Places to stay in London

Train fares in the UK are very expensive so you may not save money by commuting. I can recommend the Ridgemount Hotel on Gower Street, very plain, friendly small hotel, well located, with warm & helpful staff. I think it will be in your price range.

Two thoughts

1. Consider Tripadvisor. With the current exchange rate you might actually have some selection. Of course you don't get to see the exact hotel or location but they are normally affiliated with at least passable places.

2. I know that Rick Steves talks more about the Victoria area for staying. While its not glamorous we have found cheaper places up by Kings Cross/Euston. There are some places in there that are very simple, but clean and run about 60 pounds for a double. Personally I would rather take one of those than commute in.

I have a similar request and looked at the Ridgemont which looked great. If I fly into Heathrow how would you suggest getting to the hotel? The express?
I would agree that staying outside of London could prove costly in both money and time if the city is what you want to experience. However, if you are going outside the city, such as Windsor castle, etc. I would opt for hotel closer to there.

Terry Katherine: If you are travelling with a couple of others, you could take a taxi and the cost per person would be bearable. The Heathrow Express is much too expensive for me. I would take the tube from the airport, get off at Russell Square and take a short cab ride to the Ridgemount, if that is where you book.

Look at easyhotel.com Very basic, but cheap. How many are there? Look at Jubliee Hotel, London- http://www.jubileehotel.co.uk/index-1.html. You might call them and they may reduce rates for a 6 day stay.

Try priceline.com. I have used them all over and have always gotten a good deal. Caveat, if you buy it is yours. No trades, returns, cancels, etc. We used it a couple of years ago to get Hotel Americana-close to Baker St. Station- for 50pounds per night.

Mike from Leeds may mean Priceline, not Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor, though, is a good place to find recommendations of places to stay, from people who have actually stayed there. Booking through Tripadvisor is not a mystery. You do see the information about the properties and can choose which to book with.

I've stayed at the Crestfield Hotel near Kings Cross/St. Pancras and at the Charlotte Guest House in West Hampstead. I think either of these would fit into your budget. There are numerous budget hotels in the KingsX area.

The Piccadilly Tube line goes directly from Heathrow to Kings Cross. This is another reason for finding lodgings in that area to use as your base for exploring London.

I'll be staying at the Cherry Court Hotel for the 6th time in a couple of weeks. It is my home in London. Charming, Clean, Safe and I love Mrs. Patel! I have stayed there with the family, as part of a couple and will be alone this trip. It is convenient and safe. Take the Tube from the airport, change at Baron's Court-walk 4 feet to the other side of the platform to change to the next train-and arrive at Victoria Station, which is a short walk from the station. I believe a double is 55GBP (< $80.00 at the present exchange rate).

Sorry, grammatical error above. In a couple of weeks, I will be staying at the Cherry Court Hotel for the 6th time. LOL. I'm a bit anal about language.

With the strong dollar or weak pound there are many hotels in the Russell Sq area under $100 per night so you might want to recheck your options -- Breakfast is not cheap easyily over $15.00 each so keep that in mind when reserving room. not sure why it is hard to find if breakfast is included

We also stayed at the Cherry Court Hotel and liked it very much. Rooms are small, but clean and location is convenient. We were not worried about a large room because we were only there to sleep and shower anyway. Good luck and have fun!

I would not commute by train but rather stay in Zone 1 or Zone 2 in London. My husband and I made the mistake of staying near Heathrow airport (zone 6) as we found a cheap hotel there (premier inn). While we got a good deal on it, we wasted precious time getting into downtown London plus the extra expense paying to get there. So, I would keep checking around for lodging closer to where you want to be but please don't make the mistake we did! We could have spent more time had we known where we were staying and understood how the tube worked in relation to where the sites we wanted to see...Hope this helps!

Mary, at $120US (60GBP+/-) you're cutting it to the bone. From my experience (and I like the Victoria Station area) Cherry Court for price within your budget; a bit over, the Luna & Simone a few blocks away is my favourite. Just booked a single for April @ $120; I believe a double will run you about $140 with ensuite; probably cheaper with a shared bathroom. After a few stays at the L&S (and many stays in other 2-4 over the years), the L&S is and will remain my home when in London.

Mary,

You might have a look at Cartref House, which is in the London Victoria area. It's a great neighborhood with some nice restaurants and other facilities, within easy walking distance to many sites and is close to London Victoria station for access to either the Tube or other transport.

Happy travels!

http://www.londonhometohome.com/

You might check their London properties.

Mary - My wife and I are staying in London in May. We found a hotel on hotwire.com for 45 dollars per night. It turned out to be very well reviewed on TripAdvisor and for 5 nights we are paying well under $300 in the Earl's Court area. It might be worth a try for you.

Check out this article on the 'Dirtiest hotel in the UK' that was posted in the Times of London'. In the article they list a number of places to stay that just may fit your budget given where the pound is right now though a lot of them are probably a little more.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article5617700.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2

Jarod, care to share the name of the hotel you'll be staying in for only $45 a night? I don't think easyHotel is that cheap most of the time. Earl's Court is a good location too.

Dave, yes the name of the hotel we are staying in is the Express by Holiday Inn London - Earl's Court. Regular it was over $200 per night for three (two adults and one child), but as I mentioned, the hotwire rate was $45! Of course, when you book hotwire, the catch always is that you do not know the name of the hotel before you book, just the rating, location, amenities, and price.

I would definately go for the one Jarod got.
In the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Earls Court area is nice and inexpensive. Right near Kensington High St shops, 24 hr Tesco grocer, Earls Ct Road shops (Prince of Teck pub has an English breakfast every morning until noon), V&A and Natural history museum within walking distance up Cromwell, also Harrods is just a bit further.
It is right near Earls Ct tube station and not too far from South Kensington tube station.
I stayed in that area last December and will stay there again in April. Very safe, too. I am female and went alone, and since Cromwell is a main road (to Heathrow etc) there are always people around even at 1 am.

If you do stay in the Heathrow area, I would recommend getting an Oyster card, and the ride on the Piccadilly or District line in from Heathrow to London central is about 35 minutes. Horrendous between 6-8 am and 4-6 pm, very crowded, people in a hurry.

Wow, Jarod, that sounds like an amazing deal!! Lucky you! Is that the super tall one?

After hours and hours of reading reviews on several websites, I finally decided on a B&B that had excellent reviews on tripadvisor.com and is about $80/night US. You can search B&B's on that site by rating...therefore showing the places with the highest reviews first. You might have already tried that, but I found it very helpful! Now I'm just hoping that my experience also ranks 4 or 5 stars. :)