Budget Paris or London for a week in February

Have you checked out the Cherry Court Hotel in London? Rooms are about £65 for a single room in February. It’s very close to Victoria train station. It’s a small, family run Inn with tiny rooms. However, every room I have stayed in there does have its own bathroom and you can request a room on the ground floor- no stairs. Great bakery/coffee shop at the end of the street and a nice Pub with good food across the street.

Chani, I have not been to London. I've been to Paris at varying times, but one time it was during the third week of January. It was a bit chilly, but sunny so still enjoyable to leisurely walk around. Outdoor cafes were still open though usually with some kind of heater or plastic wind barriers. I think the Hotel Familia in the Latin quarter is within your price range. Its a classic Paris building with the rod iron work. It's clean and the staff is helpful and pleasant. Some people will say its dated. I would agree but if they update, the price will go up. Its an easy walk to the Seine and there are a couple handy metro stops.

My impression is that food options are cheaper in Paris where I find many brassieres in more of a budget range and of course there's the markets. Sometimes I've just purchased a piece of fruit, a piece of chicken and a croissant. Yum!

I stayed at the Hub Inn Goodge Street in London. It was near the British Museum maybe at 10 minute walk. My room was small, new and clean. It had all that I needed. You are very close to Goodge street station but less than a 10 minute walk to three other stations with connections to numerous tube lines
I checked out one random week in Feb it was £462 pounds if you book a non cancellation rate

Familia Hotel would be a great choice. We stayed there this past June. The location is convenient to a terrific bakery (Isabelle), a rotisserie for aforementioned chicken and a lovely outdoor market all in the same area just a few blocks from the hotel. If you like a bit more action, we've also stayed at Welcome Hotel on Rue de Seine. The area is noisier but lots of fun. It's an easy walk to the Louvre and the Orsay with plenty of public transportation options. A nighttime walk to Pont des Arts and the Louvre is magical.

We spent much of February 2017 in Paris, it was 50 - 63 degrees during the day and never rained.

Chani, have a look at the Ridgemount Hotel on Gower Street. I think Gower is the street that the Morgan is on, but I may be wrong.

In London try Hub by Premiere. I stayed in the "Westminster Abbey" one. Perfect for a solo traveler. Two years ago it was £79 in July. Breakfast was extra but was enormous. There are several around central London.

In Paris just this past summer I stayed at the St Pierre (across the street from the Cluny) for 85€. Breakfast not included but there are tons of places near by. There is a lift. Singles are tiny.

Like Wendy, I enjoyed hub Goodge St and thought the location was convenient both for walking and for public transport

I’m going to add to the recommendations of picking a Hub Hotel or Premier Inn in London. Most of the museums in London are free, although a few pounds donation is polite. London walks are only £10. You can have a very low budget vacation in London once you’ve gotten accommodation settled.

You also might look at the airfares which may help you make up your mind. London is usually cheaper than Paris to fly to from Chicago, but I don’t know where you’re flying from.

I follow my university’s study abroad program on Instagram and I’m amazed at how much the students do in London on a student budget.

I was leaning toward London - it's been so long - and I have a good idea of daily expenses, the biggest expense by far is of course lodging. I can fly on British Air or El Al for about the same price and same schedule to LHR, arriving late morning or noon and red-eye flight out, so I have virtually a full day in the city on my last day.

Now London looks even better.

The Hub looks most like what would suit me best. I do have some questions about the hotel. Does anyone have contact info? When I dial the number listed on the website, I get a message from my local provider that I'm calling a mobile phone and I'll be charged a "special" rate - I have several hours of free international service so I could call "for free" to a normal landline or mobile phone. I would be happy to contact them by email, but they don't give one.

Premier Inn runs good-value hotels. Heaven help you if you need to ask a question. Whether you use email or phone, you may not get a response.

Another thing: watch the dates very carefully as you move through the reservation process. It may work better on a tablet. Using my desktop computer, I found the dates shifted earlier than I originally requested. I had to keep using the Change function to go back to the dates I actually needed. I reported the problem about 10 months ago, but it was still happening several months later. It's clear they don't spend much effort on their website, which does tend to leave one with questions. And then they don't respond to emails. And when you telephone, you may be on hold for a few minutes before you get a recording that says, basically, "All of our agents are busy. Goodbye."

I was unable to find an email despite. There is a charge to call that is listed on their website even if you have free international calling. I was at the Goodge location this July I loved the location

They do not make it easy to contact them. But as I wrote earlier, contacting them may not bring any results, anyway.

if you use Twitter, you can try contacting hub through that platform. They seem to respond promptly to queries there.
https://mobile.twitter.com/hubhotels

This is the phone number I’ve used to call hub Goodge St from my land line here at home:
011 44 333 321 3104
It’s charged at the national rate.

There’s another phone number charged at the premium rate (did not use):
011 44 871 527 9710

I hope you get your questions answered!

Premier Inn at Waterloo worked really well for me last spring. I loved the location and price. I’ve never had any issues with the website. I also have not needed to email hotel, so no issues there as well.

My sister stayed at a HUB and mentioned that anyone who feels uncomfortable in confined spaces (me) might not want to stay there.

Hi
Firstly, it's a big gap between 125 and 80 per night.
Since its been longer since the last visit then I'd say, London.
Luna and Simone Hotel (near Victoria Station with a bus route at the front door ) in february for a double is 101 pounds. Though, accomodation alone will not define the ultimate budget of any holiday.

best of luck

Thank you all very much for taking the time to provide excellent information.

In retrospect, I should have posted on the England forum, since I was leaning that way. Paris was my Plan B if nothing suitable turned up for London. You guys have solved my dilemma and London, it is!! To top it off, I just told a friend I was going at the end of February and she said she's hoping to take her granddaughter to London in January if the kid gets leave from the army. If she goes and I don't, I'll be sooo jealous. And either way, she might join me.

I've taken a good look at all your suggestions and all the Premier Inn London locations. The Hub in Goodge Street is as good a location for me as any of the others, the reviews are very good, and the price is very affordable.