Hostels?

With the $$ conversion rate right now - it's terribly hard!
When we were in London recently, we got a GREAT hotel on Priceline (I know - not interesting at all, but we got a GREAT deal!).
Also - we've had great customer service with the Kinlay House hostel in Dublin for an upcoming trip. I don't know if you're traveling alone or with someone else, but the double rooms there are quite reasonable - for Dublin...
Good luck~
Annie

Thanks Annie. I've been looking at hostels on sites like Hostelworld.com. I had looked at Kinlay house for Dublin and it's at the top of my list. It's nice to hear you've had a good experience with them so far.

In London check out www.travelodge.co.uk - they have rooms from £29, although most in central London are around £49. You won't find a good hostel for less than £20 in London. There are some for about £13-15, but they're awful. (I found that out the hard way). There are several older posts on here about cheap accomodation in London - use the search box at the top.

If travelling in summer or early Sept, try university housing. I stayed at Trinity College in the center of Dublin - they have ensuite & shared bath rooms, depending on your budget. They offer free continental breakfast (MORE than ample) or pay extra for hot breakfast. It's cool to get access to Trinity after dark when rest of tourists have to leave.

In London, I stayed at Northumberland House (1 block to Trafalgar Sq) part of London School of Economics (LSE) dorms. LSE has dorms all over the city in all different neighborhoods. I loved Northumberlund-it cost a little more than other dorms, but was so close to everything that in 14 days I only had to buy 2-3 London Tube tickets and was able to walk to just about everything. Saved me a lot of money as I never had to buy an Oyster Card. Northumberland has singles & doubles (all with private bathrooms) and free internet access. Both campuses had self-service laundry facilities on site as well as self-service, basic kitchens.

Paddy's Palace in Ireland has hostels in a lot of the major cities (Dublin included). I stayed at their Derry hostel in Northern Ireland. It was very clean, quiet, free breakfast and the front desk staff was friendly and helpful. I have never stayed at the Dublin one, but it's the same owner who I've also heard talking to Rick Steves on his Ireland travel podcasts.

Ayla,

Check www.hihostels.com as they have listings of all their properties. I find that the standards at the "chain" Hostels are fairly consistent. These are usually clean and well managed.

Happy travels!

I second the recommendations for Travelodge and university housing (if traveling in July/August). We've done both and had great experiences. Travelodge isn't as cheap in Ireland, but it's a great deal in London. We like the Covent Garden and City Road locations. Marylebone is well located but the rooms are a bit shabbier. You can sign up for their sale e-mails so you know when discounted rooms become available.

Actually, many of the dorm rooms at London School of Economics are available to tourists up through September 28th (including Northumberland House), check the LSE website for full details on each location.

Ayla, try www.hostelbookers.com
They have lots of hostels and ratings on there.
My husband and I are going to London in May and we have never been to Europe before. This site really helped us.
We ended up picking Palmers Lodge just outside of Central London and I think the price is great.
Good luck & happy travels!

For London check out the Arran House Hotel in Bloomsbury (www.arranhotel-london.com). It's a B&B so its standard rooms aren't cheap, but it also has dorm-style rooms at hostel-like prices. Everyone gets the full English breakfast. For Dublin check out the Globetrotters Hostel (www.globetrottersdublin.com). The full Irish breakfast is amazing.

For Edinburgh, check out Castle Rock Hostel located just below Edinburgh Castle. Its a great spot - a hop, skip and jump from the Royal Mile and everything it has to offer.
The view from the front step of the hostel is one of the best I've ever seen - looking directly up at the Castle (one of my favorite places in Scotland). Its amazing!

http://castlerockedinburgh.com/

I agree with the Castle Rock hostel, I stayed there last month. The view is for the entrance is amazing, and the hostel itself is lovely as well. Lot of character!

Look on hostelbookers.com for reviews on hostels in the areas you are traveling.

Of the places you're going I've only been to London. I stayed in Meininger Hostel. It is in a very nice area of London - Kensington. The hostel is right next to a museum and a short walk to Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, the underground, and a grocery store is down the street. They serve a really nice breakfast which includes rolls, meats, cheeses, OJ, milk, coffee, cereals, yogurt, etc. You could easily eat enough to fill up until early afternoon. It is also relatively close to Harrod's which is a must see in my book (just to say you've been there). But the food stalls at Harrod's are really cool. I bought some items from the bakery there and had a really nice lunch sitting on a beach chair at Hyde Park.

The only drawback to the hostel is that they have incredibly small bathrooms - it's kind of funny though. I wish I would've taken a pic - imagine a bathroom in a plane!! lol!!

I highly recommend the Royal Mile Backpackers hostel in Edinburugh. A group of friends and I had a great time there some years ago.

http://www.royalmilebackpackers.com/.

London - Ace Hotel located in West Kensington & a short walk from West Kensington Tube station.

Edinburgh - Smart City Hostels just half a block off the Royal Mile. It's still pretty new -- very clean, modern, & well priced.

Dublin - if you decide to stay at Globetrotters, book ASAP. I booked all of our hostels 3 months before our trip last spring & the place was already fully booked (I had heard it filled-up fast, but I didn't think it would be that fast). We ended up staying at Avalon House -- all I can say about that is "ick".

Lots of hostels... I have just finished 2 years travel through europe and have stayed in my fair share of hostels... the ones you dont want to stay at are... LONDON- The Generator... unless you plan on people trowing up or really loud at 2 am.. it is a dirty dirty place.. great for young travelers looking to hook up or waist time being drunk.. so don't advise that one... DUBLIN- Isaac House.. bad.. alot of theiving going on there.. you can get nice B&B's all over.. just look for them on the web.. alot of times they are cheaper when you are there in person then on the phone. Get the name of the places fro the wen sites and then contact them directly... alot cheaper.
Hostels can and are great fun!! If I can help ya anymore please just ask.

i will be staying at the globetrotter inn in london and edinburgh.

there is also a small video of the one in london on youtube if you want to check it out :)

Have you looked at www.venuemasters.co.uk/shortbreaks.asp? It has links to UK universities that offer holiday break housing, which can be really fun and interesting. I've stayed in dorms in London and Dublin, and they were clean and comfortable, though a bit cramped. This site is a great resource to help you wade through what's available without trolling each website.