Researching London Hotels for Sep trip 2023

Hello Wendy, I stayed at Vancouver Studios in September 2022 for five nights. I will stay there again if I visit London by myself. It felt very safe. Some more details:

• Location: I loved being close to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, and being within a short walking distance of the Circle/District (Bayswater tube station) and Central (Queensway) lines. Lot of decent places to eat, groceries, Boots, etc close by.
• Price: I stayed in the small, single room (it was spacious enough for me), with a tiny kitchen (could not really cook much but could heat up food and had a refrigerator). The price was very competitive. However, the double occupancy or larger rooms may not be that great of a deal.
• Amenities: The room was small and a little tired but good enough for me. If you like everything modern and new, it may not be the best place for you. Quirky, fun decor - including a suit of armor hanging out on the staircase. They had laundry facilities in the basement (extra charge of GBP 4.50) that was nice to have. They have a living room on the ground floor and a small garden area, which were lovely to sit in and read or eat...I did not see anyone else using these common spaces while I was there. I really enjoyed sitting in the back garden area. Friendly staff who arranged a taxi for me early in the morning (I asked them the previous night).
• Noise: My room faced the street and even though it was on the fourth floor (American fourth, English third), it did get somewhat noisy at night (especially people talking). I loved it because I loved being in a city and hearing city noises.
• Stairs: The stairs are steep and narrow. I had to be careful going up and down them, especially with bags. No elevators or help of any kind. I don't know if you can request a room on the lower floors.

I hope this helps. Have a wonderful trip to a great city!!

It was my go to for decades.

Only stopped staying there because I found 63 Bayswater

Liked Vancouver Studios because:
Location
Price
Comfort
Always chose a room on 2nd floor looking out on the garden.

As noted no elevator. Steep stairs.

Would stay there again!

I will be staying at Vancouver Studios in June. I have had lots of good feedback from people who have stayed there in the past. Many on this site have recommend it. As well of traveller friends. I am booked in a single small room. I will post about my stay in June.
Looking forward to it. I wanted a place with a small kitchen as I will be staying for an extended period of time. I do not plan on doing any major cooking but like the idea of being able to have breakfast in my room or the garden sounds great.

Thank you all so much for the information! It sounded to me like a promising place but I still wanted some reassurance from people "in the know". I believe this will probably be our choice for our stay in London. It has checked a lot of boxes for us.
Thanks again.

OP pretty sure you’ll enjoy the Vancouver Studios.

Simply make certain to ask and get a confirmation for a second floor apartment in the original building.

The room I appreciated looked out to the garden.

Owners have done a complete refurbishment since I last stayed there.

I recall the ease of “ seeing “ London because of the availability of 2 different Underground stations. Bayswater has the District and Circle Lines, Queensway the Central line. So if you wanted to see Parliament Square its a 15-20 minute ride on the Circle line from Bayswater to Westminster.

Or if you want to go to the Tower of London its 30 minutes from Bayswater on the Circle line to Tower Hill.

Even though your trip isn’t till September if you are comfortable I think you should book your stay now.

One less thing to worry about and it becomes the carrot at the end of stick.

You’ll love London.

PM if you need intel about less touristy options
re: food markets, shopping, pub grub, Evensong, etc.

They were listed in Rick’s London guidebook way back in 2001. Stayed there with a friend for several days. Only complaint we had was the street noise. We had a room in the front downstairs. At the time the street that runs in front was fairly busy and had some noise from passing vehicles. We asked to be moved to another room. They were able to accommodate us within a day or two.