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Please recommend a budget - midrange hotel or B&B in central London that is clean, safe, and reasonably priced....reasonably meaning $100/nite
Is that going to be possible for London? Im overwhelmed searching the web there is just TOO many I dont know where to start or what area etc....any advice would be helpful.
Thanks Fodor Folks!!

100USD a night is absolutely nothing, I'd be amazed if you can find anything in central London for that price that is "clean, safe"

ok so is $150 enough : )

Your budget is very limiting, I'd advise you to look on expedia.com for hotels in London that fit your budget (there won't be many), then cross reference with reviews on tripadvisor.com, and seek advice on the area/property on this forum.

Hi cc,

Try moving ut to the Notting Hill area. There are a number of student hotels in your price range.

Get the movie.

OK so tell me how much I should expect to pay for a midrange hotel in London?

It all depends on location, it's no good setting out with no idea where you want to stay. I'm assuming it is your first time, then I'd definitely choose Mayfair. Use Priceline.com and you could get some bargains within your constraints.

Dear CC,

You ain't gonna get no hotels in Mayfair for $100/night double.

Are you looking for a single?

ccarroga, I always use London Bed & Breakfast company (www.londonbb.com). I always stay in the suburbs, eg Islington, Archway, Highgate, (not far from the centre of the city via the tube, and at the end of day, its nice to be out of the city). Out near Highgate & Islington, are some great pubs, cafes, restaurants, and its not far to Hampstead Heath.
I can never understand why people would want to pay high prices to stay in the centre of London, when you can stay just outside, and be in the city in no time at all, via the Tube.
London Bed & Breakfast service, have lots of rooms for single people also.

Try a website for londontown.com. I found reasonable prices there. Hotelassist.com features the Montana hotel for 75 pounds. It is in kensington. dont give up..150.00 isnt too unrealsitic.
Jean

Westminster is our favorite area, as it is near Victoria Station for transportation, Kensington for museums (the Victoria and Albert is a favorite) and is not as pricey as Mayfair. The Crowne Plaza St. James in this area can be had on priceline.com for $110 per night, but that's in November. Timing is important--you won't get that price in April! The Henley House hotel is a very nice smaller place near Earl's Court and there are tons hotels in South Kensington in those white Edwardian buildings that used to be serviced flats. Problem: they can't always guarantee no smoking rooms---many of the smaller London hotels don't seem to know what that even means!

The St. George's Hotel is near that whole S. Ken., Vic. station nexus and it is fairly typical of that type hotel, but it will run $135 per night. Go to biddingfortravel.com and read everything you can about priceline bidding. You'll do much better than wading through website after website. And remember, the price is always higher when you go through hotels.com or any finding service because the middleman must be paid.

Doesn't anyone besides me search the forums before asking a question that's already been asked OVER and OVER and OVER???

If your preference tends more towards the modern than the traditional, the Days Inn Waterloo might be your kind of place.

It's clean, quiet, not out of the way (near Waterloo station), and five minutes from Big Ben on the #159 bus.

Hotels.com is showing a $103 room for two on November 7.

did you click on the hotel link above here- there are guest reviews. I found my little Paris hotel there this Spring,as well as one for Brussels and a link for one in Giverny. All 3 worked out pretty well. London is relatively expensive. The B & B I booked online to extend my vacation a few years ago was about $80, really small with a lumpy twin bed. I'd have been unhappy if I'd been there more than 3 days. So, you do have to be careful. Good luck - let us know how you make out.

Hi Aqua_8502

Unfortunately, NO.

I reccommend the Kensington Close Hotel. there are in a great neighborhood and often have good special at 65 pounds a night on their websight.

Its a good hotel and will work with your budget.

http://www.kensingtonclosehotel.com/

I also recommend priceline.com .....

Someone here on Fodors recently asked about the Airways Hotel in the Victoria Station neighborhood. I believe the person received a favorable reply (do a search on Airways to see it).

Very central, and has some good reviews on Trip Advisor. A SMALL double is 55 lbs. (just about exactly 100 USD at the moment), and that includes VAT and breakfast! A standard double is 72 lbs, or about $130 USD. Here's the website:
http://www.airways-hotel.com/

Good luck to you!

There are plenty of options in London at $100US per night, especially if you don't require an en suite. We stayed at a great B and B in Bloomsbury 2 years ago for 50GBP per night. We had a sink in our room, but the shower and toilet were down the hall. The bathrooms were spotless and we never had to wait to use them.

Keep in mind when you hear a quote of 50 GBP per night 2 years ago, the GBP was $1.50 per dollar, today it is $1.80 and you have had 2 years of inflation. A comparable price today would be at 25 to 35 percent higher.

ccarroga, I propose you go to the airline sites (British Air, American, Virgin) and get prices for the hotels they offer for the dates you want to travel. They provide descriptions and locations of the hotels which you can then check on tripadvisor or ask about on this board. Since breakfasts can be expensive in London, be sure to note whether it is included and if it's continental or full English. For 2 of us we think a full breakfast is worth 15 or 20 dollars.

Don't even consider a Days Inn for $103. If you don't want to bid for a room, at least take that $100 and spend it somwehere else!!

FYI: Londontown.com is offering the Millenium Gloucester at GBP 98, about $176, NOT including the 17.5% tax, which brings it to more than $206 per night. The same room can be had for $85 per night plus tax, for a total of under $100 nightly through priceline.

kswl - if you are basing your opinion on your experience of Days Inns in the U.S., you are sorely mistaken. I wouldn't consider staying at one over here, but the Waterloo property is one of the best accommodations I've had in the UK, and it ranks with the Grosvenor at Victoria Station (by way of comparison).

Hello, RP. I am not basing it on the Days Inns in the states, but purely on the ** star rating that puts it in the $50 category on priceline. Star ratings are very subjective, inconsistent and sometimes irrational, but a two-star rating usually means a much lower-end property. Ccarroga can get more bang for her buck, or more stars for her pound, than that.

ps, three comments/ratings on tripadvisor are glowing, I'll give it that, but the price range given is $70-$78 per night. At that price it is a better bargain and worth considering. The photos look a bit dull, though--sort of a tired Jetson's decor?

"Tired Jetson's decor?"

No - that's what passes for "modern" in Blighty. The rooms are smaller than what you get for £100, but plenty big enough to sleep in. I think it is a bargain (although the high season fare is a bit much for what you get.)

$US100 a night? Presumably for 2 people? Easy. Try the Cardiff in Norfolk Gardens, or the Abbey Court or Westpoint in Sussex Suare. All 3 are near Paddington Station and Hyde Park - very handy location.

By far, the best deal you are going to get on a London hotel is by bidding on Priceline.com. You can normally get a 4* hotel in Kensington, Mayfair or Westminster for around $100 per night. Before you bid, do a lot of research on <b>www.biddingfortravel.com</b>

There is an element of risk, but no more risky than picking a cheap hotel at random. There are a billion hotels in London and most of the budget ones are truly &quot;budget.&quot;

RP, the 70 -78 price on tripadvisor is DOLLARS, not pounds. Did you mean 100 GBP for the Days Inn Waterloo? That's very high.

And that stuff was &quot;modern&quot; when I was in first grade!

One hundred three DOLLARS U.S.

And where are these $70 rooms, anyway? Please give URL.

The ones I mentioned, I got for 35 pounds a night single, 49 pounds double - including breakfast. What's that? $US60-85?

ccarroga - after my reply to your posting, I checked our www.londonbb.co.uk again, and out in the suburbs, there were B&amp;B's with single rooms for 30 GBP per night. How does that equate with the American dollar? I believe some of those B&amp;B's supply a continental breakfast in that price.
If you look up their website, go for the B&amp;B's in their B or B+ bracket, there the ones we use, and they are very good. On our last trip to London, we stayed in a very nice B&amp;B in Archway, leafy street, and a short 10 minute stroll to Archway Station, to catch the train into the city.
The owners were so obliging, that on our last morning (early departure for an early morning flight back to Oz), the owners had breakfast provision laid out on the table, for us to have breakfast at 5am.

CC, remember that the bed and breakfast rate is usually PER PERSON, not per room. If you are a single, that would be economical. If not, you're paying over $100 for a room possibly in someone's home, probably without an ensuite. The &quot;continental breakfast&quot; costs nothing and--believe me----usually IS nothing. &quot;Full English Breakfast&quot; at least usually means eggs.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Arosfa. Seems to be a favorite here. www.arosfalondon.com

I've stayed in Bloomsbury, near the Russell Sq tube stop, a couple of times--it's not a bad location at all and is near the British Musuem. Mayfair is a great area, as is Kensington, but I've found hotels over there more expensive. London's not cheap but w/a little detective work, you should be able to manage.

Good luck!
Debbie

Hi - we stayed at the Columbia Hotel in Paddington. A short walking distance from Paddington Station and right near the Lancaster Gate Underground Station. The hotel is opposite Hyde Park. The rooms were on the small side but very adequate - tea and coffee making facilities, tv etc. and very good bathrooms with shower and bath. The lounge area downstairs was nice to sit and relax.

This wasn't expensive, as we were travelling on a very tight budget - their website is offering double rooms at 86GBP per night including breakfast (so this should be within your $150US budget).
http://www.columbiahotel.co.uk

Many people on this forum tsk tsk at the Paddington area but I have stayed there on every trip to London and find it most convenient (especially as the restaurants etc around here are a little less pricey than other spots and there are some great pubs). You can catch the train from Heathrow to Paddington and then simply walk to your hotel from there. No expensive cabs or changing trains!

Okay,

You can pay $150 for a creaky old Victorian on Sussex Gardens (close to Paddington) with Edwardian plumbing, or $100 for a brand-new shiny Days Inn on Kennington Road (close to Waterloo) with a spacious bathroom and commodious commode. I've done both and will never go back to Paddington.

Your call.

Hello? Check recent (within the past month) hotel prices in London through Priceline:

$99 Waldorf Hilton Mayfair/Soho
$130 Millenium Mayfair/Soho
$85 Regent's Park Mariott Maida Vale
$110 Crowne Plaza St. James Westminster
$75 Holiday Inn Kensington Forum

All Four Star Hotels, all cheaper than $86 GBP per night in Paddington. Just take a peek at biddingfortravel.com. I don't work there or have any interest in it other than bargain-hunting. You can check the hotel list, the zones, work out a bidding strategy, and stay at a NICE hotel for what you'd pay for a room someone describes as &quot;adequate.&quot;

I would recommend the cordova house hotel - we stayed there and loved it and it was abou 50 pounds a night - it was 2 blocks from Paddington station in a nice residential area.

I just returned from England. We had a double ensuite room at the Winchester Hotel (recommended by Rick Steves) for 85 pounds per night (about $165) including a LARGE full English breakfast (cereal, juice, eggs cooked whatever way you want, 4 pieces of bacon, sausage, steamed tomato, toast, small muffin, croisant, coffee tea or hot chocolate). The breakfast alone would run about $12 per person in a restaurant there so you can deduct $24 from the approximate $160 ...That brings it down to $136. We had laundry done for nothing by the help....washed , dried, folded. The room was clean, medium sized, the help and proprietors great. And besides that one day returning from a day of touring we found a lovely bouquet in our room. It stayed there for 2 or 3 days...probably went to another room then but nevertheless a nice touch. The hotel is on Belgrave (rather noisy street) a couple blocks from Victoria Station.

Excuse me, but will you be my tax accountant? From $165 we get to $136 just by subtracting breakfast?! I would only deduct breakfast if I were going to pay $29 for it were it not included. More like &pound;2.90 for a Meal Deal at M&amp;S for me! :-)

Sounds like a good deal anyway - especially the laundry service!