Kandace_York

Hello and thanks for reading this. Husband and I, plus two teenaged daughters, are trying to find an affordable hotel room in or near London for four nights in September.

Do English hotels have bedroom suites with one king bed and two double beds? Or do they have adjoining rooms? It's tough to tell from the information online.

I can't find anything for less than $400 per night, per room. I even checked into hostels which would run $200 to $300 per night for the four of us (ouch!).

We're pretty basic people ... when we travel in the U.S. we stay at hostels or state parks and are quite comfortable with that. I know England is a pricey place to stay, but what "suburb" options exist?

Our London destinations are pretty typical:
- Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye
- Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Crown Jewels, Beafeater Tour
- Royal Mews, Kensington Garden
- day trip to Stonehenge

Suggestions welcome ... thank you!

Gordon_R

<i>Do English hotels have bedroom suites with one king bed and two double beds?</i>

No, this is quite rare as our rooms are small (land prices being very high). Rooms normally have just a double/king bed. Adjoining rooms are however readily available.

<i>I can't find anything for less than $400 per night, per room. I even checked into hostels which would run $200 to $300 per night for the four of us (ouch!).</i>

Can't believe that, it sounds well wide of the mark to me. Where exactly are you looking...?

Kandace_York

Thanks, Gordon_R. Much appreciated.

I'm looking in London proper, but everyplace except the hostels says it's fully booked.

I'm fine staying outside London -- one daughter is fairly miserable in cities anyhow -- but am just not sure where to start. I thought maybe some gigantic thing was happening in late September that I was unaware of.

nytraveler

No - the average hotel room in the UK has one double bed and is for 2 people. Some can bring in a roll-away bed for a child (small child). But for 4 people (2 double beds) you will have to get a double double room - which is larger and will cost more.

As for a room with one king and 2 doubles I don;t think you will find that anywhere. If you get a 2 bedroom suite at an American style hotel you might get a king in one bedroom, a double in the other and a fold out sofa double in the LR. But that would cost way more than what you are looking at. And be careful about "kings" - most king beds in europe would be considered queens in the US.

You might do better to bid Priceline for 2 rooms (one for parents and one for teens) - we always got our DDs their own room since I wasn't about to share a bath with 2 tween/teen girls. This might get you a decent place in a fairly central location for about $150 or so per room. And frankly, I think the girls will hae to be willing to share a bed - although you might find a room with two single (not double) beds.

mztery

I looked at londontown.com and saw many options for suites/family rooms - several budget options a $150-300

londontown.com

mztery

Also, Palmers Lodge in Swiss Cottage appears to have their 6 bed mixed dorm room available for $175/night .It's a hostel but not just for loud backpackers A bit out of the main places in town but quite lovely and still om the Tube

Kandace_York

I checked Londontown.com and didn't find anything at all under $200 ... and I believe Palmers Lodge is one of the hostels that doesn't allow anyone under 16 years old (I'll double-check both sites).

NYtraveler, thanks for the insight. We may as well prepare the girls for having to share a bed -- that way perhaps they'll have a pleasant surprise if we get something more. I guess, having traveled along in Europe, I really did not have a realistic idea of how much a family complicates things.

Thanks for the direction -- back to hunting mode.

Kandace

Scootoir

Kandace
Take a look at the Lime Tree Hotel: www.limetreehotel.co.uk/rates.php
It offers a family room with 1 double and 2 single beds. I have not stayed there but it was our top selection to book for London this fall until we decided to rent an apartment.

janisj

What you should be looking for is a 'family room'. There are MANY inexpensive to moderately priced B&B hotels around Victoria, Earls Court, and Paddington/Bayswater. Now, normally I <i>never</i> recommend Paddington or Earls Court --but they have a lot of cheap places and would be MUCH better than staying out of town.

"<i>I'm fine staying outside London -- one daughter is fairly miserable in cities anyhow -- </i>"

She'd be even <i>more</i> miserable having to travel 45 mins to an hour each way on the tube to get anywhere in London.

Also try Hotwire -almost as cheap as priceline but you can bid for more than 2 in a room. Though you have left things a bit late - are you talking about the beginning of Sept? Because the ParaOlympics are a HUGE event and is bringing max room rates. If you are traveling after the games (Sept 9 onwards) you should have a better chance.

If you are there the first week of Sept, can you rearrange things so you arrive in London on a later date?

stokebailey

These Bloomsbury hotels have basic quads (bathroom down hall) including breakfast and VAT. It won't be a king and two doubles, of course.

http://www.arranhotel-london.com/rates.htm

Celtic Hotel, also Bloomsbury, less pricy:

http://www.stmargaretshotel.co.uk/s_t_a_y.html

Our teenage daughters liked Arran House a lot, and it's right on a bus line south, easy walking distance to Covent Garden and British Museum.

BigRuss

Try to find an apartment. Go googling, there are thousands out there. Apartments will be en suite, no trekking down the hall and hopping from foot to foot while one of the neighbors takes his time reading the newspaper on the can.

Also check out Oakwood.com. Normally they only let for 30 day stays but when it's close to visiting time and they have availability, they're happy to fill the space with paying customers. There are plenty of Oakwood properties in London and they have apartments for let, not just "rooms" because the company normally caters to temporary business workers on assignment.

amamax2

How old are your teens?

We stayed for just one night in a family room at a Premier Inn with our two teens boys (13 & 15, both about 5'8" - but skinny). It came with a Queen, a twin, and a trundle. While the trundle bed was not ideal for the one who got it, he said it was comfortable enough. For only 4 nights, it *might* be an option as the Premier Inns are fairly inexpensive.

I just did a quick check for a stay staring Sept 19 and you can book the one at Tower Bridge for average $156 per night (rates per night - one night was even only $77) for the family room. They also have breakfast on site (for a fee) - nothing to write home about but a decent buffett with hot and cold items, and kids 15 and under eat free with paying adult.

amamax2

Sorry, meant to say rates vary per night.

Fodorite018

Take a look at Travelodge. Three of us stayed at the one at Covent Garden last summer and it was fine. We got a steal of a rate, but even their normal rates come in under your budget. We had either a double or queen (can't remember, but think it was a queen) and then a rollaway. They have rooms for 4 people though, and some are pull out sofas. The room we had would have easily fit another rollaway, so you might get 2 of those. You could ask anyway.

dutyfree

I have always had good luck with booking.com but would highly recommend you check the Holiday Inn-Kensington in London. It is located in a great location for everything! You can take the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow airport nonstop/45 minutes/about $6.00 directly to this hotel which is a 5 minute walk from the Gloucester Road tube station. This area has tons of restaurants,food shops,etc. and this tube station has all of the main lines to everywhere in London without major changes.

The hotel itself has a workout room,internet,Starbucks coffee shop in the lobby along with a newstand and concierge who will help you with anywhere you want to go as in brochures,tips,etc. The restaurant for breakfast is amazing and huge-unbelievable amounts of anything that you would want to eat at that time of the day. There is also a regular restaurant that actually has great food if the weather turns bad along with a very reasonable and fun bar on the first floor. The room have some amazing views. The rooms are twin beds or doubles,I believe along with all the various TV stations you would want. Bathrooms are average for the UK. I have gotten a room there for anywhere from 96 pounds to 138 pounds depending on season and when I booked.Most hotels will have you take two rooms but you can request them next to each other as our family has done.
There is also a NH Harrington and Millenium right across the street in the same area.My other favorite is the Holiday Inn-Bloomsbury which is right by Russell Square tube station. Our family used to stay there when my son was in graduate school at UCL and it is very centrally located with a great mall with Waitrose,Boots,etc. right across the street.Cute neighborhood with alot of nice pubs and restaurants too!

LJ

I saw Celtic Hotel suggested above and wanted to chime in. We have stayed there in a situation similar to yours and it was just fine...a little shabby in parts but in the process of a renovation. The location, Bloomsbury, can't be beat.

If there is any military connection in the family, you may be eligible for membership in the Victory Services Club which entitles you to stay in their wonderful, clean inexpensive and well-located (Marble Arch). Even with the cost of family membership this hotel comes in WELL below the prices you are quoting...they do not do family rooms, but they do have adjoining.

suneet

Have a look at Days Inn Hounslow (http://www.daysinn.com/hotels/united...hotel-overview). It is further away from central London but the rooms are fabulous. They are 3 star but more like 4. The rooms are fairly big considering the size of rooms i have seen elsewhere in London.
The hotel is less than 100 yards from the Piccadilly line tube station which connects directly to Heathrow airport and Central London. In terms of time - it takes about 40 minutes to Piccadilly Circus by tube. I earlier used to stay in central London but then rarely did anything of this level cost me less than GBP 150 per night - this costs about just under GBP 70 if booked in advance. i prefer to save on the hotel and spend on otherwise what is a very expensive city. last time i was there i met a family of 4 staying there. So it should be possible but i don't see it on the website. I can suggest calling them and checking. It may work.

Before proceeding do check out its tripadvisor reviews as its been a year since i last stayed.

suneet

i just checked again - it has a room with 1 double and 1 single (and maybe possible to do a roll-away)and it is quoting 61.77 per night for a random date I searched for in September 2012.

janisj

IMO -- for a first visit it would be a HUGE <B>HUGE</B> mistake to stay in Hounslow no matter the savings. Unless it was free, and even then I'd have second thoughts. And especially for a family.

stokebailey

I still feel kind of bad about booking my mother and myself a small hotel in Hampstead when she wanted to be near the Marble Arch. (I was going for out-of-the-way charm, and this was before the Internet) It turned out to be probably her only visit to London, and of course we spent a lot of time on the Tube to get anywhere. She only grumbled a little, but still.

Stay in town, as janis advises.