Accommodation for 5 in London

Check out the London School of Economics. They rent spare dorm rooms and apartments to tourists. They have multiple locations in central London. All are ensuite and you get either a kitchen, kitchenett or kitchen access on the same hall. You also get access to the "lounge" - read game & TV room and the laundry. http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/
http://www.lsetopfloor.co.uk/

Hello. London is VERY EXPENSIVE. You can't get around the costs, unless you just don't go there. We have been to London three years in a row. We have always stayed at the Crowne Plaza South Kensington (100 Cromwell). It is part of the Priority Club hotel point system. It is owned by the same people as the Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, etc. South Kensington is one of the most desirable places to stay. The Crowne Plaza is located directly across the street from the Gloucester tube station. We were just one tube stop away from Harrod's (Knightsbridge stop). Harrod's is a great place for eating. They have tea upstaris and a lunch brunch. Downstairs they have a great food court. The hotel was very convenient for getting our day or half day Gray Line bus tours to such places as the Cotswold's Stonehenge, Bath, etc. Sometimes Gray Line picked us up right across the street at a Holiday Inn. Other times we took the tube to some train stations and joined our bus tours at the train stations. If you sign up with Priority Club before you go, you will earn hotel points for another visit.

There are some budget places near the Earls Court tube. I find this area pretty convenient as it is right on the Piccadilly line so it is only about 15 minutes to Covent Garden. There are lots of restaurants (mostly chains, but some are good chains) nearby and it is easy to get to from LHR. Two places you might look at are the Base2Stay and Premier Inn Earls Court. Is anyone in your party under 16? At the Premier Inn chain, under 16 stays free so two rooms at one of these could work. Another option is to bid for a couple of rooms on Priceline. Tripadvisor has a good article with budget hotels which includes a number of places with rooms that accommodate more than two people. I've posted the link below. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c162572/London:United-Kingdom:Budget.Hotels.In.London.html

Hi Camille, I am traveling with my husband and adult son and his girlfriend to London. We found a great looking flat that we reserved for 8 nights. It is a 2 bed, 2 bath and cost is $2100.00 - split two ways this is a lot cheaper than a hotel and we have much more space. I admit this will be the first time we are trying a self catering place but I talked with many others who have done it and am excited to try it. I used airbnb.com and vrbo.com to search for places. There are other sites also recommended on this helpline if you search for them. To be safe, we also paid via paypal and checked out the site and owner we are renting from. By the way, the places are all over London, we are staying near Portobello Road and Kensington Gardens. Good luck and Happy Travels to you! :0)

I stayed at the IBIS London City in a room with 2 twin beds and it was pretty inexpensive. You might check to see if they have any larger rooms.

The Rhodes Hotel in London has family rooms for 5. The rate for a family room is £160.00-£190.00 depending what time of the year you go. http://www.rhodeshotel.com/

Hello Camille! I would also recommend renting a flat - for that many people it will be cheaper than a hotel and will offer you significantly more space.
Since you will have a kitchen, you will also be able to fix some meals in the flat which will save you on dining out. As for being close to everything, just about anything in central London works well - as another poster mentioned, the area around Earl's Court is a great location - close to the tube, shops and lots of restaurants.

try the website skyscanner.net. we are a family of 6 with 4 small children and needed a room for all of us. there were many to choose from at prices that were very good and had good ratings. i watched the site for a few days and got a room near paddington station for $150/nt with breakfast.

I am looking for a flat in London and found a site recommended by Rick Steves' book and it is called aplacelikehome.co.uk. The places looked great and prices seemed reasonable and even broke down the prices by category. Has anyone else used this site?

I agree that renting a flat or apartment might be a good way to go. We rented an apartment for our family of 4, and were very comfortable: 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and even laundry facilities. We rented through Coach House London Rentals and were very happy. It cost less than 2 hotel rooms, though you generally need to stay 5 days or longer. They have lots of centrally located choices.
Have fun!!