maureen_16

I am traveling to London in late June with my 18 year old niece. I am overwhelmed by the amount of hotels and what area to stay in. Help!! I know I want to be near a tube station to make it easier to get around London. My price range is $100-$150 USD per night. I want the area of the hotel to have restaurants nearby for us to dine at in the evening. At other tips would be welcome. Thanks.

janisj

Even w/ the £ currently falling vs the $ $100 is only about £65. $150 (£100) would be MUCH easier.

Since there are only two of you, if you are comfortable bidding Priceline, you can get real bargains. Around $125-ish plus taxes for a 4star hotel.

But if Priceline/blind bidding isn't your thing, you'll mostly be looking at 2 star places or pre-paid, internet special rates.

Check londontown.com and plug in your dates. Virtually any hotel in central London will be close (or semi-close) to to a tube station and multiple bus routes.

Maybe look at londontown and pick a few possibilities, then ask back here re the locations/quality of the hotels.

jamikins

Your budget is very low for London. You could try looking up the central London premier inns.

oh2doula

travelodge worked well for us 4 years ago - and like janisj said virturally anywhere will be close to tube etc.

joandy

I would advise you try to find a hotel in the Victoria area. It is very central and handy for tube and trains. Lots to do and plenty of cheap places to eat. Try going on TRIVAGO and I am sure you will find a hotel in this area to suit your budget.

maureen_16

Thanks for the advise. I guess I need to be more realistic in my price point for a hotel. I was looking at hotels in the Hyde Park area. What do,you think? I also checked out Londontown.com and there are some great deals! Anyone have problems with booking on this site? How far in advance should I reserve a room?

janisj

Londontown is a very reputable site

"<i>hotels in the Hyde Park area. What do,you think?</i>"

Depends what you mean by the 'Hyde Park area'. It is a huge park and w/ Kensington Gardens touches 9 or 10 different neighborhoods.

Paddington/Bayswater/Queensway have a LOT of cheap (and quite a bit of tacky) accommodations but they are not very central/convenient.

To contrast - South Kensington on the opposite of the park is VERY convenient w/ some budget accommodations but generally more ££ than Paddington/Bayswater/Queensway. I'd much rather stay in S. Kens.

You'd need to know the specific location (the actual post code) to know if it is a decent place to stay.

Kaneohe

Hotwire and Orbitz may also present some 3-star options for around $100/night. I often use Orbitz to find some candidate hotels and then read hotel reviews and look at photos on TripAdvisor to be sure it will meet my expectations. Be aware that the star-ratings for hotels in London often do not match their equals in the U.S., thus researching hotels in TripAdvisor before purchasing can be very useful.

I'm also visiting London in June and have been seeing 4-star hotels in Kensington that fit your price range. Suggest you check out the Hotwire-Other Countries forum on BetterBidding.com

maureen_16

@janisj. Can you recommend a hotel in the South Kensington area? And what other hotels would you recommend.

maureen_16

Thistle Hyde Park ... Any comments -good or bad - and please comment on location

janisj

The Holiday Inn, a couple of Millenium's, a Radisson Edwardian. Each of these regularly have rooms in the £140-ish range (just over $200).

But how many days are you in London? If more than 2 or 3 nights, renting a flat might be a better option. There are many apartments in the £100 per night range. From around £85 to £90-ish and up (waaaay up ).

If you are staying a week- then the choice of flats increases enormously.

maureen_16

I will be there 5 nights. Your Kensingston area suggestion has been very helpful. I have found a Millwnium and Radisson Blu hotel in this area that seem good. Any one have comments on the Regency Hotel in Kensington? Thanks for all your help. It has helped me a lot!!!!!

tuscanlifeedit

maureen, I think you'll be happy with Kensington. I opt for Kensington, and so do a couple of my clients. That said, I have had wonderful stays at the Apex City of London at Tower Hill and Apex Temple Court. Not great for restaurants, but they often have good deals and if you are willing to bus or tube, there is always plenty of dining. I don't often say good things about hotels in my budget range but these two were exceptional experiences.

janisj

"<i>Any one have comments on the Regency Hotel in Kensington?</i>"

The Regency isn't in 'Kensington', but <u>South</u> Kensington - a different neighborhood and more convenient than Kensington.

I haven't stayed at the Regency so don't know about the rooms, but it is a very good location. About midway between the Gloucester Rd and South Kensington tube stations.

tuscanlifeedit

We just stayed in a flat midway between Gloucester Rd and S. Ken tube stations and really liked the location. This was a flat on Queens Gate through londonperfect.com. Not cheap, but nice.

dutyfree

The Holiday Inn in Kensington by the Gloucester Road station would be perfect for you. You can usually get it for around 100 pounds with an unbelievable breakfast buffet. It has a concierge to help book tickets,is a 3 minute walk to the tube station and is in an area of a Tesco Express,Waitrose grocery,Boots drugs and lots of pubs and eateries if you don't want to venture far. There is a coffee shop on the ground floor,it has A/c and some great views if you are high enough. The Millenium hotel,Crowne Plaza and NH Harrington are all within a block of the tube station which is a straight shot from LHR airport on an Oyster card for less than $7 USD/40 minutes and the tube stations has great connections on the District,Circle and Picadilly lines all over London. Most of the airline crews stay in this area as it checks all the boxes for what you want for your stay in London.

lmhornet

"The Holiday Inn, a couple of Millenium's, a Radisson Edwardian. Each of these regularly have rooms in the £140-ish range (just over $200)."

When? in the middle of January? This person is going in June. You can't get a Radisson Edwardian anywhere in London for less then $320-350 in tourist season. Millenium is marginally cheaper.

In season, for $100-$150 you'll likely get a pretty bad place in any desirable location. Your best bet is to find a place a bit out of town. Start a Earls Court and go out from there. But If you are in London on a week end, you might be able to get a good deal in City. it's not a great place to be a tourist, but he hotels empty when businessmen go home on weekends and sometimes offer really good deals.