London lodging alternatives

I just had a look at Holiday Inn Express in Watford £71 per room per night during your dates. Train from Watford Junction to Euston frequently, 18 minutes (ish). Right next to the station. There's one in Golders Green, £68 a night, the 13 and 113 buses into Oxford Street or the Northern Line. Those are pretty good prices and include a breakfast.

Rather than go outside of London and pay a fortune to commute, have a look at Lancaster Hall Hotel. I think it used to be the German YMCA or somesuch and is now an affordable place to stay, with a wing for hardcore budget travellers.

London is ALWAYS expensive. What do you consider reasonable? Remember, if you are outside Zones 1 & 2, tube travel costs will cut into your budget. Have your looked at the airbnb website? You can research by cost so that may help your budget. You can also try Priceline. Got a modern, clean, spacious double room (two queen beds) at the Regent's Park Marriott for $90/per night for a friend and I. Swiss Cottage Tube was two and a half blocks away. 25 minutes into central London. Short stroll to the gorgeous Regent's Park. Worked out perfectly. Bring up a tube map on your computer and print it out. Will help you narrow down possible areas to stay within zones 1 & 2. PM if you need more specifics about neighborhoods.

Hello Denise, Another option would be an apartment rental - during summer it is a bit harder to find them for less than a week but it can be done. This would give you several advantages - one, you'd have a kitchen so you could do breakfasts and some dinners in which would save you money. Secondly, hotel rooms in London are quite small by US standards so you would have more room. We are a family with two teenage boys and found that apartments work much better for us. Finally, you would be closer to the things you want to see in London so will reduce your travel costs and the time it takes to get to the things you want to see.

You could try one of the universities in London; many rent out dorm rooms or apartments during the summer recess. I stayed at London School of Economics Holborn Hall last August, which is very centrally located right near the British Museum. It is dorm accommodations, so nothing fancy, but breakfast was included in the very reasonable price.

Thank you everyone! I looked at all the recommended places, not all were available. But it helped to get the lay of the land. Have downloaded the tube map and getting familiar with that. Thanks all!