Mike

Looking for accommodations in London with access to some major sights (downtown - close to Tube)for 40 to 60 Pounds (approx $150 Canadian) per night for two people. Any insights and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Small hotels and/or B&B's are a bonus.

kah

Balmoral House Hotel, 156 & 157 Sussex Gardens, clean, very convenient to Paddington tube and rail.
good english breakfast and all taxes for 60gbp double. Website www.balmoralhousehotel.co.uk
always stay there. owners nice & helpful. Lots of budget hotels are dumps..this is so much better than most in that price range. plenty of inexpensive places to eat nearby..italian, indian, greek, pizza, pubs, fish & chip & burgers. It is as nice as the website shows. Have fun.

Maira

I am not sure what you have in mind when asking for a "downtown" location, but I HIGHLY recommend the Victoria Inn off Belgrave Road. Within walking distance to Victoria Station (10-15 minutes), 5 minutes to Pimlico Station, it was about $90/double, breakfast included. Very clean rooms, nice staff, quiet, the street is lined with B&B's and within a residential area. My sister and I walked back at night many nights and never felt unsafe. Nice stroll to Buckingham Palace. Good restaurants within walking distance. Have fun!!

Mike

Thanks Kah and Maira. The information is very helpful. Maira, I try not to make any assumptions, but is the $90 you quote in Canadian dollars? Once again Thanks.

Jc

Check Londontown.com,there are some good deals. I have just booked Tristle Victoria for 45 pounds.

Maira

mike-- The $90/double is in dollars. Their site is http://www.victoriainn.co.uk/

My first time in London I stayed in the Bloomsbury area. It was quite central and within walking distance to the British Museum and other sights. We do NOT recommend The Londsdale Hotel, though.

Have fun!

Rex

Just published:

10 London Hotels to Call Home

By Tamsin Todd
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, October 20, 2002; Page E01

A clean, well-lighted room is hard enough to find in London, let alone one with a private bathroom in a central location that costs less than a transatlantic flight for one night's stay. While there are plenty of hotels to choose from, it's all too easy to find yourself booked into a bed-and-breakfast with the bathroom five floors away, or at an overpriced, soulless chain hotel. Still, with some research and advance booking, it's possible to find good quality, inexpensive yet charming accommodations in central London.

Read the remainder of this article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47040-2002Oct18.html

Best wishes,

Rex

Jennifer

Washington Post ran an article about lodging in London in the Sunday travel section (10/20) - should be available on line. Good luck!

kam

Friends recently stayed at The Victoria, a small place near Richmond. They loved it and said the food was great, room small but clean and bathroom private. She said it was under $100 US.

Rich

I have booked a single suite at Imperial college in early April for a conference there. The universities let out their dorm rooms during college holiday and breaks and you can't find a better deal in a better location. I will be at the college in South Kensington for 43 pound a night and with that comes all of the campus activities and facilities that the students have. The rooms seem spacious and very comfortable. If you would like the e-mail for Imperial College write to me. I don't know if other universities offer the same lodging, but they might. If you are flexible plan your stay around their vacation schedule.

lynn

I'll endorse the Balmoral House Hotel, near Paddington Station. We stayed there from 10/10-15; current rates for a double with WC, shower and full breakfast are 65 pounds. The location is great - convenient via Tube to all sights, and near some great restaurants, a laundromat, internet cafes and pubs.

Ben Haines

To the e-mail version of this message I am attaching notes on what Fodors readers have said about hotels near Victoria, plus notes on hotels on the Strand. Please write if I can help further. Welcome to London.

Ben Haines

Shayne

My wife and I stayed at the Arosfa is Bloomsbury last year and loved it. We payed 50 GBP per night for a large, clean room with bath down the hall. We were the only ones on the floor using the bathroom. The location was excellent, with two tube stops very close by. We could walk to the West end to see plays we bought tickets to. The Arosfa is listed in Let's Go and some other guidebooks. I highly recommend it! (We are fellow Canadians and too were on a tighter budget).

Debbie

Hi,
I'm topping this as I'm a teacher on a tight budget. I too am looking for a cheap, safe and clean place to stay over New Year's.

How are the hostels in London? I'm in my mid-30's and have never stayed in a backpackers place.

Thanks,
Debbie

Bhakti

Check on www.activehotels.com

janis

Debbie. There are many inexpensive B&Bs in good areas of London. Places for £30-£40 or less per person per night. London Hostels will not be much cheaper. There are some good hostels in London - but there are also some TERRIBLE ones where you'll share facilities with homeless and asylum seekers. The good ones are VERY popular and usually fully booked.

I often recommend hostels in places like Scotland, or the West Country - but not in London. You can get almost as cheap and much more comfortable accomodations in a Victoria, Bayswater, Russell Sq. or Earls Court B&B.

Julie

Has anyone stayed at the Grenville House Hotel in the Bloomsbury area? A double is 54pounds - any input?

http://www.grenvillehotel.co.uk/

S. C. DIXON

Agree with Maira, Bloomsbury/Russell Square are is very good (of course there is no “down town” London, unless you mean the City…and it would hardly be a place to stay) and also agree to avoid the Lonsdale like the plague. A friend of mine always stays at St. Margaret’s and we always stay at the Celtic, both within your budget and both threadbare but very clean and plenty of atmosphere.

Sam

I've stayed in Bankside House which is a university hall of residence for the London School of Economics. It is in an excellent position just behind the Tate Modern and within walking distance of the Globe, the Millenium Bridge and St Pauls. It is very inexpensive, but perfectly adequate with an en suite shower room. The breakfast in the morning was good and the service friendly. See http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/vacations/

Tilly

Could anybody tell me what's wrong with the Lonsdale? We booked it for a trip next year -- should we change it?? Thanks!