London for Spring Break 2012 - Where to stay

Look at Priceline. Many here use it to get good hotel prices.
Also, keep in mind B&Bs, there are many in the Bloomsbury area.

http://www.harlingfordhotel.com/booking.html

£200/night is absolutely doable for a single room. Try Londontown.com, or smaller b&bs rather than large hotels (lots of suggestions here if you do a search).

Hotel rooms in London (and Europe in general), though, are generally much smaller than it sounds like you're used to. You might have better luck contacting a smaller hotel/b&b directly and asking for a triple room (usually one double/queen + a twin), but I'm not sure how likely it is that you'll be able to find a king.

Bloomsbury is my own favorite area to stay in (others here often recommend Mayfair, Victoria and South Kensington as well). I stayed at the Morgan Hotel a couple of years ago - it's very well located. The rooms are small compared to US hotel rooms, but as I said, that is not at all unusual for London. Their web site indicates that they have a triple room that will be within your budget.

http://www.morganhotel.co.uk/price_list.html

Another that fits into your price range, very nice place, good location.

http://www.theetoncollection.co.uk/content.aspx?pageid=410

Thankyou Michel and Jent for the the suggestions.. I think "Triple room" is a key term I just learned. I will look into these!

OK, first the bad news!
King beds are rare in the UK.
The majority of beds in hotels are doubles (4' 6"). A single bed is 3' wide.
Less common are queen beds (5' wide) and sometimes these are described as kingsize.

I plugged in your dates and if you're prepared to prepay you can get the Novotel Tower Bridge with a queen bed and a sofa bed for around $200 a night.
Weekend nights are usually cheaper at Novotels.

Travelodges have smaller rooms and usually double beds but are cheaper.

Priceline doesn't guarantee 2 beds and usually only works for 2 people prepared to share a bed.

Thanks Sassy...

Generally, what Americans call Queen beds are referred to as Kingsize beds in the UK. Very occasionally I've found larger (US King) beds in some pricey business hotels, but it's not the norm, especially in London where average hotel rooms are too small to fit such large furniture in.

What's a "divider" - translation please?

Forget Priceline, you can search for rooms for more than 2 people per room on http://www.laterooms.com/

One other idea, if space is extremely important and you'll be staying for several nights, is to look for an apartment. I haven't rented one in London myself and I'm not sure how likely it is that you'll find one in your budget, but there are many, many threads here about London apartments. Wouldn't hurt to look through them.

Thanks Gordon, I just meant like a little separation between the adults and child... We do not normally all sleep in the same room as it's my b/f, not my ex(her dad)

Thanks Jent, I've thought of that, I'm just not sure they come with everything? Towels, sheets, etc... We're coming from the US

We have just booked here,
Seems very reasonable and close to everything
Approx 100 pound/night

http://www.parkgrandlondon.co.uk/index.php

I'd be surprised if they didn't, though I suppose there might be a few. The one I rented in Rome came with everything furnished. They usually rent to tourists who don't feel like lugging their linen closets with them.

Yes, apartments come with linens, towels, dishes, utensils, pots and pans. Here's one site with many reasonably-priced listings in London: www.rentals.chslondon.com. Another good site with lots about renting self-catering accommodations in Europe is www.slowtrav.com. It has reviews of rentals and rental agencies.

London isn't terribly walkable. No one location is central to all sights. So you will be using public transportation. (Search this forum for the many discussions on Oyster Passes, travelcards, and 2-for-1 tickets.) Generally stay north of the river in a one-digit postal code (SW2,WC1, etc.) These are more or less in the center of London.

Speaking of walking, look at www.walks.com. London Walks offers a wide variety of walking tours as well as some all-day excursions.

Samo64: "Seems very reasonable and close to everything"

Sorry but that hotel is not 'close to everything'- not actually close to much except Paddington Station and Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens.

Fishnlines: Unfortunately Priceline isn't an option since it only deals in doubles. Though for the same sort of pay-in-advance-discounts you can use Hotwire. Your budget is quite generous for an apartment, but the problem is you are traveling so soon and many flats book up weeks/months in advance.

Laterooms.com and Londontown.com are good sites for hotels.

The OP is looking for a triple room I believe. There are a couple of problems - most rooms have one double bed and no room for anything else. And don;t order a "cot" for your daughter since that is British for a baby's crib.

Some room will have queen size beds - I have seen VERY few actual king size beds in europe except for a few very upscale hotels (as in $600-700 per night or more).

You need to look for a family room and probably accept that the best you can do is 2 double beds.

We had a great experience booking a London apartment through www.londonconnection.com They have several properties that would be in your price range; a one bedroom with a sleeper sofa would work if a two bedroom is not available. You can search availability by the number of people who will occupy the place.
The company is based in the US and all staff were very friendly and easy to work with in making arrangements. We booked airport transport with their driver and that was excellent, too. They do have agents in London to meet and orient you to the apartment and to be available if needed. We wound up being stuck behind the volcanic ash cloud and the staff was great, took good care of us.
The apartments are fully furnished, including linens. I would not wait to reserve, though, as their places tend to book up fast.

That may be so Janisj but what is that is of a reasonalble rate

Some reviews from Trip Advisor below

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g186338-d1575619-Reviews-Park_Grand_London_Paddington-London_England.html

Fishinlines29
Here is a Very Good Link to what you may be looking for

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotels-g186338-London_England-Hotels.html

The Morgan does have some apartment suites. You can Google the hotel.

Hi,Fishnlines29.

I found the base2stay in Kensington to be a very comfortable hotel with an easy tube connection to Heathrow. The hotel service was superb, as well. The tube is very close, but I loved my walks all over London back to the hotel... from Piccadily, the City, Notting Hill, etc. There's so many wonderful buildings to see, walking is half the fun.
http://www.base2stay.com/kensington-london/the-hotel
Highly rated at tripadvisor.com, which is how I found it. They have a deluxe room that might appeal.

Also, I was looking at the London Melia White House for 3 adults last spring because my company had a corporate rate--but I didn't stay there. Location is near Regents Park. Maybe a Londoner can chime in this location near Regents Park and the Great Portland STreet tube stop.
http://www.melia-whitehouse.com/en/melia-white-house.html

Good luck with your search!

Maybe try www.onefinestay.com.
I have not actually used them yet, but I read an article on them, and the properties look great.

The Marylebone Hotel is great and has rooms from 145 pounds, but not triples (as far as I know). Wonderful location.

Thanks everyone, all great suggestions and I will review!

Samo64: It is great to be enthusiastic and recommend a hotel/neighborhood. But it is usually best to wait until after one has actually stayed there.

Especially using the hotel's own description about it being 'close to everything'. Paddington/Bayswater isn't . . .

Fishnlines29: Nothing 'wrong' w/ Paddington- it is just a bit far from most areas you'll want to visit. I'd start by searching the listings on Londontown/Laterooms and then you can double check back here about the locations before booking.

Thanks Janis, I think I'm leaning toward a hotel in the bloomsbury area as many have mentioned.

Also, I found a couple of possible apts right near the tower of london, tower bridge, not sure how it would be to stay right there, neighborhood wise at night, also seems a bit further out? I know most things are relatively close by tube. Or also wasn't sure about area around Victoria station.. and third place that has some nice apts Holland Park, that area seems ok? From my memory (of way back when) i want to stay on the central side from the river, yes?

The Tower area is fine in terms of public transit, but it's pretty quiet at night - the City is a financial district, so it's busy during the day but not that many restaurants, etc at night. Both it and Holland Park are accessible (the Tower area probably a little more so), but you won't be able to walk to much. The Bloomsbury and Victoria areas are more central and have more options in the evening. From Bloomsbury you can walk to the British Museum, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, even Westminster if you're hearty; from Victoria station, you can walk to Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Hyde Park.

of those areas Bloomsbury and Victoria would be the most convenient by far.

As for near the Tower -- it is a bit farther from most sites, except for the Tower/Tower Bridge/the River. Having said that -- I did rent a flat (2 flats actually) in St Katharine's Marina about 18 months ago and loved it there. The scenery, the Tower, lots of places to eat/drink, and easier transport links than one would guess. (I usually stay in Pimlico which is near Victoria)

Partly depends on exactly where you mean . . .