places to stay in London?

We stay at the Limetree in London, ound the corner from the Victoria Coach station, a block from the Victoria Railway Station. Walking distance to Buckingham Palace. Should be under 140GBP for double, including breakfast.

We stayed at Lancaster Hall Hotel which is a 5 minute walk from Paddington Station. We flew into Heathrow and took the Heathrow Connect straight to Paddington. The room was inexpensive ($139.00 double room), very basic room but clean with an in-room bath with hot water. Continental breakfast (meat, cheese, eggs, breads, cold cereal, tea and coffee and fruit)is included. It is just north of Hyde Park and Kensington Palace, but not very close to other sites. But we rode the Tube everyday anyway. We would definitely stay there again!

We really enjoyed our stay at Club Quarters Trafalgar Sq. this past May. The price was great and the location could not be beat. We expected little from the hotel based on what we paid, but were very surprised and pleased by the level of service and friendly help over our 6 day stay. Initially it seemed like a "members only" operation, but we never joined anything and got a great rate for London...about 90 GBP as I recall. Search the website for deals or call and chat with their staff...friendly and helpful.

We stayed at the Alhambra Hotel near St. Pancras station. Small rooms but reasonably priced and includes breakfast. Good location due to tube stop across the street.

http://www.alhambrahotel.com/

I will second Iain's comments the Lime Tree. And hotel in the same area that we have used is the Winchester Hotel, about two blocks further from Victoria station. We prefer to stay in the VS area, very convenient and a bit less expensive than some of the other areas mentioned.

Muriel,

I stayed at Cartref House on my last visit to London, which is also in the Victoria Station area. The room was very comfortable and the owners were wonderful.

Cheers!

Blades which is close to the Pimlico tube station and The London Elizabeth which is a two minute walk to the Lancaster Gate tube station. The Lancaster Gate station is across the stree from Kensington Gardens. Both hotels are nice. I personally like the location of The London Elizabeth best.

We loved the Lime Tree. Great location, great people.

Others have said already and I concur - Limetree is a good choice. Clean, convenient and very friendly and helpful staff. Worth the extra cost to be close and convenient. I've stayed there twice and both times was excellent. Another very nice place is Sumner hotel near Oxford St and Marble Arch. Kind of modern and very comfortable, and close to shopping and tube. Prices in London are higher than anywhere I've stayed in Europe, but close-in hotels are worth the price for the convenience to sites.

We have also stayed at Lime Tree multiple times. It is a great place with the owners on site every day. It is about a 5 minute walk to Victoria Station. Finding it the first time from the station can be somewhat interesting, but once you find your way it's an easy walk.

Two sites might be of interest here:

1. Travelodge is a UK hotel chain with web-only reservations. You can only find them on their web site. Simple, clean, straightofrward, decently located and decently priced. Exceptional low rate if you book very early.

2. Booking.com is the largest European hotel bookings site. They have tons of reviews. You book online, but you don't pay anything until you get there.

I just got back from spending nine nights at the Oxford Hotel in London (http://www.oxfordhotellondon.co.uk/), and it's a good, affordable choice. It’s within easy walking distance of both Paddington Station and the Lancaster tube stop. I also walked to Notting Hill Gate, Queensway road, and Portobello road from the hotel and it was an easy walk to all of those places.

The hotel is very basic, but it’s very clean and has a fridge, microwave, and kettle in each room. Plus the entire hotel has en suite bathrooms (which were a bit of tight squeeze but did the job!) It has a basic continental breakfast of croissants, cereal, and ribena.

I usually skipped the breakfast and instead bought an egg and bacon sandwich from the sandwich bar right down the street (which was a very good deal at 2 pounds). There's a fantastic pub on the corner, a cupcake shop, launderette, pharmacy, German YMCA, internet café/convenience store, and multiple restaurants on the same block as the hotel. Yet the street also felt quiet, especially at night.

I’ve also stayed at the Vicarage Hotel and really liked it, but I preferred saving more than 20 pounds a night and went for the more basic but perfectly acceptable Oxford.