How about Holiday Inn Regent's Park? Close to Great Portland Street tube.

Thin👡

What kind of "techie spy"?
You can get up and turn off the lights if you want and walk back to bed. You can use the remote for the TV just like in any hotel room. You can get up and walk to the door to put the "do not disturb" sign on the handle.

Or just can use the control near the bed and/or on the app on your smartphone.

There's nothing to "spy" on you. Not sure what you are imagining. No voice-activated anything "listening" in. Just convenience features you can choose to use - or not.

@starrs - if you really believe that the hotels are not collecting data from their smart gizmos, and looking for ways to monetize it, you have not been paying attention. I suggest starting with "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism", or at least interviews with the author, Shoshana Zuboff. If the gizmos are optional now, I doubt that will last very long.

See also: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/smart-h...ital-makeover/

I hope you don't use a smartphone. Or email. Or a credit card.

Boy, this thread has sure taken a meandering detour - all from pros/con of the HUB chain . . .

Realtor7, please come back and maybe we can focus on things you want to know

If you think they are tracking when and how often the lights the room are turned on and off, what channels I'm watching on the TV and if I turn on the light or walk over and put a hangtag on the door saying "Do not disturb", well they can have at it.

But that makes zero sense. I don't think that's the kind of "data" you need to be concerned about.

But I guess you can pack your Clapper if using the buttons in the room next to the bed are a concern for you.

Yes, you can also use a smartphone to do the same, but not required.

Evidently you didn't read the links you provided.
As I said earlier...

A Hub-type property would not at all be my preference -- too trendy by half. A nice homely ('homey' to Yanks) flat or a full service traditional hotel every time. But different strokes . . .

But let's quit hijacking this thread

What? You don't want to talk about how a hotel with jazzy light switches might be spying on you?

A new hotel room with a great bed, full bathroom, in a great location at half the price of a "homely/ homey" old hotel room?

DEFINITELY different strokes!

"too trendy by half"!

LOL

Pay double for old and homely. Interesting choice, but if it works for you.

I didn't follow amwsou's excellent advice and booked the hub hotels because they were "trendy". I booked because they were at least half the price of comparably located hotels. New, modern and great beds were just bonus.

hijack away -- I'm off to London in about 45 mins -- not staying in a hub.

How is it a "hijack"? I brought it back to full circle. The OP asked about a place to stay (implying at a reasonable price) instead of an airbnb.

If you will note, that's why I mentioned the hub hotels. The price. Totally back to what the OP was asking for.

I'm off to Chicago. Not staying in a hub there. The company is paying.

No "hijack". Full circle back to the OP.

From post #5. No "hijacks". Responded to the OP, recommending a hotel at least two Fodorites loved in London "at fantastic prices".

The preceding post #4 = ". . . can't advise re hotels without knowing your budget"

There's no "hijack" in offering a response to the OP.

Wow I got hijacked by extra physical therapy but I must say this was pretty entertaining;-).... will research, give no salient data away cover my smart phone and put kryptonite in my canes.... Seriously thanks for the updates, insights and entertaintment. May or may not disclose final answer!!

Sorry, I got blindsided by a Knee replacement set back and this thread biult w/out any input from me. I was just inserting some humor....

To be boringly practical, this map of bus routes shows how you could avoid the tube:

content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/key-bus-routes-in-central-london.pdf

From the photos the bed placement is not ideal for limited access. Am i missing something? need to be able to access both sides of bed....