Selection of London Premier Inn for 2-Week Stay August 2019

Is this your first time in London?

Only ask because the Premiere Inn in Islington ticks most of your boxes but all the “ sites “ will be tube rides.

Over the years this neighborhood has gone I’d never stay there to be one I throughly enjoy now. Then I’ve been traveling to London since 1972 so have enjoyed seeing the evolution.

Would your travel mate be opposed to a 20 minute walk to and from Kings Cross.

Just saying....

If anyone in your party is noise-sensitive, do NOT stay at the Earl's Court location. Although the proximity to restaurants is good, and the walk to the Underground station is decent, the banging doors will be a problem for you. We stayed there for 3 nights in July 2018. I am a light sleeper, and as soon as the next door guests let their door slam shut upon exiting the room at 5 am, I was wide awake. The doors bang really loudly unless guests stop them from slamming shut by holding the handle to shut the door. We make sure to be considerate and do that, but most people don't.

Claudia, I've been to London many times before, most recently for a total of 22 days in September 2017 and 2018. On those two trips I stayed in and liked the Vincent House in Notting Hill Gate, but it is not air-conditioned. I still have many places to see in London and this will be my travel mate's first visit to the city. She isn't a big-time walker but is trying to do 2 miles a day (in a pancake-flat neighborhood) in the lead-up to the trip. She has wonky knees that will probably begin to bother her if she doesn't moderate the distance she covers, and lots of stairs will begin to take their toll. I anticipate that she will use the tube a lot to save the knees for actual sightseeing and perhaps some London Walks, so I don't see her doing 20 minutes back and forth between hotel and not-the-closest tube station.

I skipped over the Angel-Islington Premier Inn because it is rather far outside the Circle Line and it appears that when Angel is your Underground station, you are doomed to need a transfer on virtually every trip (and that's more walking). However, it could work for me, and I will remember this suggestion for future trips when I'll probably be on my own.

Slbdaisy, thanks for the warning about the Earl's Court PI. I've stayed in hotels with doors like that, and they are very bothersome even to me, and even with earplugs. My travel mate would definitely not approve!

Emma, you're right that it's a long list--and we haven't gotten into the tub situation yet! It's very easy for me to find a place for myself, but trying to do what's best for two completely different people is a lot trickier. As for buses, I just never think about using them since I'm good with walking considerable distances. Maybe I'll do a better job of that on this trip.

I know County Hall and Waterloo are very close together; I don't know why the Premier Inn's website mentions nearby construction for the County Hall location and not for the Waterloo location, and what that means for noise issues at the latter. Nor do I know why the website doesn't reveal that the construction at Farringdon isn't actually finished and the windows are covered up.

I enjoy walking around the South Bank; there are at least three art/craft emporia I want to return to, and there's the National Theatre. But except for the County Hall and Waterloo Hotels, the Premier Inns down there don't seem to be so well connected by tube. Two are near single-line tube stations (more transfers! more walking!), and I don't think that's ideal for my friend. Even for me, without walking issues, staying near Notting Hill Gate was great because I had access to Circle, District and Central Lines and could get to many places without needing to transfer, so most of my tube rides were quite short. It's especially appreciated when you attend a nighttime theatre performance and can get back to your hotel easily.

Your responses have been very helpful. Earl's Court and Holborn are scratched. I can tell my friend that Aldgate would probably be very (too?) quiet on weekends (possibly a food desert), Victoria may be a bit quieter than Waterloo, yet Waterloo has more food possibilities than Victoria.

I'm having a hard time giving up on Aldgate because of the low cost, but the fact is that even the other two are well within the range of what I thought I'd have to spend to house two people in London. I just don't like to waste money.

We like staying in the Earls Court area - plenty of restaurants, good tube access for a straight shot to/from Heathrow at the Earls Court station which has lifts for those of us that need them, laundromats nearby, and we have always felt safe walking around in the area. On our last two trips we stayed at the Kensington-Olympia Premier Inn which is about a 15 -20 minute walk from the Earls Court station, and it was fine. Next month we will try the Kensington-Earls Court Premier Inn as it is a little closer to the tube station. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I fear you may be right about the tubs, but the website doesn't have the "not all rooms have tubs" warning for the Aldgate location, which is new. But there are a lot of issues with that website, so I will verify. Unfortunately, that will have to be by phone, because PI doesn't seem to provide email contact information for its hotels.

I see what you mean about the Underground lines. As far as the Aldgate area goes, there's less there than meets the eye.

I've stayed at the Waterloo one a few times, it was fine. Don't recall noise being a problem and it didn't seem shabby at all.

Have you looked into the new "Hub" by Premier line. I stayed at the Westminster Abbey one this past summer and it's my new favorite London hotel.

Are you sure there aren't restaurants near the Victoria Premier Inn? I've stayed in Victoria many times and found some lovely restaurants a few blocks away in Pimlico. Granted, I haven't stayed in the area for 10 years now, but I just googled Pimlico restaurants and there were quite a few near your hotel.

Also, if you friend has bad knees and that is why she has trouble walking for a long time, you might suggest she try some trekking poles. It makes all the difference for several people I know as it relieves the pressure somehow. She could test it here to see if she liked them.

I've been looking at the Hub by Premier Inn line. It sounds as if the rooms are too small for two unrelated people to share for two weeks, and I'm not sure they have any rooms with two beds, but I'll be looking into that possibility the next time I'm in London by myself. I'm puzzled, though, by the statement on the corporate website to the effect that the Hub locations have special terms and conditions that one should check out before booking. I've looked at those, and I don't see anything odd about them.

I think I'll have my friend explore the areas around Waterloo and Victoria on Google Maps to see what she thinks of the restaurant possibilities. I believe she's more likely than I am to want to eat meals right near the hotel.

Thank you both. I appreciate all the input.

I have a client who is based in the Aldgate area and we don’t enjoy the cross city slog from the West End to get there, as we always have to allow an hour to get there, despite it not looking far on the map. The reason it’s cheaper is probably down to its lack of connectivity.

London buses are a godsend if walking is difficult, as they often cover areas that the underground doesn’t.

There are no dead quiet areas of central London, as there is often a background hum of traffic from somewhere, but Aldgate will probably be quieter than some. It also has fewer restaurants than some areas, albeit you wouldn’t starve.

I’ve not stayed in Premier Inns but I do stay in the Victoria area. There are a number of restaurants on Wilton Road including a favorite chain of mine, Le Pain Quotidien. I’m not sure if it would be too far to walk but there are a bunch of places on Elizabeth Street on either side of Ebury St. Googlemaps says about a 10 minute walk from the Victoria Premier Inn.

Premiere Inn St Pancras. I could see the British Library and St. Pancras. I faced the front of the hotel. No noise at all. The rooms have a double set of windows. Also no noise from hallway or other rooms. Plenty of places to eat. Kings Cross tube station a 5 minute walk. Don't remember if there was a tub.

A few general points:

Premier Inns are almost all the same. You could wake up in a room in a PI and you could be in anyone of them.

Premier Inn rooms usually have bath tubs. I’ve never stayed at one that doesn’t. But some newer London ones may be different.

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOIT STAYING AT A HUB, GIVEN YOUR NEEDS.

If you want two beds, generally one is the double bed and the second bed will be a very comfortable sofa bed they make up as a bed for you. You won’t realise it’s a sofa bed when sleeping on it.

The free WiFi at ALL Premier Inns is a bit slow, not just at the one you mentioned. Fine for emails and web-surfing, but you have to log back in all the time. But you can upgrade if it’s important to you.

You mention the Waterloo/Westminster Bridge Premier Inn needing refurbishment. There are two in this area, almost opposite each other (the other one is County Hall). PI Waterloo is a relatively new one so I’m surprised by this.

The hotels are all pretty good at shutting out outside noise but they can be noisy internally: they are very popular with British families so you can get the noise of kids running about and breakfast can be busy for the same reason. I find that the corridor doors do tend to bang in all Premier Inns (I stay in a lot for work - it’s a bit of a design gripe).

My choice would be Waterloo or County Hall - but I also very much like the Tower Hill one (not Tower Bridge; the one down a very quiet street right near Bank station). Have you ruled this out for some reason? St Pancras is great for transport but on a very busy road. Holborn is well-located and slightly quieter location than St P.

The other thing to say is: it seems from your list or requirements that you’re relatively fussy about what you want from a hotel. You’re doing a lot of thinking about this, reading reviews etc.

So I’m wondering if Premier Inn is the right choice for you: they are incredibly clean, consistent, friendly but they’re the simple choice for people who don’t have time to read reviews but just want a consistent product.

One consideration may be which tube lines will be operating during your stay.

It sounds like you and your travel partner need different things - I'm sure that you will work together but it looks like you are compromising a lot. That's worthy. If I had walking issues I'd be using the buses. Just don't have them descend the stairs until the bus stops.

The Circle Line and its friends have been out of service pretty much every weekend for a long time due to Crossrail, track replacement work, or signalling replacement works, but it is unusual for it to be the entire Circle. Usually either the northern half, the eastern half, or the southeastern quarter bear the brunt. Depending on which bit is disrupted it also takes out the other lines which share the same tracks - Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan on the north and east, and District on the southeast and south.

As you get closer the works will be planned and you will know which lines will be out during your stay. Only weekends - during the week the whole network is kept running.

You can look at https://tfl.gov.uk/tube-dlr-overground/status/ tap Future Date and off you go....

You are way too early for that knowledge now. Most of the deep lines don't have stoppages affecting zone 1 at weekends.

I wouldn't stay for two weeks in a Premier Inn. The corporate sameness is dispiriting.

Have you considered an flat/apartment where you can have more of your own space and prepare your own meals?

Premiere Inn St Pancras. I could see the British Library and St.
Pancras. I faced the front of the hotel. No noise at all. The rooms
have a double set of windows. Also no noise from hallway or other
rooms. Plenty of places to eat. Kings Cross tube station a 5 minute
walk. Don't remember if there was a tub.

I noticed that hotel last month when I was visiting the British Library, and made a mental note to look into it for a future trip. Thanks, Frank II, for sharing your experience there.

It's on a street with a lot of bus routes, which for me is a big plus. I'm learning to use buses in London as well as the Tube. Because very often, a bus trip will require much less walking than making the same journey by Tube. And, as a tourist I like to look at the passing street scenes out the windows on a bus, instead of just zooming through underground tunnels.

Ramblin' on has a good point: a two-week stay seems tailor-made for an apartment, which would have some comfort and possibly even charm.

I've stayed at many a Premier Inn, but two weeks straight does seem like a lot.

(For what it's worth, the Holborn is my preferred location — not too far from St Pancras, easy to get to tons of places by bus, near Bloomsbury and the British Museum, a refurbished hotel in a rather ghastly 60s or 70s shell— but you've already decided against it.)

I really think this is exactly the time to be looking at an apartment. A longer stay makes it more economical, too. It's usually not worth it for a couple of nights. But for two weeks —yes!!

P.s. the difference with Hub hotels is that you prepay when you book.

They have two different rates — for the higher rate, you can get a refund if you cancel by X number of days before you're supposed to arrive, and for the cheaper rate, there is no refund possible. But in both cases, you have to pay the whole stay up front (not just a deposit) to reserve/book a room.

And indeed they would not be suitable for two friends traveling together who wanted to have any kind of comfort. Nor do they have tubs (in any of the ones I’ve stayed at). They are, however, wonderful (in my humble estimation) for solo travelers who aren't fussed with luxury and are willing to prepay.

Thank you for all this information. I'm going to summarize it for my friend (she's the one with the special needs--I just want to be sure of air conditioning) and see what she thinks. To be clear, I'm not trying for perfection, just attempting to do the best I can within a reasonable-for-us price range.

On the topic of apartments: I took a quick look at Airbnb last evening and got frustrated immediately. No specifics about location are provided in the listings (I knew that going in), I didn't find an easy way to screen for air conditioning (which I imagine is not commonly available), and most of the less expensive places with two beds really had one bed and a convertible sofa. Plus everything I encountered reasonably near the center was more expensive than most of the Premier Inns, and that was before I looked at the various fees in the fine print.

I also suspect (perhaps mistakenly?) that there's no such thing as free cancellation on Airbnb, and that's a risk I'm not willing to take when traveling with someone else my age (67). I came away with the impression that an apartment in London during what I consider air conditioning season would be costlier than a Premier Inn booked will in advance. For those whose hotel preference is more upscale than PI, an apartment may make economic sense.

I appreciate the comments about two weeks being a long time in a Premier Inn room (especially for two people), but I've found no other affordable options with air conditioning and convenient locations. As we all know, lodging in London is expensive; we want to spend two weeks in the city, and we'll endure a small room for that privilege.

Edited to add: Nigel, I'm aware of the weekend works on the Underground and what that can mean about availability of trains on the Circle Line tracks. I figure we'll check on the current info before we head down to London and plan our sightseeing to avoid problems. With a nice, long stay, I don't think it will be an issue for us if we are informed going in.

Jane, I think the reason Tower Hill didn't make the first cut was its location (a bit far east, not all that far from Aldgate yet somewhat more expensive and with some rooms not having tubs) and its position on the Circle/District lines, which I knew from my 2017 and 2018 trips were often closed on weekends. There being no obvious best choice, I was struggling to narrow down the list of possibilities to make it easier to come up with a manageable list.

Airbnb is too vague on location, whips why I have stopped using them. Try Booking.com or Trip Advisor rentals for better information and usually much cheaper prices.

Have you thought about perhaps picking a week in one and a week in another? This could help freshen things up and give you some fresh eating out options. I spend a fair amount of time in Southwark and there are loads of great inexpensive places to eat and the Premier Inn is in a good spot opposite a Hilton. The Jubilee line is great to travel on there's a great interchange at Westminster onto the circle/district line, and a very easy (across the platform) change at BakerStreet onto the Bakerloo line to get to Paddington for your return leg to Heathrow.

In regard to traveling with 'wonky knees.' I am an expert and suggest your travel mate bring a knee brace (easily obtained at the drug store) and BioFreeze. I travel with both and usually get a cortisone shot before my trips and it really helps. Kudos to her for exercising to get prepared for lots of walking. Even on a flat surface it does help to keep those joints moving and lubricated. And BTW stopping occasionally for tea or at a pub also helps to keep lubricated in other ways.

Compare with the Holiday Inn Express : London - Southwark with a/c, convenience, two twin beds, etc.
£144.71 non member £138.19 member non refundable; £178.14 flexible, £170.12 flexible member.

Just for comparison. Because it is a HIE breakfast is included. Are the PI prices before breakfast or included?

Just across Blackfriars Bridge. Southwark and Blackfriars tubes. Jubilee and Circle and District....

FWIW

Never mind ^^^^

No tub. Boo Hiss

Thanks again to everyone; I appreciate the many detailed responses I've received. They will help me on future trips to London as well as this one.

I've just consulted with my friend, and we've decided to make Waterloo our #1 choice and Victoria our #2, subject to confirmation that the sort of room we need is available with a tub. The corporate website (so unimpressive) has limited photos, none showing a tub at either location.

We will book at the flexible rate for now but are giving serious consideration to taking a chance on the saver rate since it is (at this point) so much cheaper: £1228 vs. £1724 for our two-week stay. I've never taken such a risk, but that's a lot of potential savings.

For two weeks, I'd look into a flat or AirBnB. I've stayed in the King's Cross Premier Inn and while nice, I don't think I could manage a whole two weeks there.

Thanks, Emma. I thought I had seen a tub photo somewhere, but they're apparently not in all the rooms so it's something I need to verify directly with the hotel.

Heather, I haven't seen an air conditioned apartment with two real beds in a convenient location for close to the price of the Premier Inns, and that's before taking into account the extra fees often imposed on apartment rentals. The economics may be quite different outside air conditioning season.

We stayed at PI County Hall and felt that the location was excellent for our needs. One of the pluses for PI Waterloo is that, if you need it, vehicles can pull up in front - we know because the taxi dropped us there at midnight when we were supposed to be dropped at County Hall. County Hall entrance was on a pedestrian-only street. I can’t speak for Waterloo, but our Wi-fi at County Hall was far better than our wi-fi at Hilton Paddington. What are the chances of using buses instead of the tube? It would seem that might be easier on her knees. The TFL trip planner could help you in a pinch.

Enjoy!

I think buses may turn out to be very helpful; it's just that I haven't bothered to use them in the past.

Yes, definitely look into buses! I find them invaluable (and fun), even though I don't have wonky knees. It takes a little bit of research on the front end, but since you're preparing well in advance, that's no problem. And with the Oyster Card topping off at a low rate every day, you can hop on one for even just a stop or two without worrying about the cost!

All the Premier Inns I’ve stayed in have had tubs in the rooms, with the exception of when I've rented an “accessible” room for my parents.

In response to Nigel's question, breakfast is not included in the room rate at Premier Inns. I usually go “off campus” for breakfast.

Another vote for CityMapper if you have a smartphone and data while you're traveling. It will make your life so easy!!

Yes, we'll both be equipped with smartphones to use when we're out and about and tablets that will stay back in the hotel for planning in advance.

Don’t forget to look into the tube staitions you are planing on using. A LOT of them do not have elevators and some of the lines are pretty deep underground requireing a lot of stairs climbing something that was very noticeable with my elderly father. And his two not so old knees. When we visited in 17 and 18

Yes, I remember that there can be quite a lot of stairs. There's an accessibility schematic map on the web somewhere that we will consult.

Since you mentioned coming in at King's Cross station, there are 3 Premier Inns in that area. We stayed at the King's Cross one several years back. It was adjacent to the station after a short walk. We stayed most recently at the St. Pancras one. It is diagonally across from the St Pancras station (which was convenient since we were leaving on the Eurostar train). It was quite nice. I don't recall any issues with noise. Interestingly, the check-in desk isn't on the ground floor, but one level up on the elevator. The third one was Euston, about a block down from the St. Pancras one. It is a bit closer to Euston station. We found this area very convenient for the transportation connections. Between the train stations and tube stations, it was easy to get elsewhere in London.

The Premier Inn across the street from St. Pancras/King's Cross train stations was absolutely quiet even though the window faced the busy street. It was rather remarkable. Open the window and hear traffic and maybe hear sirens, close the window...quiet. Plus a nice staff. I don't remember if there were tubs. It has a lift. Good restaurants/pubs tucked behind it within two/three short blocks. And a great Nepalese Restaurant across the street and down a block or to to the left. At St. Pancras and King's Cross station you can catch the tube most everywhere.

wayne iNWI

Thank you for the additional input. In light of new information, my roommate and I will be discussing whether we want to change hotels sometime this week.

I think Covent Garden is a bit too crowded/busy/noisy for me--and I don't say that lightly. I can see the logistical advantages, though.

Beware the bus map that Rebecca sent the link to - sorry Rebecca.

The bright bulbs at the TfL who decided that printing paper Central London Bus Guides was oh so 19th century and wouldn't phones be the only thing people wanted and who needs to see everything in one place without scrolling - yeah them, so they stopped printing it and went to an interminable series of non-interlinked "spider" maps which are oh so convenient, yeah them, the same boffins decided to reorganise a whole lot of bus routes and chop several of them at stupid more-rational ending points, these same boffins have not updated that top bus map with the changes. For most interest to tourists, note that the number 10 is no more in central London. Nor is the 23. If you see them on that map, disregard.

Other than that the basic concept of the map is a good one. So they couldn't pay somebody to make sure that what they were putting on their website matched what changes they had made? Bah Humbug.

Rant over. Sorry Rebecca.

OK, so now looking at that map I retract a little of my rant. Just 3 months after the changes it appears to now be correct. Of course it leaves out great swathes of other buses which do the job as well or better than some listed. For example it shows the 59 as the only direct connection between Euston station and Waterloo - the 68 and 168 also take the exact route and joining any of them is as good as the other. They left off the 91 entirely, a good bus. And the stupid improved new route of the 23 is now on there, in the correct colour.

Still bah humbug. But useful.

Thanks for the rant, Nigel!

I made my 9th visit to London a couple of months ago. I was determined to break my habit of taking the Tube and use buses instead. But oh my goodness, was it ever a headache figuring out the routes. I would have adored a good comprehensive paper bus route map. Instead I had all those piecemeal "spider map" things, and had printed out helpful online posts about specific bus routes between named points, and some other info on London bus routes. But once on the ground some of that stuff didn't seem accurate, location of stops had been changed, etc. Now I see that probably the top map hadn't been updated with recent changes (I was there in November and it seems the map was updated in December).

Fortunately I was never seriously inconvenienced by the "learn on the fly" experience of taking buses, but it was a headache. Also fortunately, my hotel was on a street with a lot of bus routes running along it. The CityMapper app on my phone turned out to be helpful, but it wasn't a substitute for a good paper route map that I could hold and peruse to get myself oriented and make intelligent decisions about what route(s) to take. I came away from that London stay feeling that I'd managed to get around via bus but not sure I'd taken the optimal routes and without the sense that I know the bus system the way I know the Tube system.

I'm sorry I reel these numbers off like I know them, because I do. Or I did until they kept messing with them... I still know many of the main central bus lines, but with the constant tinkering around the edges it gets harder and harder. I did - just for grins - come across the 77 in Waterloo on Friday - when I was just a nipper I used to ride the 77A in from its connection with the 103 at the Swan and Sugar Loaf. Is that not just the coolest name for a pub? The Swan and Sugar Loaf??

Nigel, I found the map on TFL website yesterday. They're to blame if it is not accurate.

Nigel wrote, "OK, so now looking at that map I retract a little of my rant. Just 3 months after the changes it appears to now be correct."

So the map I gave is correct.
Thanks for saying you were wrong to accuse me of providing the wrong map.

Do you remember the 77A, Emma?

Actually the Central London Bus Guide, and the 4 that went beyond it out to Zone 6 seemed like near perfection. They did have trouble, grant you, in tight corners like Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, but they actually showed where the one way bits were. Look at the spidey for that area and it shows one line per bus number. I know they are moving towards two way running on Tottenham Court Road but the spider doesn't show all the buses going south on Gower Street! Oh so sorry, back on soapbox.

Can't we have London Transport back please?

But Rebecca travels after the morning peak - don't you?

Oh boy! Have I hijacked poor acraven's thread. oops. Sorry.

Anybody got a ruler to rap over my knuckles?

One more hijack!

I think Emma and Nigel should start a side business - Touring Ins and Outs of London Buses or something. Exclusively for RS forum members, lol! London Walks for the bus crew! I'd gladly pay!

"But Rebecca travels after the morning peak - don't you?"
Yes Nigel. I enjoy my hot shower and breakfast at the hotel to start the day.
The museums open about 9:30 to 10:00, so that's when I roll :) or walk.

"Touring Ins and Outs of London Buses"--Pam I like your idea!

Oh yes, I love Seat61 for buses, Emma!!

Slogan suggestion: Not posh! Down to earth travel with the locals whether they want you to or not, haha!

I love thread drift!