Rebecka

Hello Fodorites!

I will be traveling to my favorite city in May and am looking for a good hotel deal. On past visits to London I have been staying in budget digs, but would like to step up to something a little nicer this time, like en suite facilities. A single room at three star hotel might be just about right.

And yes, I have already looked at Londontown.com, expedia, and Priceline, which seems to be great, but a little risky considering the fact that there is no chance of a refund, should the trip be cancelled. I have also looked at numerous other hotel discount sites, but the number of hotels and offerings is so great that I am still a bit perplexed.

Oh, and I did see a very good offer on Londontown.com for the Claverley Hotel for 55 pounds, but when I queried the hotel via the Londontown site, the price shot up to 100 pounds/night. So much for that!

Anyone here traveling to London in May or know of someone who found a good hotel deal in the past? I hope to spend less than $100/night, maybe more in the neighborhood of $70-80, in a safe area of course.

And please don't tell me to do a keyword search here. I already have and it doesn't answer my specific question.

Thanks!

bettyk

Rebecka, just in a previous post on London Hotels someone mentioned the Balmoral Hotel as a favorite hotel in the Paddington area. There are many, many similar posts here. Everybody has a favorite budget hotel in London.

I suggest you try to narrow your search down to a particular area -- Victoria, Bloomsbury, Baker Street, etc. All have recently been discussed here. Make a list of several properties you think are possibilities then come back here for input.

Once you make a reservation (with penalty free cancellation), suggest you continue checking sites like laterooms.com and lastminute.com to see if you can find better or similar accommodations for a cheaper price.

We all go thru this process. You can too.

Kate_W

Just a warning that London might not be the place to decide you're going to splurge "a little" on a hotel. London is great for splurging "a lot", but I've found that the quality upgrade for an extra 20-30 pounds per night doesn't get you much (in some other large cities, it's the difference between budget and deluxe; in London it's the difference between cheapy/rundown and "my own postage stamp sized bathroom".
You're on the right track getting a personal recommendation, as is the poster who suggested you narrow down your choice of neighbourhoods first. You also might want to check a book called "Cheap Sleeps in London", which tends to give room-by-room descriptions of inexpensive hotels, all personally checked by the author. I've used her book for several cities and agreed with her assessment. (Note that "Cheap Sleeps in Europe" doesn't provide any of the detail.)

Rebecka

Thanks for the tips, Betty and Kate. Just did a search here for "Balmoral hotel london" but came up empty. Does it have a web site?

I guess the neighborhoods I'd prefer would be Bloomsbury, which I'm already very familiar with, although South Kensington/Kensington, Regency Park, Baker Street might be good for a change of scenery. There seems to be a lot of choices in the Paddington area, but I don't know that region of London at all. Location isn't as important as long as the hotel is in a safe, central area near public transit.

Yes, Kate, I do have a copy of "Cheap Sleeps" which I will probably use again although I suspect that the prices may have gone up a bit since then. On my last visit I used the book to choose the Crescent Hotel, which was okay, but certainly nothing special apart from the nice locale. Nor did I find the owners quite as genial as the book suggested. And sadly, you're probably right about the "hotel upgrades" situation, too.

There seems to be a lot of special offers for the multitude of London Thistle Hotels, especially the Thistle Islington. Anyone familiar with those? The Blakemore has come up more than once too, but I'm not sure about the location or the quality.

Lesli

Try a search for "balmoral AND london" - that will get you quite a few threads. (The search function apparently looks for the exact phrase otherwise, and you miss lots of mentions.)

If the hotel you're seeking is the Balmoral HOUSE on Sussez Gardens, then yes, it has a website: http://www.balmoralhousehotel.co.uk/ (found it with a Google search) I've actually considered this place, and walked past it on my last trip. I like Blomsbury for it's walking-distance proximity to the theater district and Soho.

Lesli

Make that *Sussex* Gardens....

Kate_W

I've never stayed near Paddington, but I felt a little uncomfortable when I walked through. There probably are some decent safe streets (others who may have stayed there will have opinions), but I've generally found that almost all neighbourhoods adjacent to a train station in London are a bit "transitional" (although Paddington is probably better than King's Cross, Euston or Waterloo). I wouldn't pick a hotel in such area without a specific reference from a safety-conscious person who said it was fine.

pakitty

Based on good reviews here, I've booked the Quality Hotel Paddington, in Sussex Gardens. During May, a club double is 66 lbs and a club single is 57 (tax included). They have lower priced rooms, but the reviews recommend against them. It's located near Paddington Station and about 4 tube lines.
http://www.comfortinnlondon.com/
http://www.lth-hotels.com/

carolyn

Check the Adelphi Hotel on Cromwell Road a couple of blocks from the Gloucester Road tube stop. A couple of years ago, a single was about 85 pounds and that included full breakfast and VAT. It is attractive, being two or three townhouses put together into one, and in a very convenient area.

GreenDragon

I had a good experience with the folks at www.bhrconline.com, British Hotel Reservation Centre. I booked a king room at Grange White Hall with them last summer, at £79 per night inclusive, and they helped a lot when I had to cancel

JustinBbad

Well, even though there is no refund, I used Priceline to book a hotel in May. It turned out to be the Thirstle Bloomsbury for $70 a night, double, a 4 star hotel.

I suggest giving it a shot...

_Julie_

JustinBbad - Is the entire booking non-refundable or just the first night?

gonzales

We'll be leaving in a several days for London and we've made reservations at the Thistle Bloomsbury. I believe that hotel meets your criteria. We'll return April 12 so I'll let you know our assessment.

Kristi

I know that there is risk associated with Priceline but after getting a $75 rate at the 4* Copthorne Tara last year in July and a $65 rate (plus $10 bonus from Priceline) at the 4* Mayfair Intercontinental coming up in May, I wouldn't book any other way.

It seems to me that European travel will be down again this year so perhaps you could wait until your travel dates get a little closer and then try bidding when you feel a little more comfortable that your travel plans are secure.

JustinBbad

I believe the entire thing is non-refundable.....but I have the plane tickets, the rail pass, ect....don;t think I will be canceling.

In these circumstances, it is a great way to go about getting a hotel.

Rebecka

Well, you've come through again, Fodorites. Thanks for all the good advice; I'll check your recommendations and look forward to the hotel report from gonzalez.

Priceline is very, very tempting, but I completely agree with Kristi that it may be worth a try closer to my departure date.

Part of the fun of planning this trip is finding a hotel. After a long and hard New England winter, I am so looking forward to my spring vacation!

FAMOUSUNCLEART

I stayed at the Cranley in November. I got my room on Laterooms.com paying 120£ for the executive twin (2 beds), All the rooms seem nice. I stayed on the first floor. The hotel has champagne and great hor dourves at 7 and they really like to partake. I missed their afternoon tea each day. It is like a B&B but a hotel. The bathroom was particularly nice. The location was a quick walk from the tube.

ERICE

We just returned from our week in London where we stayed at the Adelphi Hotel on Cromwell Road, it was quite satisfactory although the first room we had was a dump. We arrived late at night and tired so all we wanted was a bed, next morning I went down and had the room changed. The cost was £450.00/ week for a double with full English breakfast. The hotel was booked through "Hotel-Assist.com". We also checked out the Pembridge Palace and
even looked at a room. It is similar to the Adelphi except that the Adelphi is better located in a nicer area and also more convenient to Heathrow being
on the Piccadilly line about one block from the Gloucester Road Tube station. There is also a Hotel Montana on the same web site and also in the same area as the Adelphi which looks acceptable.
Cheers, Eric

Donna301

We stayed at the Atlas-Apollo which is off Cromwell Road in South Kensington. The Gloucester tube stop is very close as is Kensington Palace & Gardens, V&A Museum, etc. It is in a somewhat residential area and on a little side street (I think it is called Lexham Gardens). Try www.atlas-apollo.com. I believe we paid $110/night but that was for a triple room 2 years ago. Good Luck and enjoy London!

MIkeStump

I've stayed at the Number Sixteen and Aster House hotels on Sumner Place and am trying Five Sumner Place this June. Sumner Place is on a secondary street and would be quieter than the hotels on Cromwell Road. It is a very good area and has many restaurants and a 24 hour grocery within a short walk.

Shopping on Kings Street is a 15 minute walk.

Sumner Place is located close to the South Kensington tube stop. Single rooms run £85 to £120. Check their web sites for other rates.