Affordable Accommodations in London

In a town known for either shockingly awful or shockingly expensive places to stay, it’s not easy to find interesting, good value hotels. Or at least that’s what I hear.

As a London resident, I have no reason to stay in a hotel but I’m asked all the time to recommend good, inexpensive accommodations in London. Normally, the question is just a ruse to get me to say, “But, of course, you MUST stay with us,” which I often do say, but when all the children are home or when the person inquiring is way too smart (in every sense of the word) to stay with us, here is how I typically reply.

For longer stays, try an apartment. My favourite site for finding London apartments is http://www.aplacelikehome.co.uk/.

As for hotels, if you like to search the internet for good deals, try http://www.londontown.com/ which has both good prices and some decent editorial so that you can get a bit of a feel for the hotel and location. If you know where you want to stay, http://www.hotels.com/ does as good a job as any.

And here are some of the hotels which I think are worth a look.

Base2stay – a new property in Kensington near the Earl’s Court tube station which claims to be a blend of boutique hotel and serviced apartment. Doubles start at £99. Each room has a small kitchen, air conditioning and broadband internet. Special discounts are available for longer stays.

B+B Belgravia – This is an award-winning small hotel which claims it will change the way you think about bed and breakfasts. The location and price (doubles for £99 which includes VAT, breakfast and internet access) are hard to beat.

The Pavilion – I read about this place and had to check it out. So should you if you consider yourself groovy, funky and “artistically minded”. This is not a boring hotel and I’m not even sure it’s a comfortable or clean hotel (some of the tripadvisor reviews were a bit worrying) but it is “different”. Double rooms are an affordable £100 a night for a good central London location.

Millers Residence – If you can spend in the range of £150 to £185, love over-the-top interiors, want to be in Notting Hill and are looking for a completely unforgettable experience, take a look at the website for this property, owned by Martin Miller of Miller Antique Guides. You really have to see it to believe it.

The Mandeville – A hip hotel in a great location. Their published rates start at £250 but hotels.com had rooms on offer in the £150 range and at that price, it’s good value.

The Zetter – Time Out describes it as a"super-hip and reasonably priced Clerkenwell hotel” and from looking at the website, I’d agree. If you like modern and prefer to stay in East London, this hotel offers great value in the £150 range.

So there you have it, some affordable alternatives to staying at my place. As our son Lee once said to the former headmaster of his old school, “You really don’t want to stay with my parents. You never know who you will meet on the staircase at two in the morning.” Personally, I have no idea what Lee is talking about.

Base2stay
25 Courtfield Gardens
London SW5 0PG
Tel: 44 (0) 207 244 2255
Fax: 44(0) 207 244 2256
http://www.base2stay.com/

B+B Belgravia
64-66 Ebury Street
London, SW1W9QD
Tel: 44 (0) 207 259 8570
info@bb-belgravia.com
http://www.bb-belgravia.com/

The Pavilion
34-36 Sussex Gardens
London, W2
Tel: 44 (0) 207-262-0905
Fax: 44 (0) 262 1324
Email: hotelpavilionuk@aol.com
http://www.hotelpavilionuk.com/

Millers Residence
111a Westbourne Grove
London, W24UW
Tel: 44 (0) 207 243 1024
Fax: 44 (0) 207 243 1064
Email: enquiries@millersuk.com
http://www.millersuk.com/

The Mandeville Hotel
Mandeville Place
London, W1U 2BE
Tel: 44 (0) 207 935 5599
Fax: 44 (0) 207 9359588
Email: info@mandeville.co.uk
http://www.mandeville.co.uk/

The Zetter
St John’s square
86-88 Clerkenwell Road
London EC1M5RJ
Tel: 44 (0) 207 324 4444
Email:info@thezetter.com
http://www.thezetter.com/