Sleep in a London suburb to save money?

Try this website "smoothhound.com" just click on the country, then London, etc it will give you how many stars, pictures, amenities, etc for some but no all and you can find what is available or your dates, price, etc. we used them for Scotland and were not disappointed. Good luck.

Have you checked http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/ (I don't have the current RS guide, so can't check his recs) Also try eurocheapo.com, booking.com, venere.com, ratestogo.com I usually stay on Gower St. - try Arosfa, Ridgemount, Jesmond, although they are probably full. This place is in Hampstead, which is a fairly posh inner "suburb", not too far out and by the Heath, and is only just over your price: http://www.lagaffe.co.uk

We considered staying outside of London (decided to stay inside) and looked at a charming B&B called Amberleigh. It looked great and at that time the fourth night was free if you booked three nights. You may try to google for more details. The tube stop was Tooting Bec if I remember correctly. It was south of London.

Try the chain hotels like Travelodge UK and Premier Inn UK. They are reasonable central and well priced w/online reservations. then you can stay in London w/in your budget and close to the highlights of this wonderfiul city. Suburbs can be deary, costly tube fares and a greta loss of time due to traveling rdtrip on crowede tube trains. rates should be below your budget at these 2 chainhotels.

We usually stay in the Bloomsbury area that Kathy mentions in the small B&Bs or at the LSE dorm. However a couple of years ago we bid on Priceline and got a fabulous hotel overlooking the British Library in this neighborhood. For your price range, I think you might be able to find something centrally located that will add a lot to the enjoyment of your week's sightseeing.

I'm sure others will chime in with great suggestions, but keep in mind that you have to factor in the cost of transportation to and from the city every day when deciding if you are saving money. There is also a "cost" of lost sightseeing time while doing the traveling, particularly if you will be doing so during rush hours.

In your shoes I think that I would prefer to shop for a great value lodging in the city. I don't think the savings will be so great and you will save time, energy, and transportation expense. You will also get to know the city better.

The other thing you'll find is that it limits what you can do in the evening as it is really exhausting to get up and go, go, go and not go back to the hotel for even half an hour before dinner. I know that if your daughter is very young, you're thinking you won't do much in the evening, but I bet that you'll want the ability to take a break even more. Pam

Nancy: This question is asked several times a year here (it's a good question, we're glad you asked), usually when travelers see London hotel prices. The advice given in the first 3 posts is the advice given here before: the extra cost, time, and other disadvantages of being in the "suburbs" outweighs any advantage in price.

Here is another one who agrees, to me it would be like commuting to work. See if you can find reasonable lodging in town. Even if you pay a little more, it will be worth it.

What is your budget? When will you be there? Do you have to have an en-suite bathroom?

Our budget is around $180/night. The places suggested in rick steve's book are full. We arrive on July 16th so I'm late getting this organized. Thx.

To be clear on the disadvantages: Travelling into London from 0700 to 1000 and out of London from 1700 to 1900 is a horrible experience. Additionally, unless you can use a seven-day Travelcard, it will be expensive to travel before 0930 on Mon-Fri: one-day Travelcards are not valid and Oyster fares are higher. One possibility is to try a suburban area with some tourist potential like Greenwich (but be careful to make sure you are actually in the old centre of Greenwich and not "North Greenwich" near the Millennium Dome).

Thanks everyone for the excellent help! What do you think of the Little Venice area near Warwick Ave and Warwick Ave Tube station? Thx!

http://serviced.studios2let.com Available from your date for 7 nights, 91 pounds a night ($145) and up ($191 for the large studio). Great location, no wasted travel time, cost savings of having a kitchenette.

A frequent complaint I see posted from those who have stayed outside of Central London is that they encountered problems with getting the Tube afterhours or on weekends due to unforeseen construction projects on the lines or at the station that was nearest to their hotel/apartment. Sometimes it is worth paying the higher price to stay someplace that is more central to what you want to do.

try the website "londontown.com" it has a wonderful map interface with the prices and locations for each hotel! they have deep discounts too. well worth looking at. I'd stay in London, try Fulham Broadway or Earl's Court. Close enough in, but a little cheaper than other areas in my experience.

I agree with all the others: staying too far out in the burbs can be very limiting and diminish your overall enjoyment of the trip. Paddington and Earl's Court are a bit away from most tourist attractions, but they have good transportation links and are a little cheaper than areas closer in. The areas closer in that are budget friendly are Bloomsbury, which is near the British Museum, and the area around Victoria Station. If you feel comfortable bidding on Priceline, you can get a very good hotel in your price range right in central London. For tips on how to bid, go to biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com. You may also find discounted prices on wotif.com. Some budget hotels to consider are: Arosfa Hotel, Celtic Hotel, and the Ridgemount-- all in Bloomsbury; Vandon House (near St. James Park and Buckingham Palace), Jury's Inn (Chelsea), Cherry Court (near Victoria Station), Royal Court Apartments (Paddington), and the Harrington Court Apartments (South Kensington). Good luck!

Last fall we bid on Priceline for a four star hotel in the Gloucester Rd/S. Kensington area. The bidding took five days but we got a good hotel and paid $100 for the room. It was a hotel that airline people book into-location was great-tube station, grocery, laundry all right in the area.

Little Venice A very nice area and I would live there. A bit light in both bus and tube connections. Its only got the Bakerloo Line (not the worst line at all) if my memory's not failing me after the tropically hot day today.

Ceidleh brings up a very good point. It's unusual for some part of the Tube not to be offline for service/repairs on a weekend. If someone stays out in the boonies, they will almost certainly be served by only one Tube line and station. If a portion of that is closed, they have a problem. Not as much as a problem in central London because you can always walk to another station or take a bus.

Try Lancaster Hall. It is just north of Hyde Park and close to Paddington. It is 85 pounds for 2. We have stayed there a number of time and found it quite nice.

I stayed in Greenwich a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We booked the Novotel London Greenwich located right next to the tube station - and I was surprised that you didn't hear any noise. It did include an incredible breakfast buffet which filled me up to the point that I skipped lunch most days. That is definitely a money saver ;-) And Greenwich has some really interesting sites to explore. It worked for us as my husband was attending a conference nearby and had been to London multiple times before. So on the weekend and in the evenings we explored Greenwich with no worry about not being able to get back to the hotel by tube. And during the week I explored London on my own usually leaving the hotel around 9 am.

Also try Imperial college accomodation- they're right beside the V&A and natural History museum. No tv in the rooms, but very clean and comfortable and a fabulous breakfast. About £60 a night (I think). If you need the link, let me know.