I would love to hear your recommendations for a small clean hotel that is close to the subway, etc., in central London. Our budget is 100 pounds a night and we are planning to go in March or April.

Like many on this board, we're fans of the South Kensington/Knightsbridge area. Check: <BR>laterooms.com<BR>hotel-assist.com<BR>lastminute.com<BR>londontown.com

I have taken to staying in the Quality Hotel Paddington which has a web site. I'm very pleased with it for teh money

Balmoral House, near Paddington Station.

Unlike many readers, I prefer Marylebone/Regent's Park/Fitrovia to Kensington as a base in London. (This is also the neighbourhood I used to live in.) I've stayed a few times at the Holiday Inn on Welbeck Street in London. (It might be called the Holiday Inn Oxford Circus on the website.) It's a few streets N of Oxford Street (near the big department stores) and a few blocks west of the Oxford Tube stop. It's also a few minutes away from Bond Street station. If you're looking for a location close to great shopping, Regents Park and Soho - with good tube connections, this is it. It's within a 3-10 minute walk of many of the main tube lines, so it's very easy to get around. And it's a quiet street. Some of the floors in the hotel have been renovated (for non-smokers) and are nice for the price (usual rate is about 110 pounds, without breakfast). The unrenovated rooms are decent but not quite such a good value. (Which one you get sometimes depends on which rate you pay and whether you're a member of their frequent traveller club - if they give you an unrenovated room, try asking fora better one).

Message: We won a bid on priceline for the Thistle Royal Horseguards (a 4 star hotel) in the westminster area....for only $70 US dollars per night. That's much less that your budget. Many are winning the same hotel for the same rate. Here's the link that we used to get advice and win our bid succesfully. http://pub109.ezboard.com/fpriceline...abiddingfrm215 Stef

We have booked the Montana Hotel at Gloucester Rd. Sth Kensington for our trip in May. We have not been there before but it has received favourable posts here for being a basic hotel which is extremely well located across the road from the tube. We are paying 69 British Pounds. KCheers Toni

This question is to jefnstef: Did your Priceline bid of $70 include all taxes or was that extra?

Four of us (two couples) went to London this past May. We stayed at the 4* Rubens Hotel across from Buckingham Palace for 99 pounds including VAT and full English Breakfast. It was a great value. Smallish, air conditioned rooms but nicely furnished. The staff was friendly and the breakfast was one of the best we had on our trip. It is a couple of blocks from Victoria Station and close to many of the major sights as well as restaurants and pubs.<BR><BR>I managed to snag this great price by regularly checking www.londontown.com but you can also try the Rubens website directly for their &quot;specials&quot;.(http://www.rubenshotel.com/index_flash.htm).<BR>

If you are bidding on Priceline's US site for hotels outside of the US and Canada, then Priceline does not charge you for the VAT. You'll pay them directly to the hotel. But you will pay the $5.95 processing fee on top of your bid price.<BR><BR>By the way, the Thistle Horseguards is rated a 4 star plus hotel. Its the nicest one in Thistle's chain.

If you want to stay for a modest price and avoid a typical hotel stay, try a B&amp;B. I can recommend Morgan House (http://www.woodvillehouse.co.uk/morgan.htm). My husband and I stayed there over the Christmas Holiday for 80#-en suite including a great full breakfast. It is located on Ebury St. in Belgravia, a short, safe walk to Victoria Station. The rooms are small, but clean and comfortable, and the charm and hospitality more than made up for the size. The neighborhood was great. We plan to stay with them again when we return to London.

Also on Ebury St. is The Lime Tree Hotel www.limetreehotel.co.uk It's also a B&amp;B with full English breakfast. Right next door is the Ebury St. wine bar-great for lunch, dinner etc.

How about the Travel Inn County Hall?

When I travel to London I love to stay at the Plaza on Hyde Park, 1-7 Lancaster Gate; It is a nice hotel, not very small, but clean with wonderful staff. It is two blocks from the Lancaster Gate Tube Station and across the street from Kensington Park. I believe their rates fall within your range.<BR><BR>

Leslie,<BR><BR>Priceline charges you VAT at the time when your bid is accepted by them.<BR><BR>I've booked two stays in London for March and have been charged the 17.5% VAT already!

I stayed at a B&amp;B for 41 pounds per night. I think the rate was 51 per room if there are two of you. It was very close to 6 bus lines. The wife and co-innkeeper made breakfast every morning. I think this place is too cheap for your budget, but is anyone else interested?

second the recommendation for travel inn county hall. next to the eye, across the bridge from parliament, easy top access to several tube lines, clean, comfortable and about 85 pounds per night.

Just bumped into a website, EuroCheapo that lists budget hotels throughout Europe. <BR>http://www.eurocheapo.com/london/<BR>

Hiroshi, could you post more info on that hotel/B&amp;B please...location, quality...thanks

last year in march i booked a room at the pembridge palace in bayswater for $53 a night, double with en suite bath and nice breakfast. it was very close to the metro and nice area with litlle shops and restaurants. i did it through a british website but cannot remember the name.