Another London lodging question
 

Can all you helpful Fodorites be bothered for yet another London accomodation question?

It's our first time in London not very familiar with the area. We will be there for 5 nights beginning in August. We would like to keep hotel cost at $150-$180/pn.

I've looked at 2 B&B and read their reviews at TripAdvisor: Victoria Inn at Belgrave Road and Hyde Park Radnor at Sussex Place. The comments that made us rethink about these two places are how tiny the rooms are. I'm 5'10" and my husband 6'2" so don't know for sure if we'll feel cramp. Plus how centrally located are these two b&b?

The other alternative is use Priceline or Hotwire. Would a 3* at Soho/Mayfair or Kensington/Earl's court be OK? Are these areas centrally located? How soon should I start bidding for arrival in London on August 11th? The other thing that worries me is just in case our plans changed, I can't refund the money and we're out close to a $1K.

We're not really looking for luxury- just somewhere clean, ensuite bathroom, bigger than closet size room so we're not bumping into each other and an area that is safe and close to a tube for the nights we'll be getting home late from the theatre. We've stayed a lot at Holiday Inn Express and Marriot hotels, which I belive are 3* here in the US.

All and replies is much appreciated.

Baljit

Hi there-

It looks like you have done a considerable amount of research.

I'd say Holiday Inn Exress is more of 2.5* whereas Holiday Inn is 3*, and Marriott is a 4*.

For your budget, you can check Luna & Simone, or the Arosfa. Both get good reviews here.
www.arosfalondon.com/
www.lunasimonehotel.com

Bidding 3* for the 2 areas you mentioned are probably okay. You should start as soon as your plan is set. If you're not sure, you can consider getting travel insurance (but make sure it'll cover your hotel costs).

Another issue is a/c - you're going in mid-August and it can be hot, but a/c is not common in London, esp in B&Bs. So depends on whether you're someone who absolutely needs a/c or you can tolerate some heat.

Lastly, take a look at Travelodge.co.uk, they have advance bookings and those in London run around £80-90/night for your dates.

Thank you for your reply, yk.

Do you know how far of a walk the nearest tube from lunasimone hotel?

A friend has actually recommended travelodge. There are several of them around London. Which one would you recommend that is near a tube station and close to some of London sights?

Once again many thanks.

For Travelodge options, I recommend Covent Garden (actually it's near Holborn) or Marylebone. Book online and as soon as possible to get the best rates. A family room might give you a little more space.

http://www.travelodge.co.uk/

Another possibility is to book accommodation in university halls of residence. For example:
www.lse.ac.uk/collections/vacations/
A twin en suite room with breakfast would be £70 at Bankside House and self catering with a double/twin en suite room would be £79 at Northumberland House (great location).

I wouldn't bid 3 star - you can get 4 stars well w/i your budget in most London Priceline zones

No budget hotel/B&B will have large rooms (or almost none anyway)

The Luna & Simone is walking distance to 2 tube stations - a bit closer to Pimlico but also not far from Victoria.

If you haven't used Hotwire or Priceline before, make sure you check out biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com first.

You *should* be able to get a 4* with your budget, but for a 5-night stay plus midweek can be a problem. Also, beware that the taxes & fees are an additional 20%. So your maximum room rate is ~$125-$150/n + 20%.

To get the lowest rates on travelodge, I believe it's also pre-pay, nonrefundable.

I'll place the LSE accomodation as last resort. These are student dorms so definitely no luxury. Also, the rooms have twin beds and not double bed.

Good advice so far. I'll just add that most rooms will seem small even if you were to increase your hotel budget. It's mostly a matter of degree. Priceline etc will be your best choice and the larger hotels chains, especially 4*, will likely have air conditioning.

For B&B's, janisj is correct in that air conditioning is hardly an option, but if you can arrange a ground floor room ie. lower level, it will be cooler.

We had never used Priceline before our trip last October but would now recommend it to all our friends. We stayed at Hilton Metropole for about $100 US and it was a 2 minute walk to the Edgeware station. The rooms were clean and although they are smaller than US rooms we didn't feel crowded. There was also a bus stop close by so we took the bus to Trafalgar Square our first afternoon and then walked to other locations from there.

Thank you very much for all your replies and advice.

After looking at dozens of B&Bs, it does seem to me that B&B rooms are smaller and most have no a/c. Quite understandable as these are homes converted to lodgings. Thank you Janis and HistoryTraveller for confirming this. I think if I was by myself, I wouldn't have a problem. Too bad because I kinda fancy the idea of staying in a converted London Townhouse along a quiet street (my convulted, idealistic, romantic view of London.)

I think we'll go the PL/Hotwire route. Do they almost always give out double rooms? I hate to be stuck in a twin room and not be able to change it to double.

I didn't know they tuck in as much as 20% additional fees - thanks yk for the heads up. I think that was another reason why I was looking at B&Bs because most of the ones I checked out says VAT is already included.

Londonres, thanks for suggesting Travelodge Covent Garden location. Do you know how far of a walk that place to the nearest tube?

Snowflake, what area in PL did you choose to get your hotel.

Once again thank you all for your help. Baljit.

I recently used PL & Hotwire to book hotels for London, so I saw that the fees/taxes tagged on another 20%. But when you use either PL/Hotwire, both will show you the final charges (all-inclusive) BEFORE you hit that purchase button. So there won't be surprises. But I just want to give you heads up b/c one can get carried away when bidding.

In all my Priceline wins in London (~ 1/2 dozen times), I never had a room with 2 small twin beds. Usually it's one double bed (Queen), other times is 2 beds (full or queen).

The Hilton Metropole is 4* in Bloosmbury/Marble Arch zone on Priceline.

The Travelodge Covent Garden is on Drury Lane. No more than 1/4 mile to 3 different tube stations: Covent Garden, Holburn, and Tottenham Court Road. The location is excellent.

In contrast, I've had rooms with two twin beds, on Priceline bids in London, most of the time, but that may be because I asked for two beds. Come to think of it, the exceptions have been when I was traveling alone. When alone, I once got a small double, and once got an executive queen (because I arrived very late and so got an upgrade).

Once when traveling with a kid, we were given an executive king as a compensation for a screwup, and this had a sofabed as well.

WillTravel- were the twin beds in 3* hotels?

I don't think I have ever bidded for anything less than a 4* in London.

I got two large beds (what we call King Singles ins Australia) at the Hilton Islington. I did tell them I was travelling as a single.

That was on priceline.

Every time I've used PL in London - at the time of check in they asked me if I wanted one bed or twins. Each time I was traveling solo.

generally - you are guaranteed a double - but the hotel usually tries to work w/ you if there are options.

Also - at check in they will often offer an upgrade for a modest extra fee.

Oh - meant to add, most of that 20% add-on is the VAT that is charged on every hotel, not just PL bids.

My experience with the twin beds has been at 2*, 3*, and 4* hotels in London (and London Heathrow). Judging by what has been posted, it seems that in general the clerk generally makes an effort to give a room suitable to the people he/she sees standing there, so long as there are no more than two people.

I do think you have a better chance of comfortable beds at a business-class hotel (like a 4* Priceline hotel or even 3* Priceline hotel) than you would at a B&B, except for the most upscale ones.

BaljitKL: Just so you aren't disappointed giving up your idea of staying in a comfy B&B -- your preconception is not the general rule.

Out in the countryside, B&Bs usually are nice rooms in private homes. But in London, the term B&B is usually applied to either downscale, tourist class hotels w/ no public facilities and a breakfast room in the basement, or to a room or two in an larger apartment. Very few, except far out in the suburbs, would be houses.

A London B&B is more often a pretty bleak B&B hotel than a cozy/comfy/chintzy bed and breakfast. There are quite nice B&B hotels -- but even those are usually pretty basic.

I was just afraid that being a peak tourist time (mid-august), booking for mid-week (Monday-Saturday) and our reservation "just" through PL, the hotel manager may just stick us to what is available and it could very well be a twin room. Thanks for your reply WillTravel and Sarvowinner. It seems the hotels are willing to make accomodations when necessary. I guess it's PL for us then.

Janis, thanks for your reply. I know what you mean about B&Bs in the country. We initially toyed with the idea of spending a night in the Cotswold and found really charming B&Bs in Oxford. I naively thought we can find something similar in London. Those B&Bs within our budget were OK but the rooms really looked cramp.

Actually - you'll likely have a better chance at a good PL win in August than some other months. There is relatively less business travel in August.