My 2 sisters and I want to head over to London sometime this fall, August preferably. We want to save some $$$$ on the hotel, but with the dollar doing so poorly the trip might have to be delayed. We are looking for a room for 3 adults with a private bath. Since we are going to be spending most of our time site-seeing, the hotel doesn't have to be grand, just clean, comfortable and within walking distance of a tube station. Close proximity to restaurants and a grocer would be a plus. We have narrowed to list to the following "hotels":

1. Norfolk Plaza Hotel - Paddington
2. Park International Hotel - Kensington
3. Regent Palace Hotel - Piccadilly Circus

Any suggestions? Are we limiting ourselves?

You need to do searches on these specific hotels above and on tripadvisor to get a lot of opinions. I believe that there were several poor reviews on the Regent Palace as being shabby and full of loud/unruly teen/low cost tour groups - but my memory of the details maybe faulty.

I stayed at Regent Palace New Year's Eve, for two nights. It's shabby, but feels no worse than a dilapidated motel 6. My only real complete was that they put me and another guy together in one very small bed, but if you get a triple you'll be ok. The location was perfect, if somewhat loud, and right at a tube station. Plenty of restaurants nearby, and walking distance to National Portrait Gallery, Soho, etc. If your schedule is pretty well set, you might think about bidding through Priceline and getting a better place, though. Try bid 4 travel to get some ideas of the prices (http://pub210.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding)

I stayed at the Norfolk Plaza on two separate occasions (within a week) last March. Found it to be completely satisfactory if you are looking for a decent lodging and solid value. I will be visiting London again this March and would have seriously considered it again had prices been better. The best advertised rate I saw was close to $150 per night, which is about 60% over what I paid a year ago. I ended up using Priceline.com and got a pretty solid hotel with great location and reviews for $90 a night St. Giles in Marleboyne) Have used priceline extensively in the past and was rarely disappointed, it would be my first choice.

Check out the specials on this website, my favorite for booking London Hotels. For example, you could stay at the Montana in S. Kensington for about 89 GBP per night.

I like the Cumberland at Marble Arch. It is clean and fairly reasonable. If you go out the side, there is a neighborhood grocery. If you go out the front, the tube is just left and also left on Oxford is headed toward great shopping. It is very convenient.