Question about budget hotels. The Morgan is still an option, but I've been browsing the web/trip advisor and wondered if any of you have stayed or know anything about the following...

Travelodge Covent Garden->Got some great review and some really bad reviews. Ppl staying in june/july of this yr said they were renovating...maybe a good thing? The location seems great and the price even better!

Travelodge Southwark-> Good location, good reviews, good price!

London City Hotel-> Good reviews/price

Thanet Hotel-> ??

There are a thousand and one places to choose from. I mean, I love the luxury hotels...but since we are staying in 3 different places and for a 2 wk period I am leaning toward budget! LOCATION is huge for me, but I don't want to give up cleanliness for it. We just need the basics. A double occupancy room, 4 nights, a shower, and a clean place to lay our heads. Nothing fancy, nothing elaborate. We are there to sleep and that's about it. Air Conditioning or a fan would be nice...if at all possible I would like to keep it under 150 USD per night, which is almost IMpossible! haha!


For us, staying somewhere that is 200-300 USD/night is a one or two night thing--> not 11 nights! I would rather spend that money SEEING and BEING in the cities, not sleeping in them. :)

Maybe the way to go is to do last minute priceline booking?? I hate to wait until last minute bc it makes me nervous.... BUT if the powers that be say I should, then I should. I've used it before when staying in ATL, but I know that area. I wasn't "scared" that I might get a decent place in a crappy location. I have no idea about London! I can look on a map and see what areas are close to the places we want to see...but I also have considered how vast an area can be. I can say Bloomsbury, Southwark, Mayfair, or Soho....but then I risk being at the very outer edge of that area, a lot further away than I want to be. I suppose that is the risk you take...Maybe I should let my husband do this part. He loves a risk...i'd rather play it safe. :/

Southwark is close to London Bridge, Borough Market. London city Hotel is close to those too. Those are very convenient for days 3 and 4, and a bus ride away for day 1 and 2

Covent Garden is smack in the middle of everything. Drury Lane is the theatre district. Lots of restaurants, bars and cafes, Covent Garden market, etc. But Drury Lane i

Thanet - Russell Square, close to the British Museum, walk to Covent Garden, bus ride/longish walk from everything else.

Personally, I'd say the Covent Garden location can't be beat to get a feel of how lively London is. I lived just off Trafalgar Square for 9 months and loved it. I now live near Borough station and it is very different, quieter, a bit more residential.

Sorry about that hanging sentence in the middle there.

I don't know anything about the hotels themselves though, sorry!

Priceline is easy in London. PL zones in are drawn so only 2 (4 max) are good to bid.

zone 5 Kensington-Earl's Court, and zone 7 Mayfair-Soho (a very pricey zone), are central and most any hotel in them would be accessible to any sites. The most 'remote' hotel in those zones (and one that comes up very often) is the Olympia Hilton in zone 5 but it is on Kens High Street so still convenient enough because of the excellent bus connections and Olympia tube station.

zone 11 Westminster is mostly good but it also loops down near Vauxhall to pick up one inconvenient hotel.

zone 10 city-London Bridge has some great bargains - and mostly is good to semi-good locations. But the "City" is very dead at nights/weekends and probably isn't where a first timer should stay.

There are good hotels in all of the other PL zones, but each zone spreads into areas you really might not want. For instance, Zone 1 Bloomsbury-Marble Arch which would be a great zone except it also loops up to Kings Cross and Euston.

Thanks sam86 and janisj!

I agree w the Covent Garden location sam86...the room on the hotel website looks very clean and basic, but we all know that I can't judge from that! They always put the BEST pictures up! If I knew it wouldnt be a dump (like some of the reviews said) then I would prob just go w it bc it is so close to most everything. Maybe I should be optimistic and go with what the good reviews said. They loved it! (and count on the renovations taking place to clean up all the "bad" stuff ppl said)

Here's what their website says - "We are currently extending this hotel and therefore customers may experience some noise and disruption due to building works between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause"

I guess the decision comes down to how important the actual hotel is versus the location for you = )

OH -meant to add to my post --there is no benefit to waiting til the last minute to bid PL. In fact I start really early - and really low since that gives me plenty of time to adjust/re-bid.

About the Travelodge Covent Garden- terrific location -one of the best in London. However it is very popular and difficult to get the best rates. Rates can fluctuate more than £80 a night depending on your exact dates and how far ahead you book.

Another budget-ish one to check is the Premier Inn County Hall which is RIGHT next door to the Eye. But it is even more popular than the CG Travelodge and you must book as early as possible.

I doubt the Travelodge will be a good choice. First the Travelodges in London are a different chain than the one in the US so don't confuse the two. If you arrive early am and want to dump your luggage at the hotel, Travelodge will not allow this. So your only option will be to leave the luggage at left luggage at one of the train stns for a cost (this can be pricey depending on how much luggage you want to store). You won't get your room until their designated check in time and you will need to pay extra for early check in. With other hotels don't bank on getting your room before check in time, but there is a chance you may. As for the luggage storage, most other hotels will store that gratis. Yes, locationwise the Covent Garden location is good, but the luggage storage issue will be a problem to say the least. This is the same at all Travelodge hotels, so you'll need to deceide if the inconvenience and additional cost to store luggage at a train stn is worthwhile. For these reasons I would avoid all Travelodge locations.

As for Priceline, janisj has given you the basics of each zone. The Hilton Olympia is located near Olympia stn but trains to Olympia are very infrequent and to get to/from Olympia you will need to chance at Earls Court stn. A better option is to take a bus on Kensington High St to another tube stn to get to the tourist sights. Be aware of this before you bid on the Kensington - Earls Court zone.

janisj, which is the incovenient hotel located in Vauxhall that is in the Westminister zone?

Thanks everyone for your comments! They are, as always, very helpful!

Of the 4 times I've PL'd zone 5, I've 'won' the Olympia Hilton twice and it is not nearly as dire as justshootme paints it. Nice hotel, pleasant rooms, very good service, very good bus service right in front of the hotel. About a 4 minute walk to Olympia tube. Yes, the station is on a spur of the district line that means you do have to change at Earl's court. In general, the tube leaves Kens Olympia every 20 mins and you can get the schedule off the tfl website so you can time your trips and not have to wait.

Would I pick the Olympia Hilton if I was paying top dollar - nope. But for the $87 and $95 I paid it was wonderful.

I only PL when staying 3 nights or less. For longer stays I normally rent apartments.

I found a b&b in Trafalgar Sq area, btwn the Embankment and The Strand on the web. I am enquiring about it. Said that rates were 130-150 USD. In our price range and in a good area! Cancellation policy a bit strict.... so if we decide on it, come he*l or high water, we're going! haha! It seems too good to pass up. If this fails, I may just go w PL as janisj suggested. I do love the idea of the Premier Inn County Hall though, as janisj suggested as well. Good Location!! Anyway, not that anyone cares--just keeping you updated. It's fun to log all this as I go, kind of like a journal of planning.

I used to live close to there - what's the name? I can tell you that the location can not be beat.

A B&B between the Embankment and the Strand would be unusual/rare. In fact, I've never heard of one in that small area. That doesn't mean anything one way or the other, but I am curious. It is smack dab central London and a really wonderful location. Do you have the address or postal code?

I found it on londonbandb.com.
The quick search #L767 or click on Trafalgar Sq. That's all the info it gives.

Someone did post a review saying they liked it. It really seems too good to be true! I called the 1-800 number and left a message. It gives the option to email, but if I can...speaking w someone makes it more legit. They did not answer so I left a message w my travel info and call back number. If they do not call back I may opt for emailing....that usually works faster these days.

If you guys know/think this is bull-hockey LET ME KNOW! I don't want to get myself in a mess before I get there!!!

Between the Strand and Embankment, there are two hotels, quite nice ones, on Northumberland Avenue. But no B&Bs I can think of either...

tds0212, I'm not quite sure about this. It might be on Craven Street, which does have houses. But as you say there is no address.

I was also thinking maybe Craven street - especially since it says a 1 minute walk to Tr Square. Hard to visualize - most of the old bldgs in that area are office conversions etc. But some may still be intact houses??

The location is REALLY good . . . . assuming :)

I agree = D My university has a dorm on Northumberland Avenue and I was lucky enough to live there for 9 months. it was FABULOUS!

tds0212 - If you hear back from them with an address, postcode, let us know = )

tds0212 - have been following your post with interest, we too will be in London next May and on a similar budget. We booked the Morgan yesterday and if it helps, the price was 120GBP. I have looked at so many options, including the ones you are.

The Morgan seemed the best for us in terms of site-seeing and location, as we too will be taking the Eurostar to Paris (though just a day trip) and the fact that breakfast is included too is a bonus as we won't have to go searching for something. I have also read that the Turkish restaurant next door is good!

Good luck with your search, the B&B sounds interesting, I will keep reading to see what you decide.