Vita

I rented a single room, no bath at the Luna & Simone on Belgrave Road for 35 GBP. It was simple and clean and I was very happy with it. It was maybe about a 10-15 minute walk to Victoria Station.

Dale

Hi Melissa: As a fellow Canadian traveler, I know your frustration all too well. Have you tried the university residences or are your traveling when the students are in class? Here’s a web page for rooms at the Imperial College which has several reasonably priced properties around London. www.imperialcollege-conferencelink.com. Also do a search of this forum putting Imperial College in the search box. Earlier this year, there was a nice person who gave the folks at the College lots of credit for arranging budget accommodations for him. <BR><BR>Good luck and have a lovely evening,<BR>Dale <BR>

melissa

Hey Dave,eh,<BR>Thanks,eh, for the advice. I think I only need a room for 1 night and then I'll be crashing with some other people. It'll also be in Oct when kids are in school so dorms are out. I pictured B&B's way out of the city but I guess I was wrong so that's probably what I'll do. I'll just hope for the best with smoothhound since it should only be 1 night. I guess if it's more I could shop around when I get there. Guess I'll go let the sled dogs out,eh

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<BR>Try www.viamichelin.com.

Q.P.

I couldn't disagree more profoundly with Babs' notions that you should steer clear of budget accomodation, and that "if you're worried about London being expensive, don't visit."<BR><BR> By all means, visit, worries or no. I have always had to travel there on a tight budget, have never stayed in a place that cost more than &pound;70 a night (usually a lot less), and despite occasional annoyances years ago with the very cheapest of these rooms have never had less than a marvelous, inspiring, thoroughly enjoyable visit. <BR><BR>Bloomsbury, for instance, is simply studded with charming and comfortable B&Bs for well under &pound;70 a night. Many of them -- the Morgan, St Margaret's, the Arosfa, the Ruskin -- have been recommended here by Fodorites who return to them again and again. As others have mentioned, many universities rent out dorm rooms during the summer. Not only that, but many have built nice new dorm/hotels with non-students in mind -- King's College, for instance, and Imperial College -- and these can be quite inexpensive (as little as, say, &pound;40 a night for a single). <BR><BR> I agree that it can be discouraging and even shocking sometimes to read posts on this forum in which some of our more fortunate colleagues here talk about "bargain" London apartments, etc., that cost hundreds of dollars a night. But remember that everyone has different travel needs and budgets, and -- most importantly -- that you and I can stay in very nice, cozy, clean lodgings in London for a fraction of those prices and have just as much fun in London as anyone else.<BR><BR>Q.P.

Q.P.

I couldn't disagree more profoundly with Babs' notions that you should steer clear of budget accomodation, and that "if you're worried about London being expensive, don't visit."<BR><BR> By all means, visit, worries or no. I have always had to travel there on a tight budget, have never stayed in a place that cost more than &pound;70 a night (usually a lot less), and despite occasional annoyances years ago with the very cheapest of these rooms have never had less than a marvelous, inspiring, thoroughly enjoyable visit. <BR><BR>Bloomsbury, for instance, is simply studded with charming and comfortable B&Bs for well under &pound;70 a night. Many of them -- the Morgan, St Margaret's, the Arosfa, the Ruskin -- have been recommended here by Fodorites who return to them again and again. As others have mentioned, many universities rent out dorm rooms during the summer. Not only that, but many have built nice new dorm/hotels with non-students in mind -- King's College, for instance, and Imperial College -- and these can be quite inexpensive (as little as, say, &pound;40 a night for a single). <BR><BR> I agree that it can be discouraging and even shocking sometimes to read posts on this forum in which some of our more fortunate colleagues here talk about "bargain" London apartments, etc., that cost hundreds of dollars a night. But remember that everyone has different travel needs and budgets, and -- most importantly -- that you and I can stay in very nice, cozy, clean lodgings in London for a fraction of those prices and have just as much fun in that wonderful old city as anyone else does.<BR><BR>Q.P.

Mina

Melissa:<BR><BR>As QP and Ken CT mentioned, try Bloomsbury. The little hotels in Cartwright Gardens are often very reasonable. Among them are the Euro Hotel, Jenkins Hotel, George Hotel, and quite a few others. You can do a search for "Cartwright" and find lots of info.<BR><BR>Some people say this area is a bit dodgy, but I never felt it was sketchy at all.<BR><BR>I stayed at the Euro Hotel a couple of years ago. Nothing fancy in the slightest. But it was relatively clean, and the breakfasts were fine. This area is right near the Russell tube stop on the Piccadilly line, and is convenient to many west end attractions. I called for my trip this year and was quoted 45 GBP for a single room, shared bath. A couple of years ago we paid around 108 pounds for a large room that could hold 5 girls with an ensuite bath. A weeklong slumber party...

Q.P.

Apologies for the duplication -- I thought I'd stopped it in time for a bit of revision, but wound up sending it twice!<BR><BR>Let me add, though, that there's a pretty good, non-commercial guide to all these cheap places on the web at http://www.indiana.edu/~victoria/trip.html#stay<BR><BR>Q.P.

KenCT

I was about to post a rebuttal to Babs' comments. I'm glad to see that QT and Mina did so. A couple of additional thoughts: To me, time on vacation is precious. I'm not about to spend valuable time hunting for a better priced hotel. And although I use Priceline extensively, in London, I like to stay in Bloomsbury for all the reasons many have posted here before.<BR><BR>I particularly like the Cartwright Circle budget hotels for several reasons. Russell Square and the British Museum are just a few blocks in one direction, Kings Cross in the other. There's a great laundromat right on Marchmount Street so you can travel really light and meet some interesting locals at the same time. North Sea (North Star?), one of the best fish and chips places in the city is quite literally at your door, and theres a supermarket and a pharmacy a couple blocks away.<BR><BR>Since Melissa's only staying one night, these would not be top priotities, nor would they be for many people, but when I travel, I like to settle in and actually get the feeling of living where I am, and Bloomsbury does it for me.

Patti

Hi Melissa,<BR><BR>I stayed at the Georgian House Hotel near Victoria station, single with bath and full english breakfast for 49 GBP. The place is a bit threadbare but very clean and the staff was very nice. They also have an annex building around the corner with even cheaper rooms. Their web address is:<BR>www.georgianhousehotel.co.uk.<BR><BR>Patti

melissa

Actually the Georgian House is on my short list which I found thru smoothhound.com Thanks for the mention, as long as it's clean I don't really care if it's not the Ritz. Am also looking at Windsor House, Annexe and Earl's Court. Anyone know anything about these?

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Hoping someone has been to these hotels

Lori

I am also a Canadian who just spent weeks scouring the Internet for a clean, quiet, reasonable-sized room in London that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg. I finally booked the Blakemore Hotel in Bayswater, a 3* hotel near Hyde Park, for 59 GBP per room per night (twin) including continental breakfast and VAT. I checked out Smoothhound and some of the others mentioned in the posted replies to your inquiry and couldn't find anything cheaper unless it had a shared bathroom.

Genny

I stayed somewhere by Kensington Park for 14 pounds...this was a few years ago, and at the time Hostels were running about 25 pounds. Of course, this was bare bones accommodation and I shared a room with 2 other people. I found a lot of listings for cheap hotels in a book called "Europe for $50 a day." Had all sorts of budget hotels and restaurants. Hope that helps.

Lesli

Have you taken a look at Sandra Gustafson's "Great Sleeps in London?" It used to be called "Cheap Sleeps" and although a lot of the places listed are above your budget, there will definitely be those in which a single room is under 50 GPB. Another book worth a look would be Margo Classe's "Hello Great Britain", which also lists budget accomodations.<BR><BR>If you don't care to buy the book(s), you may be able to find them at the library, or browse through them (and maybe take a few notes) at a bookstore.<BR><BR>If you only have one night, I'd aim for the most central neighborhood you can afford - Bayswater or Bloomsbury would be my choices. Both also have easy connections to the airport.<BR><BR>One place I considered for my last trip was the Garden Court in Bayswater: www.gardencourthotel.co.uk A single with private facilities is 58 GBP, but if you're willing to share (with only one other room) it's only 39. Good reviews in many guidebooks.

lisa

Yet another website to try:<BR>http://www.holidaycity.com/<BR><BR>You can look for London hotels by rate, and if you choose "less than 55 pounds", you'll get about a dozen choices. Good photos, so you have some idea what you're getting....