London - near Paddington station - safe?
 

I am looking for accommodation for my 18 year old who will be going to London alone.
He does not need anything fancy, but I want him to be in safe neigborhood beacuse as a young person, he will be walking at night often. We found a reasonable studio :

The London House is located near Paddington Rail Station in the heart of London surrounded by 4 main underground stations, Lancaster gate, Bayswater, Queensway and Paddington. Queensway with it's excellent shops are within a short walk. The Heathrow Express comes into Paddington regularly and takes just 20 minutes from the airport.

Is it a safe area?
appreciate your help, especially from local people.

When I used to stay in central London I stayed near Paddington. I now stay in the suburbs since it is cheaper. I never had any problems at all and many times I would be coming back at 11:00 PM after a play. He'll be fine.

London is safe throughout the centre. Unsafe places are some public housing schemes in tower blocks about three miles from the centre: tourists have no reason to go there.

I live here

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There really is no such thing as an unsafe or safe area in Central London.

Petty crime and trades many find unsavoury can crop up virtually anywhere. They rarely have any impact on visitors, unless the visitors behave very unwisely.

A lot of the area round Paddington Station is scruffy, and there is - I'm told by friends who live in the area - a bit of on-street prostitution. But neither Mrs F nor I have ever noticed it while walking through the area at midnight.

Your son is at far greater risk of pneumonia in some of the miserable places tourists stay in round Paddington, of alcohol poisoning if he tries to copy the normal social behaviour of most Britons his age, or of starvation if he's trying to live on a dollar income.

This place gets positively awful reviews on tripadvisor

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...n_England.html

Please find him something else. Make sure to look for reviews either on tripadvisor or if you're looking for a flat rental, maybe check slowtrav.com

What does he need and for how long? Maybe we can help.

As a student I stayed on Cartwright Gardens in a B & B. Very safe area near the British Museum. Lots of students and inexpensive eating places but within walking distance of theater. Near several tube stations. Have a look at the Harlingford hotel there if he doesn't need a place with kitchen facilities.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...n_England.html

The area is fine. I've stayed there before and I'll be staying there again in March. But I agree that hotel looks like a real dump. Inexpensive lodging in London is hard to find but there are certainly plnety of places that look better than that. How much are you willing to pay? And are you looking for a room or a flat? If you tell us the specifics (price range, dates, etc) you'll get lots of suggestions. I posted a question a couple months ago about inexpensive London hotels and got over 50 responses with some very good suggestions to check out. So just give us more info.

thank you all for replys. I want to clarify that I posted not about LONDON HOUSE HOTEL 81 Kensington Gardens Square
London, UK W24DJ

But we booked - (I just paid). An apartment - a studio in a apartment building.

Address is 13 Craven Hill, London W2 3EN
http://www.priceapartments.co.uk/palondonhouse.htm

Thank you all for your help! We booked!

It's not the prettiest area but it's no less safe than anywhere else. He'll have a great time...