Budget/student london hotel
 

My daughter and four friends need a London accommodation for one night. Most of the budget hotels are booked, as are the London School of Economics dorms. The LSE dorm available is at Bankside. What would that be like at night?

Any other suggestions? They are only finding rooms for $300 for a double. I don't think Priceline would work for them. I was thinking that maybe some of the larger hotels catering to businesspeople might have lower rates on weekends?

They should look for a hostel rather than a hotel. If there are 5 of them they might be able to find a private room for 6 rather than just dorm beds.

Have a look at Hosteling International - which are usually reliable.

Ok. Thanks. On the hotel front they were assuming they would share two rooms for the five of them.

If the Bankside dorm is the one on the Southbank next to the Globe Shakespeare theatre, I'd grab it.

PS: It's a great neighborhood, as safe as only other London neighborhood, maybe more so because of the theater crowd and no end of activity in that area after dark.

Have them check www.yha.org.uk

YHA has several hostels in London. While we didn't stay at any of their London properties, we were very pleased with the other YHA hostels we used last year.

Lee Ann

I'm not sure why you think Priceline wouldn't work for them.

Check www.betterbidding.com and see what the rates are running now. It looks like some 4 star rooms are coming up for $90 (plus taxes). 2 or 3 star rooms would likely be even cheaper.

They would have to bid for 3 rooms, as only 2 people per room are guaranteed. I've bid on 2 rooms before and had no problem. There is a point in the process where you can specify the number of rooms.

if your daughter and her friends are only staying one night and are ok with staying in hostels, have her look into the Ashlee House.

www.ashleehouse.co.uk

Very nice hostel, there are rooms that vary from singles, twins, triples, 4-6, 8-10, and dorm styles. So if your daughter and her friends wanted a room to themselves, they could book a small room. You do have to share a shower, but they're very nice. Breakfast is included in the price.

This is one of the better London hostels:

http://www.generatorhostels.com/

But, I think Priceline might yield something for as little or less than any hostel.

travelgourmet: have you stayed at the generator hostel? During my 3 week trip to Europe, I met SOOOO many people that have stayed at the generator during that time and they all said it was horrible! My friend and I did have reservations for that hostel, but switched them because of all the bad things we heard about it.

Not sure if you stayed there before or not, but maybe it's gone down the tube since you last stayed.

Thanks for the suggestions. Almost all the places she checked were booked, so they've ended up at the Royal National at Russell Sq.

genabee6: I haven't stayed there, but I have friends who have stayed there and liked it, but it has been a couple of years. It does get some big groups, so perhaps that can have something to do with it - if one of the groups is rowdy, I could see it being a hassle.

Nonetheless, I really don't see the point of staying in any hostel, unless you are traveling alone (and even then). You will almost certainly get a better deal on Priceline.