I am traveling to London in July for the first time
and a looking for a reasonably priced ($70.00)BB or small hotel near Kensington,Chelsea,Sloane square or Hampstead in the north. I am trying to find a single with ensuite or private bathroom, also near a tube stop. Are there any other nice areas in central London that have reasonable accommodations? What about Victoria and Paddington,I have heard they are run down and somewhat seedy? Safety is a concern as I am a female traveling alone. Thank You for your advice.

I am a female and traveled alone to London last September. Absolutely no problems. I stayed at
the Georgian House Hotel on St. Georges Drive. This is a four minute walk from Victoria Station. You can easily walk to Buckingham Palace and on Sunday when the traffic is closed in St James's park its a nice walk to Taffalgar and the National Gallery. The rooms may be a bit seedy but the breakfast is great and the cost for a single shared bath was 18 pounds!!!!

Too bad you missed the recent Fodor's Forum on London -- there were two great listings on B&B's. "Robert" (an editor from Fodor's) mentioned: 1) the "Vicarage" (near the High Street Kensington station), which he described as very popular, although a bit "frayed", but cheap, "overlooking a garden square"; 2) the "Gate", located on Portobello Road, near antique stores and described as "the tiniest hotel in London"; and 3) "Collin House", a "spotless Victorian B&B" located between Chelsea, Belgravia and Pimplico. Also, a friend recommended "Hotel 167" (a Victorian house, located in Kensington). (You mentioned price as a factor, so not including higher priced B&B's.)

As for personal experience, I have stayed at the "Aster House Hotel" (both on my own and with friends). Centrally located, it's about one block from the South Kensington tube. (Near the V&A Museum, Royal Albert Hall & Harrod's). Very reasonable rates, a white Victorian building with about 12 rooms on a quiet street. It has a private garden in the back, but the nicest plus is eating breakfast in the l'Orangerie on the 2nd floor, a combination dining area and sitting room. The sun streams into the glass-covered room, and you have a full view of the street below (they offer a hot & cold breakfast buffet). Rooms vary in quality -- Room #1 is great on the first floor, with 2 large windows, with flower boxes, opening onto the street. I recently stayed up on the top floor in February in a very tiny room (but cheap) and it was COLD (however, the manager put a heater in the room and it warmed up quickly). (All rooms have private bath & refrigerator.)

It's very easy to get to from the airport (about 40 mins. from Heathrow on the Piccadilly Line), and there are shops, grocery & drug store, post office & plenty of late night restaurants on Old Brompton Rd (1/2 block away).

Hotel info:
Aster House Hotel
3 Sumner Place
London, SW7 3EE
0171/581-5888
fax: 0171/584-4925

Hope this is helpful to you. Have a great trip.

Sorry -- after that long-winded recommendation, I realized I forgot to mention that the Aster House is a little bit more than your desired price, but the smallest rooms come close..... It's really a great value and location, so you may want to consider the extra cost.....

Our B&B (really a small hotel) was the Westminster House Hotel, 96 Ebury St., walk to everything you mention. Just about $100/night with full breakfast. Clean, very quiet, with ensuite facilities in tiny rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Jones (proprietors) and their three daughters were very nice. Walk to either Victoria or Sloane Square tube stop (we preferred the latter, as it took us right through our lovely neighborhood, Belgravia -- Mrs. Thatcher lives on the square behind, according to our host!). We would return - lodging is SO expensive in central London and this was good value. We took the Airbus #1 in from LHR right to Victoria coach station, less than 2 blocks from the B&B - easy (especially upon arriving, when one doesn’t yet know how to use the Tube!) but it was also late evening, when there was no traffic driving toward London; if you’re flying overnite, it could be a slow commute into the city. The tube is faster; we took it from the B&B out to LHR on departure day - cost about $5. email me if you want more info. Hampstead is lovely but a long tube ride from central London.
The Belgravia location, quiet (we're not looking for nightlife, just a good night's sleep!), clean private facilities and nice hosts all at reasonable price for London more than make up for small, "slightly worn" rooms! Telephone (0)171-730-4302. (also the Fax-- they’ll answer the phone and then switch to fax).