Wi-Fi, at 47 Belgrave Road near the corner of Charlwood Street, handy bus #24 to Victoria Station and Trafalgar Square stops out front, tel. 020/7834-5897, www.lunasimonehotel.com, [email protected]).

[$$] Bakers Hotel shoehorns 11 brightly painted rooms into a small building, but it’s conveniently located and offers modest prices and a small breakfast (S-£45-55, Sb-£70-80, D-£70-85, Db-£85-90, T-£90, Tb-£110-120, family room-£135, can be about £5-8 cheaper per person off-season, discounts for stays of at least a week, ask for Rick Steves’ discount when booking direct, free Wi-Fi, 126 Warwick Way, tel. 020/7834-0729, www.bakershotel.co.uk, [email protected], Amin Jamani).

[$$] New England Hotel, run by Jay and the Patel family, has rather worn public spaces and somewhat faded but well-priced rooms in a tight old corner building (small Sb-£69-79, Db-£89-99, Tb-£119-129, Qb-£129-139, prices soft during slow times, breakfast is very basic, pay Wi-Fi, 20 Saint George’s Drive, tel. 020/7834-8351, www.newenglandhotel.com, [email protected]).

[$$] Best Western Victoria Palace offers modern business-class comfort compared to the other creaky old hotels listed here. Choose between the 43 rooms in the main building (Db-£120, Tb-£200, prices flex with demand--often around Db-£90/Tb-£160 off-season, includes breakfast, elevator, 60-64 Warwick Way), or pay about 20 percent less by booking a nearly identical room in one of the two annexes, each a half-block away--an excellent value for this neighborhood if you skip breakfast. All three buildings were recently renovated (annex Db-£85-90, breakfast-£12.50, air-con, no elevator). Book in advance for the best rates (free guest computer and Wi-Fi, 17 Belgrave Road and 1 Warwick Way, reception at main building, tel. 020/7821-7113, www.bestwesternvictoriapalace.co.uk, [email protected]).

[$$] Jubilee Hotel is a well-run slumbermill with 24 tiny, simple rooms and many tiny, neat beds. The cheapest rooms, which share bathrooms, are just below street level (S-£39-45, Sb-£59-65, tiny twin D-£55-65, Db-£79-89, T-£65, Tb-£89-95, Qb-£99-109, rates depend on season and length of stay, 5 percent discount for Rick Steves’ readers if you book direct, free guest computer, pay Wi-Fi, 31 Eccleston Square, tel. 020/7834-0845, www.jubileehotel.co.uk,

Emma, we need two twin beds with space between and at the foot of each. Ensuite bathroom with a door, not just a curtain. I would love to find something along the lines of a Hampton or Holiday Inn Express, but I'm beginning to think that's impossible unless I increase my budget to $300/night. Does that help?

Abe, thanks! That's a lot of suggestions for us to try.

Due to a business meeting, I stayed in Hammersmith. We did find a number of places that may meet your guidelines, but I was looking for February as opposed to summer. Some Places to check

Hotel Adria ( http://www.adria-hotel.co.uk/ ) where we stayed, nice row house, ensuite, it does have narrow winding stairs and no lift, but breakfast is optional as an add on, so that can save you 10-15 USD per person right there.

There is both a Holiday Inn Express and a Premier nearby

Many, many other places in the area. From my research, I would avoid most places on Shepards Bush road, or at least look at reviews regarging noise. The Adria was on a quiet street just a couple blocks from the station.

Hammersmith as a base I found to be handy, it is on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow and is served by four tube lines (Piccadilly, District, Circle, Hammersmith and City) and a major bus terminal, so travel to just about anywhere in london is easy

Vicki,
Have you looked at any hostels? I know they can have a dirty/negative connotation but many are quite nice and have ensuite twin/private rooms. I like the website hostelworld.com but you could probably also use booking.com. Good luck! Lodging in London is definitely a challenge.

I took my family of 4 to London and we stayed at a Travelodge. We got one of their super low rates. It was certainly decent, had a bathroom, and 2 beds. Worth looking into.

I have stayed with my teen daughter in lodgings through two B&B networks, London Home to Home, and At Home in London . Very nice experience both times. Their websites list a range of locations including twin rooms and private or shared bathrooms. A couple of examples - At Home shows a twin room in Balham for 78 GBP, and LH2H has a double or twin room in Notting Hill for 102 GBP including continental breakfast. I enjoyed talking with our hostesses, and our hostess in Chiswick even did a load of laundry for free!

As Emma mentioned, check out the Premier Inn. We stayed at the Premier Inn Earls Court in June of last year - we paid 100 pounds for a room with twin beds, ensuite (with a door) - pretty roomy. Close to tube stop. It was clean and very basic.

I am reluctant to suggest this because most on this forum are dead set against Priceline but we have used it with great success. We stayed at Harrington Hall (near Gloucester Rd Tube) for $105. You bid by area (and stick with ****) and name your price--may take more than one bid. Best to look at Biddingfortravel.com to see what recents bids in London have gone for. We have used pl in quite a few cities in Europe and have never been disappointed.

Try the Vancouver Studio Apartments in Bayswater. A bit over your budget but you get a small kitchenette which saves on food. It's clean, safe, friendly staff, you have countless restaurants, cafes and shops nearby as well as the option of two Underground stations. If you arrive at Heathrow and take the Connect or Express in Paddington Station you can walk from there to the apartments. Bit of a stroll but a great way to see the vibrant Bayswater neighborhood. Over the years have stayed there more than once. Enjoyed it every time. Read reviews on TripAdvisor. I've also used Priceline and having been to London more than once opted for a hotel out of the city center. If you are comfortable with that I bid $125 per night and got the London Marriott Hotel in Regent's Park. If you go to their website I swear the room you see is the room we stayed in. Fabulous beds. Our room was in the back of the hotel so very quiet, large bathroom, flat screen TV. We spilt the cost so a VERY cheap London stay. This was four years ago and it was in November. Off season. Tube station was Swiss Cottage so it was 20 minutes into the heart of London. I liked it because I explore cities on foot so walking over to Primrose Hill and then over to Regents Park to have a coffee and a pastry at the adorable Cow and Coffee Bean was an excellent way to start a day. If this is your first visit to London I'd try the Vancouver Studio Apartments. Closer to the "heart" of London. If cost supersedes convenience then you could role the Priceline dice but remember you NEED to stay within Travel Zones 1 & 2. Lastly, in recent visits have used AirBnB and gotten excellent accommodations at prices I could live with. Good Luck.

For over a decade we have been traveling to Europe. We have always booked with Rick Steves suggestions, and there have been great ones and also hotels that were ok. We are going to London in a few weeks and booked what sounds like a nice clean friendly hotel. It is convenient and fairly priced. At this point we are not going to have high expectations and hope for the best. We did not want to spend $300.00 a night and bottom line we are going to be busy sight seeing all day everyday. I have never heard very good things about small London hotels, so keeping our fingers crossed off we go!

For twin beds, check out the Lancaster Hall. Fabulous location on the north side of Hyde Park, v short walk to Lancaster Gate tube, and close to Paddington and the west end.

We have stayed at the Nadler Kensington (formerly Base2Stay) and love it and the location. The luxury bunk bed room is £129 and it includes a mini kitchenette. It is a 4-star hotel and recently renovated.
Nice amenities.

Carole

Hotels in your price range that I have stayed in ...
The Nadler (formerly Base2Stay) Earls Court
Premier Inn on Knaresborough Place (this is a very reliable chain hotel. Last year I got a room on a weekend for 45 GBP per night)
Priceline (Name your own price) or top secret hotels on lastminute.com (without knowing hotel name in advance) - Millennium Baileys, Harrington Hall, Park Plaza Victoria. London is a good place for bidding for rooms. Check the websites biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com for tips on bidding and recent winning bids.

Also, on tripadvisor, there is a good posting about budget hotels in London.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c162572/London:United-Kingdom:Budget.Hotels.In.London.html

vicki... I was looking a few months ago for rooms for our two stays in London for this summer. It is part of a longer trip visiting Dublin, Majorrca and Paris. Like previous trips to europe I was trying to keep my budget to 100 EUROS a night where Euros were used.. and had bumped it up to 100 GBP for London..
It WAS hard .

I finally found Studios2let and the Celtic Hotel. ( we are visiting London at end of June for a few days and a few days at end of July for a few days)

I have also stayed at the Base2Stay Kensington( which is now known as the Nadler) and loved it.. but it was over my budget this time.. but its very nice. Comfy duvets and the very mini kitchenette was useful.

Falcon Hotel and the London Elizabeth both are in good locations.

I would also recommend the Falcon Hotel(www.falcon-hotel.com). It is very close to Paddington Station. It has been a few years since I was last there, but I think the prices were very resonable.

We have stayed at the Darlington Hyde Park twice, 2 ladies traveling on their own. 2 blocks from Paddington Station, lovely and safe hotel, large rooms, bath tub and shower, huge breakfast included. Easy walk to 2 tube stations. We felt so at home, great friendly staff. Well within your budget the last time I checked. I recommend it highly, just check out their website.