Lodging recommendations for London

Safety is not an issue really -- any area a tourist will find herself will be fine.

I definitely recommend Priceline for budget visitors. You will get a double room. (Even though you'll be solo, you'll do better in a double because singles can be very, VERY small). It will be a full service hotel - not 'atmospheric' or full of character, but perfectly nice w/ modern amenities like a Holiday Inn or similar. AND it will cost you around $100 or less. It will give you twice the hotel for half the price.

If you have not used PL before, check out biddingfortravel.com for info. (I'm talking about the 'name your own price' feature, NOT booking a hotel directly through PL)

The best bidding zones would be Westminster, Knightsbridge/Kensington/Earls Court, and Mayfair/Soho

Please check out the Luna & Simone -- conveniently located near Victoria Station, right on a bus line, and within your price points. Gets great reviews on TripAdvisor, too. Though I've not stayed there for three years, I can vouch for it as ownership has not changed.

The Luna & Simone is in a very convenient location and is a very good budget property. But it would still cost more than a 4 star, full service pricelined hotel.

What you could do is book somewhere like the L&S if the reservation is fully cancel-able, and then bid PL. If after several attempts you haven't "won" a bid, you'd have the L&S to fall back on.

Your budget is tight but definitely doable. In addition to the previous suggestions, I stayed at the Morgan Hotel (morganhotel.co.uk) in June and was quite satisfied. I think a single would be in your price range; I stayed in a twin, and it was sufficient but not overly roomy. I preferred that location, in Bloomsbury, to the area where the Luna & Simone is (I personally find it's more convenient, though Belgravia/Victoria is fine). There are several b&b/small hotels in both Bloomsbury and the Victoria area that could work for you.

One other option, if you don't care for the "mystery" aspect of Priceline, is to see what you can get on londontown.com. It is a discount site, but lets you see exactly what hotel you're getting.

I highly recommend base2stay, which despite the plain name is an immaculate and well-located place (for both walking and taking the tube):
http://www.base2stay.com/rooms_and_rates/rates.html

Travelodge
Travelodge - great value accommodation at over 300 hotels throughout the UK and Ireland. Family rooms from £19 per room in England, Wales, Scotland and ...
www.travelodge.co.uk/

Don't forget the chain hotels - kind of like our Holiday Inns and they can be a great value - especially if you can nab, far in advance, one of their deep discounted rooms - all over London, even in such tourist hot spots as Covent Garden. Dependably clean, modern, etc.

Premier Inn Hotels are similar to Travelodges and have properties all over London - including one in County Hall, smack on The Thames and the Eye Over London Ferris Wheel

Premier Inn Hotels - UK
www.PremierInn-Hotels.com Stay in a Premier Inn Hotel in UK From Only £29 a Night.

Book Cheap Hotels in the UK & Worldwide from £29
Over 580 budget hotels across the UK, ideal for families, business and leisure. ... Norwich Nelson City Centre Riverside, Nottingham Arena (London Rd) ...
www.premierinn.com/

Thank you for all the tips and recommendations!!!

My daughter and I had great success, a B&B in a very nice neighborhood, using:

http://www.londonhometohome.com

In your price range, I think...

a few comments:

As has been clarified MANY times before on here - that Travel Lodge special will not get you anywhere near £19 in central London. For instance the Travel Lodge in Covent Garden runs over £120 a night -- on special.

Same w/ Premiere Travel Inn - those cheap rates are for motorway motels up country -- not for their central London properties. County Hall Premier Travel Inn runs £126 a night.

Base2Stay is certainly OK -- but will cost substantially more than Priceline or Luna&Simone. Most of their rooms run between £100 and £200 a night.

A Brit reported she did score a 19 pound room at Covent Garden Travelodge but you have to act far in advance. so they do indeed exist and i'm surprised Joplin did not know this since that post was a response to her similar post here that you will never get a room at Travelodge or Premier Lodges in London for under 120 quid a night. In any case either chain presents good value for what they offer in one of the world's most expensive cities for hotels.

I'd shop around for sure, but the "bijou" single at base2stay is 91 pounds (150 USD). They offer occasional deals if you sign up through their website.

As has been clarified MANY times before on here - that Travel Lodge special will not get you anywhere near £19 in central London. For instance the Travel Lodge in Covent Garden runs over £120 a night -- on special.>

well for tomorrow i just checked and there were 105 pound rooms available at TL Covent Garden - so much for the cheapest being 120 pounds on a special!

Well i just put in Nov 30 thru Dec 3 this year and could have booked a 89 pound per night room at Covent Garden Travelodge - and 89 pounds for a modern hotel right near Covent Garden is to me at least a great deal.

Palenque - I will be in London for the nights of 11/27 and 28th.I've been appreciating your suggestions on this and other posts. I have been trying to get Covent Garden Travelodge but they continue to be sold out for my dates. Is there another Travelodge location that you would recommend that would put me on/near the Picadilly line for easy access to Heathrow. Thanks.

10 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RE, United Kingdom
0871 984 6245‎

This Travelodge says it is 0.2 miles from the Covent Garden Tube stop, on the Piccadilly line.

alcook2: would you be able to provide the name of the specific B&B you stayed at?

thanks again to everyone! your recommendations have been very useful!

Travellingmom3 - Premier Inns are about the same as Tlodges it seems and this one is better located for going to Heathrow on Piccadilly line - it seems rooms can be had from 97 quid week days 87 quid weekends and the odd special perhaps lower.

London Kensington (Earls Court) Hotel | Information - cheap ...
Premier Inn – a warm welcome. Premier Inn, Information correct as of 31/10/2009 ... London Kensington (Earls Court). 11 Knaresborough Place London ...
www.premierinn.com/pti/hotelInformation.do?hotelId...

I would much rather stay on Drury Lane than Earls Court, despite a short walk to a Piccadilly station. Drury Lane is within walking distance to a LOT. Earls Court is quite far, relatively speaking (walking distance to nothing, tube ride from everything).

It was in the private home of some very nice people. I'm a little hesitant to post details on a public board since it was not like a full time B&B, and I think everything goes thru the agency for these locations.

My impesssion is that the London residents whose homes may be available for paid guests thru the "LondonHomeToHome" service are doing it on a part-time as-they-want-to basis.

For my daughter and I it was as nice as it could be, a mini-apartment on the third floor of the home. We were on a budget too and were just fine with continental breakfast items provided the night before (rather than a full served breakfast).

Suggest a phone call or email to Ann Oliver at LondonHometoHome as per the website in my earlier posting.

Hope this helps!!!

jent - i agree Drury Lane much more preferable a location - but often with TLodge and PremInns the more far out the location the cheaper they are generally - most tourists obviously want to stay in the center of things from a tourist's angle - others however like myself actually enjoy staying in more 'real' areas of London and do not mind a short commute - and to get much cheaper accommodations. I pay 23 pounds a night for a B&B i've been going to in the Eltham area - and i rather enjoy the commute in on the train each morning. I am a single traveler if i was with someone else i'd probably look strong at a chain hotel - friends often stay in the IBIS in Wembley for about 50 quid i think.

If you go to the Travelodge website, click on the 'find our lowerst prices' tab, then enter 'london' and your dates, and ask for the saver map view, you can see at one glance where your best options might be.

I put in one night - 11th Jan 2010 - and there ARE rooms available from 29GBP, though a little way out of centre.

For that particular week there are rooms at the Covent Garden Travelodge for 59 GBP and 62 GBP, depending on the night.

Fridays and Saturdays are always a higher price, but that Covent Garden Travelodge has rooms on Sunday 17th Jan for 29GBP.

Having stayed there myself I can vouch for it's being clean and a pleasant enough place to stay, and very good value for the price if you get a good saver rate. The location is also excellent.

Actually, it's the SAVER LIST you want for the at-a-glance view of the prices, not the map view, though that will show you the locations of the various T'lodges.

Pal - more power to you, then. But first-time visitors do need to be aware of the additional costs - in time, convenience and money - involved in staying out of centre before making that decision. Not quite so much an issue at Earls Court, since it is still (barely) in Zone 1, but staying in Wembley or the like is a considerably different proposition for me.

I think you should go with the Priceline name your own price bid process (I suggest you go with the four star level to start but you might consider a three star bid for less money since you will be alone). You will get a comfortable hotel probably in the area of a hundred dollars. Before bidding study www.biddingfortravel.com for reports of successful bids and, if you ask, folks on that board may guide you in your bids. An $84 bid has worked for the week you specify. You might succeed for even less.

In general the Mayfair zone will be higher than the other zones (speaking of the zones priceline uses) but Bloomsbury or Kensington or even Notting Hill should work nicely.

On a general tourism note: Check out the British Heritage Pass. Depending on where you want to go it can be a good deal. There is a bit of a sale if bought by Nov. 7. Keep in mind that some tourist sites might be on reduced hours in January and it can be difficult to cram sites into a day. On the plus side there will be fewer tourists.

If you have any questions feel free to ask (don't have a computer at home but I'm in my office a lot Monday into Saturdays since I'm self employed).

Hi; Try this hotel. It is in a decent location, near Victoria Station. Richard www.limetreehotel.co.uk

P.S. Google Lime Tree Hotel and check 'Trip Advisor'. Richard

Hotwire is another option, although the prices seem to be more expensive overall than they were last year. Sometimes though you can find a really good deal.

I just punched in the dates Jan 11- Jan 14 and for $129/night you can get either the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury (Russell Sq tube) or Holiday Inn Regent's Park (Regent's Park tube).

I don't know which one- hotels are blind on Hotwire but often you can figure out what they are- take a look at the "hotwire hotel list other countries" on betterbidding.com and browse the boards there.

Both of those Holiday Inns get decent to good reviews on trip advisor and are centrally located.

"travellingmom3: Palenque - . . . . . I have been trying to get Covent Garden Travelodge but they continue to be sold out for my dates. Is there another Travelodge location . . . .

Palenque: 10 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RE, United Kingdom
0871 984 6245‎

This Travelodge says it is 0.2 miles from the Covent Garden Tube stop, on the Piccadilly line."

I am totally confused by this exchange. The Drury Lane Travelodge IS the Covent Garden Travelodge . . . . .

not the first time...

Thank you everyone! I just booked my stay at Luna & Simone hotel...I'll be sure to post about my experience afterwards!