That's a fairly low budget for London, so don't expect luxury. I usually stay somewhere near Victoria station, which is very convenient for getting to Heathrow by Underground. It's also a bus hub and is convenient for walking to lots of spots. And there are some good budget options in the area.

If you use www.booking.com you can enter your destination as London Victoria (maybe slightly different, I'm guessing from my Italian language site). Then you can enter the number of rooms you want and the number of adults and kids in your group. (You'll have to select "other options" under the number of people to see this.)

You can sort the list by price and then look through the offerings until you see something with an acceptable guest rating. I would be cautious of places with a rating below 7. Read the guest reviews, though; some of the things that cause low ratings don't bother me.

I happened to see a place called Victoria One that has family suites with two bedrooms and a sofa bed, and that might be in your price range, or just slightly over. It gets good ratings.

That should be >>ask/hope for nearby rooms . . . <<

Just saw bevlenci's post. Victoria One is in a great location, but will be well over the budget for the flats that sleep 6.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm still searching. It appears my budget wishes are just a little too low. We were able to get our Marriott LHR hotel for Sunday night for 116 pounds, so that was the benchmark I was going off of. That was booked 2 months ago and is not in central London, so apparently I just have an unrealistic expectation.

It's amazing how difficult it is to get rooms to accommodate families of 4....

One question: If we get into Heathrow at 1045 pm at night, does the tube run that late or are we better off taking a cab into Central London?

Thanks for everyone's help!!!

The Tube runs that late. Personally, though, with 6 people, I would consider Uber or a car service.

>>If we get into Heathrow at 1045 pm at night, does the tube run that late or are we better off taking a cab into Central London?<<

>>The Tube runs that late.<<

Yes it runs that late -- however the last Piccadilly tube run starts from LHR T-1,2,3 at 11:45 and from T-5 at 11:42 so it is not certain you would be able to catch it. That only gives you and hour to walk from the (probably) remote gate, clear immigration, get your bags, buy your tube tix, etc. Everything would have to run like clockwork.

But taking a cab will be enormously expensive. Pre-book w/ justairports.com They will cost more than the tube, but much less than a taxi - and at that time of night the drive should be fairly quick.

You can't compare LHR hotel rates w/ central London rates. Just apples and oranges.

Someone above mentioned the RE hotel. I just wanted to say it's at the end of my road and while it could work for those who are revisiting London, on a tight budget and know the city well, I would not recommend it for a short visit or for the OP. I understand why it came up as it is affordable but you'd be better further in.

I agree with the advice above, don't take a black cab prebook what we call a "mini cab". We've used Blackberry cabs, they seem to be the cheaper side and I find them reliable. With six people it will be affordable.

http://blackberrycars.com

I agree looking at deals on Travelzoo could be a good idea. Also look at Orbitz and apply their current coupon PICKMEUP. I've often got good rates from them in London but you have to pick through a lot of stuff.

The Victoria One isn't that much over, assuming the budget was per room (and they were assuming two rooms) rather than for a group of six. If it was for a group of six, I don't know any place in London that would be that cheap.

It <i>might</i> just fit in the budget -- but their rates are very date specific so they'd have to plug in their dates to know for sure. Usually the smaller flats that sleep four are in that price range.

oops -- didn't mean to submit . .

But it would be good to check out because <i>if</i> you can nab a deal for one of the larger units it would be a good option.

Try on booking.com because you can look at all the various sized flats w/ availability on one page easier than on the hotels own website. If it shows availability you can always contact them directly to book.

I checked on booking.com and for a random date I chose in July, the rate was about £500 for a suite (2 bedrooms and a sofa bed) that sleeps six.

Thanks for everyone's help. Room availability everywhere was terrible for the dates we needed. We ended up at the Conrad St James for 225 pounds. More $$ than I was hoping for, but I actually feel lucky to have gotten the rooms at all and especially for this price. Funny how perspectives can change. Thanks to all!

Actually that is a VERY good rate for that hotel . . . It is in a fabulous location.

And it is a true luxury hotel. You done good.