hi, so 4 of us are trying to find the cheapest place to stay while we are traveling in london for a week. it is mixed. there are 3 girls and 1 boy but we'd all like to stay together.

we've looked at options like hostels that are a 4 person private dorm type...craigslist where we can rent a flat..and B&B.

does anyone have any suggestions of where else to look? i've done hostelworld and yha.org. we're trying really hard to find something under 20 pounds a day..but trying to be realistic around 25 pounds for each of us for something not too sketchy.

There are many sites where you can find nice flats for less than £100 per night. I'd start w/ vrbo.com

I feel better about vrbo for vacation rentals than craigslist. But that is just me.

When is your trip? If during school breaks, most of the colleges in London rent out student housing as B&B accomodations.

Easyhotel?

Craig's List is unsupervised and unregulated. While many people make successful connections there, when it goes wrong, it's really wrong.
I wouldn't give money to any listing on Craig's List unless I found reviews on the companies on other web sites. At least use a credit card so that you'd have some backup.

But isn't the same true of vrbo? No guarantee of the apartment even being there. Or owned by the advertiser.

That's why I deal with agencies. Plus then I can charge my deposit on a credit card and have some hope of getting it back if things are not as advertised.

some people feel better with agencies...I tend to feel better contacting the owner directly...just what I prefer - there are advantages to both.

I would try some of the UK sites though...HolidayLettings, HolidayLets, OwnersDirect, and Holiday-Rentals, are some of the bigger ones.

Do a google search with yiur location, but use the term "holiday rental" or "self-catering"

thanks everyone!

we are going jan8-22 but are only spending 5-7 days there

Premier lodge or Travel lodge do rooms for £50to£100per night. A 'family' room which is a double & 2 single beds that store under the double will take 4 people. That works out at 20 each. Some of the places outside of London are really good. I have stayed at Wembley, Gloucester & Oxford and would stay again.
My daughter was uncomfortable on the single as it was low to the floor & hard but I found it ok. They have locations all over UK.

We have lucked out with both craigslist and vrbo, but realize that it's iffy with either. I don't think vrbo visits the rentals or anything to make certain they exist or resemble their photos.

There's a good "sticky" on avoiding holiday rental fraud in London on the Tripadvisor London forum:

http://tinyurl.com/22s9hv

Definitely be more skeptical if the phone number is a cell phone, and try to figure out where the phone number is located.

Three hotels in central London which have generally good reviews on Tripadvisor and show Winter rates for quad rooms at right around 100 pounds are:

Arran House Hotel:
http://www.arranhotel-london.com/

Arosfa Hotel:
http://www.arosfalondon.com/

Rhodes Hotel:
http://www.rhodeshotel.com/default.asp

Both Arosfa and Arran House are in Bloomsbury where I have stayed, and I generally like the neighborhood a lot.

One further suggestion is to post your question on the Lonely Planet Guides forum, Thorn Tree, which is a little more geared to the younger budget traveller than is Fodor's:

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/index.cfm

We liked our Arran House quad a lot, and with bathroom down the hall it was very reasonable. Breakfast was included and very good.