Me and my friend (both 26 year old women) will be taking a week visit to London. She is from Scarborough. I am visiting her from Boston, MA. I was wondering if this hotel was safe for us to stay in. I read OLD threads on this area and it didnt have a good name, but since the threads are so old I wanted fresh opinions. Or would we be better putting in a bid for a higher scale hotel off Priceline in the same area? Any other suggestions on where to stay. We just want to be safe. I know my budget is very low...$125 USD a night for the two of us. The only thrill we want is our own private bathroom and 2 single beds. If we have to and its a nice enough place we can share a bed.

Here is the Hotel Address:
Wardonia Hotel Argyle Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1H 8ER

I should add we are coming in via Kings Cross Station...we wanted to stay close to there so we can check baggage at their baggage storage service on the day we leave as we have a 8 pm train.

It depends on what B&B you are looking to stay at. Argyle street is a fairly safe street though not particularly attractive. However, i've heard some horror stories about some small hotels. I believe janisj or another poster have stayed around there.

I'd recommend the Premier Inn at Kings Cross but I think that may be a little above your price range. However, you could always check their website. The rooms aren't anything special but the bathrooms and rooms are clean and the hotel staff pleasant. Plus it's about a 5 min. walk to the station.

I know I'm beginning to sound like an advert for www.airbnb.com but I think you should forget about the hotel idea. If you're on a tight budget stay with a host in London. There are some great flats advertised for a lot less that 125 dollars and centrally located. I am a host on that site and I would love to put you up but I only have room for one person and my bathroom is shared with me. If you're nervous about that idea though the location is fine around Argyle Street. Kings Cross has had a lot of regeneration recently from it's old seedier days. Lots of recent comments on google places about the hotel aren't fantastic though, Link -

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?...08030509224544

Check out my posting on this Fodor's thread if you are interested in airbnb:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...#comments-open

I haven't stayed there so no first hand info.

But the reviews on Trip Advisor are very good considering the location/low-ish rates. For a true budget property, I wouldn't be nervous about staying there. Definitely not the Ritz

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

That should read >> . . .when you own a London flat you rent out through airbnb.<<

A decade ago, it was impossible for me to walk through the area without being asked if I wanted to "do business, love".

These days, it's almost impossible to walk through the area at all because of the numbers of young Continentals straight off the train, clogging a real city with their dilatory, camera-snapping, provincial ways and their pavement-hogging wheelie suitcases. And anyway, the vice industry got swept out by an immense set of CCTV installations. London's lowlife has all moved on to parts of town where it's easier to earn a disreputable business, and the strip pubs are turning into sushi joints.

That doesn't make the cheaper hotels any better, though. Your chances of being mugged or kidnapped by white slavers are now zero: the risk of succumbing to a dodgy kebab or bad hygiene is probably as high as ever.

Now they're not renting out by the hour, and there's a raft of local competition from thoroughly respectable chain places nearby, the cash flow for a number of Argyle St hotels mightn't always be what it was, so they've got to find other ways of making money - and cost cutting might be one of them.

Because of the now outdated reputation of Argyle St, people on this board rarely stay there, generally preferring those anonymous local low-cost chains like Premier Inn. Getting advice about specific places here might be tricky on this forum, compared to the raft of expertise about say mainstream Bloomsbury.

This is one area where I'd strongly recommend reading Trip Advisor reviews as if most of them were genuine and reliable.

Thanks for all your help. When I get my next paycheck we still may put in a bid on priceline. But if it get declined I feel comfortable enough staying here. I been in some sleazy hotels before and been comfortable, so I am sure I will be ok here.

Another thought - get a private two-bed room in a YHA hostel. www.yha.org.uk

Lee Ann

Am I getting mixed up, or is this the street that comes out next to Oxford Circus tube?

If it is, it would be very central, but horribly noisy - no chance of any sleep.

RM67: No, this is Argyle - it is very close to Kings Cross/St Pancras. You are thinking of Argyll . . .

(there are several Argyle/Argyll streets/roads/squares/etc)

Thanks Janis. - that one little 'l' makes all the difference

;-)