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Budget friendly Hotels, London, If they exist!


balletbean

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Hi, Currently looking for a budget friendly hotel for next weekend. DD attending ENBS Audition workshop on the Monday.

 

We arrive at Gatwick late on Saturday, so any suggestions around Victoria Train Station area would be appreciated. Tried researching for hotels on Booking.com but with so many on the site it is challenging to know what's best. 

 

Appreciate any personal recommendations. 

 

Thank you

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1 minute ago, Loulou said:

I’ve always found premier inn the best value in London 

Thank you, do you know of a Premier Inn near to Victoria? 

 

I do like branded hotels, at least a standard is guaranteed. I have unfortunately made mistakes in the past by choosing an independent Hotel in London. The words "never again" was mentioned as we checked out!!;) 

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1 minute ago, Loulou said:

Although for ENB we stayed at double tree by Hilton Chelsea 

I was thinking that as it was a one day only workshop we didn't have to stay on the doorstep of ENBS on this occasion. 

 

When my DD attended the SS for 2 weeks we stayed very close for convenience. Trying to spread our wings a bit this time. 

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If you search premier inn Victoria there are a few near, one is actually called London Victoria. The nearest I have stayed in was Holborn which comes up as 2.4 miles away but is walkable to Covent Garden and Holborn stations and also very handy for Central if you ever need to go there, about a 15 min walk. 

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I think the trick is to stay a couple of miles away from where it’s all at. We have stayed in The Hilton Double Tree in Islington (very handy for Saddlers Wells) and next week we are in the Crown Plaza King’s Cross (handy for Central). Both are a lot cheaper than similar hotels in, for example, Covent Garden. It’s only a short tube ride, and I really like the tubes (I’m a bit of a geek like that - I actually want to go to the tube museum in Covent Garden whilst dd is busy dancing on next week’s trip :) ). 

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Premier Inn is  often expensive in London 

there are also tricks  with regard to  thinking aobut  accessibility  by  public transport - the  Travelodges  in Croydon (central) and  walthamstow often  throw up  good prices 
( if you were coming from Gatwick  croydon might be an option)

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Try Point A at Paddington.  We stayed there when it was under another name and it was good value.  It is on Central and District line so easy enough for Victoria and ENB.  There is also an Easy Hotel in the area that is basic and cheap - met someone who stayed there and said price outweighed the orange and lack of window! - and they may well have one close to Victoria.

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How "budget" do you mean?

 

If you go to Bloomsbury and use the Tube or bus across to the ENBS, you could look at the Tavistock Hotel. It's part of the Imperial Hotel chain which has several hotels in the area. In my experience, the Tavistock is the nicest. It's comfortable & a bit old-fashioned but at £80 for a single room B&B, it's great.  It has a lovely foyer area & bar - all very comfortable & quiet, and no yahoo types or stag/hen parties. Don't opt for the Royal National - it is appalling (just seems to have very "low" class guests  in my experience, and it's huge and the lifts didn't work the one time (never again) I stayed there). Other hotels in the chain include the Bedford and the County. If you want really budget, the County is £55 B&B (single room), but the rooms aren't en suite. However, there are lots of bathrooms (with baths! not just showers) and all very clean, if old. I had a nice stay there last week.

 

You can't book Imperial Hotels via any 2nd party website - just book directly with them.

 

The Celtic Hotel is also excellent, but again, generally shared bathrooms, and quite old-fashioned. But beautifully clean, run by a family - the matriarch keeps a VERY tight eye on everything, and they greet you like an old friend returning. It's where I stay most often when I'm in London.

 

You can also get some good discounts on Travelodge rooms in London - it's reasonable value, although I don't think the breakfasts are as good as the Premier Inn breakfasts. 

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If access to Victoria is important, Travelodge has two hotels adjacent to railway stations on the line into Victoria.  One at Clapham Junction and one at Balham,  about eight minutes to Victoria from the first and fifteen minutes from the second.  Both stations have frequent trains.  Croydon  has been mentioned, that has a Travelodge and Jurys Inn a short walk from East Croydon Station (fast from Gatwick).

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In the last few years I have become a complete convert to airbnb. Last time we visited DS in St Petersburg we got a lovely one bed appt right in the centre in a very cool district, about 5 min walk from the Vaganova, for £80 a night (as compared with the hotel we usually stayed in which is the one on top of the Vaganova and would have cost more like 200). DS got an apartment in central Paris to stay with his girlfriend for £30 a night. He stayed in a lovely room in an shared apartment in central Moscow when he had to be there for a week for his medical, cost £60 a night...

 

The advantage of airbnb even if the same price as a budget hotel is you get a kitchen- not only is it nicer to be able to cook your own food it saves a small fortune on having to eat out. And you have so much more privacy than a hotel (no matter how nice, I personally hate feeling like there are people breathing down my neck- I never really relax in a hotel)

 

Just worth a look maybe...

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Have lived in London for 20 years and have yet to find a nice cheap hotel for putting up the extended family. I put some family members up in the Lancaster overnight at Christmas - as I recall it was around £200 a room per night and all I can say is the rooms were quite awful. Watch out for places with bed bugs if you are picking somewhere budget. Good idea to lift the mattresses and check them before you open your suitcase!

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33 minutes ago, Flora said:

. Watch out for places with bed bugs if you are picking somewhere budget. Good idea to lift the mattresses and check them before you open your suitcase!

Yikes, thanks for the warning.

 

When I mentioned budget friendly I was trying to aim for a hotel that was clean and tidy, Modern with breakfast incl, not in a box thingy, like the Travel lodge which was a shame, refuse to pay an extra £15 for breakfast pp as quoted by some hotels, and wifi for the entire stay to keep teenager happy at no extra expense. No frills, no gym, no bar or evening restaurant needed. Some of the booking sites are so frustrating. You enter all your details in the search incl length of stay they then quote a price. Great you think, nailed it and then discover that the price quoted was per night! Why bother even asking how many nights for your visit. oh and you enter location and that doesn't seem to mean a thing. Gripe over. Thanks for all your suggestions. Will put the kettle on and have a browse..

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I always stay at LSE or University of London residences in the university vacations. Some have rooms available in term-time. I prefer the Bloomsbury/Fitzrovia/Islington ones. The Bankside residence is huge and a bit chaotic. Passfield Hall, Carr Saunders Hall or Rosebery Ave residences are nice. Cheap, quiet, friendly. 

 

Try the websites University Rooms and StayCentral  (just google those names). These are usually around £45 per night B&B for a single room with a shared bathroom. They usually have basic kitchen facilities as well, so you can microwave meals and store food in a fridge. 

 

BTW, Jan, sorry to hear about a bad experience at the County Hotel. I've heard such mixed reports - I found it fine - quiet and clean and it seemed safe. But I could see how one might not feel wholly safe there. 

Edited by Kate_N
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3 hours ago, toursenlair said:

London School of Economics rents out its residences outside of term time (and all year long apparently t Bankside House in behind the Tate Modern).

http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/Home.aspx

I have only stayed at Bankside House and the beds were quite uncomfortable but it was certainly inexpensive.

Thank you for the suggestions.

 

I tried Hall of residence and similar when my DD attended the SS. Because many of these buildings are licensed premises as they hold a bar of some kind they decline anyone under the age of 18. It was frustrating as I was going to stay and share with my DD, I am most definitely well and truly over 18 but sadly that did not tick their boxes.  

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If you truly want cheap as chips budget accommodation there's hostels. I stayed at St.Christophers Inn Borough High st for one night in May. The bathrooms are very very clean, towels included. The other guests in the dorm were backpackers and they were quiet as mice. 

My daughter said her bed was uncomfortable but I slept really well. It was about £27 each, I think that was with continental breakfast added on. 

You can hire lockable crates that fit at the end of the bunks for valuable luggage. Children can also stay as long as they're in the same room as their parents. 

 

https://www.st-christophers.co.uk/london-hostels

Edited by Tatasmum
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On ‎14‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 10:47, MAB said:

If access to Victoria is important, Travelodge has two hotels adjacent to railway stations on the line into Victoria.  One at Clapham Junction and one at Balham,  about eight minutes to Victoria from the first and fifteen minutes from the second.  Both stations have frequent trains.  Croydon  has been mentioned, that has a Travelodge and Jurys Inn a short walk from East Croydon Station (fast from Gatwick).

 

There is also a Travelodge at Vauxhall station, which although not on a direct railway line into Victoria, is about 10min away on a choice of 3 bus routes (2, 36 and 185).

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Few years back I stayed at the Comfort Inn on Buckingham Palace Road. It was quite comical, the room was in the basement. I could sit on the loo but had to keep the door open. The shower was in the wardrobe! Lol! I quite liked it though, certainly was cosy...😂😂😂 xx

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