What is up with London hotels?

I'm going to be in London in a coupla weeks and the hotel fees are just outrageous.  I want something decent, clean, with a bathroom in the room at a reasonable price.  Any suggestions?  I'm not looking for royal accomodations and I understand the city has to make money but I think London goes overboard with the hotel fees....  

Youre going to pay through the nose to stay in areas like Kensington, Paddington and Piccadilly especially at this time of year......try the Edgeware Road area ,you'll find some reasonably priced and clean accomodations there and its only a few tube stops away from everything

:DHiya!
I'd like to make a suggestion if I may- We've used

http://www.octopustravel.com

two times and had a great experience with them! My Dad and his partner came in April and paid just over $800 for 7 nights in a hotel right in Kensington (across from the Natural History Museum! Gorgeous!)- that was a *very* good deal for the area- despite the teensy room. BUT when you think of it, you don't spend all that much time in your hotel room, right?

We also used them for when we booked a trip to Paris last spring and had another great experience!

That would be my suggestion! Keep in mind that just because a hotel isn't in a travel guide, doesn't mean it's not acceptable! It would be a good idea to do a web search on any hotels you find, though- people often post good & bad experiences online for all to see!

Hope that helps!

Jen

Everyone here on this sight is so helpful, thank you so much for the information.  I'll check out everything shortly and let you know what happens...

Oshun  

I like Holiday Inn Express --  http://holidayinnexpress.co.uk
Nice and clean and relatively affordable -- around £75 per night.

But good luck -- you might be able to find some great deals!!

-Lisa-

Be forewarned...you did ask for just basics. But it's clean and it's a bed and a bath and a phone.
Travel Inns in London
We use them all the time if we're not looking for anything filled with character. Just a place to get a few zzzzz's.
London County Hall is an especially good deal considering the location.
Monday - Thursday   £82.95 per room per night
Friday-Sunday   £79.95 per room per night

This is why you make friends who live in London. We never have to get a hotel room.  

You know what Ashley?

You are absolutely right!!!  You definitely need friends in London.  I actually have a few but they want to be more than friends   and I don't want to stay at anyone's home and give the wrong idea.  However, this will be the last time I stay in a hotel when visiting London...

Dh and I had a fantastic experience on our honeymoon...we stayed at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel (I think it's a Hilton).  They gave us a special rate because we were honeymooning... it was a really nice room (with shower!).  And, though we checked out the next morning (only spent 2 days in London, rest in Herts & Edinburgh) they let us keep all of our packages there in their safe for the day, which was really nice of them.
It may have been a bit pricier than what you're looking for, (I think it was about 80-90 pounds) but they were so nice to us, and it was a great experience, I would recommend anyone give it a try.
It's about 2 blocks from the Baker Street tube station, and I'm pretty sure it was in fact on Baker Street (we were going to 221B first thing the next morning, as my Mom is a big fan and I promised her I'd get her a souvenir).

Basically pick up a copy of Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door or check out his website where other travellers post their "back door" finds for food and sleep.  He does a country guide for the UK too.  Love love love every place I have ever stayed at that they recommend.  Great for cheap eats too.

Takes you places the average tourist would not think of going.  (Okay so there are other Rick Steves people, but still.)

They also have a great Rail Guide that's free if you plan on venturing any where else.

 

Ah, yes...Rick Steves...

"Other people stay in hotels, but I like to build a lean-to against an abandoned building for the night to really get some local flavor.  Take a big chunk of cheese with you wherever you go so you won't have to actually eat in a restaurant ever!  Also, you can carry your own tea bag with you and it's reusable-just collect water from storm drains and heat it over a fire made from litter-you're having a nice cuppa and keeping the city clean!"

Ah, yes...Rick Steves...

"Other people stay in hotels, but I like to build a lean-to against an abandoned building for the night to really get some local flavor.  Take a big chunk of cheese with you wherever you go so you won't have to actually eat in a restaurant ever!  Also, you can carry your own tea bag with you and it's reusable-just collect water from storm drains and heat it over a fire made from litter-you're having a nice cuppa and keeping the city clean!"

Lol...sounds more the The Rough Guides than Rick.

Honestly in their defense though, they go above and beyond what they need to.  They sent us two extra backpacks and Eurail passes when ours were stuck in the Macon post office during some horrific flooding in 1994.

For nine years I have been using those guides and website. Without them I would have missed wonderful places like Avebury and Wells and also would have missed staying at the wonderful Bed and Breakfast in Bath.  

I would have missed the typical Basque bar nestled in a plaza in Spain and the perfect little pub off of Trafalgar Square. I would have missed sitting Italian style in a friendly local pizza place and figuring out how to order food in Budapest (because we were off the beaten path so much that they had no English tourist menus).

I would have missed sharing my baguette with two Jewish Italian death camp survivors or trading stories in four different languages with students in Germany while riding the train.  

Often times you can travel the world, spend lots of money and miss the true beauty of its people.  I think that is what the "Europe Through the Back Door" philosophy is about.  It is about not being the typical tourist or the ugly American.  It is about learning about the people and going to places they would go.

In all fairness to Rick and his on the cheap philosophy, he does have some more upper scale splurges, but he gives you a choice.

If you want the Ritz go to the Ritz  (I do sometimes..especially during French Black Truffle season) but it's not cheap or even average priced and you really do miss a lot staying at a large hotel chain and being ferried about on a bus tour like a load of cattle.  To each his own though.

Sorry....bit long winded here...but Rick's my man.

Now excuse me while I go get my panties out of the bunch they are in!   

Hey Vince,

Would you mind giving me the website for Europe through the Back Door?  Sounds like good advice.  

Cheers,

Sure MoiNouvelle!

http://www.ricksteves.com/home.htm

Click on travel news.

http://www.ricksteves.com/news/home.htm will get you the July updates.

or http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/countries/brit.htm
For the UK.

Also search for Grafitti Wall for tips from other travellers.

http://www.ricksteves.com/subscribe/home.htm for free newsletters and while he won't mail to overseas you can catch his newletters on line so just e-mail them.

Happy surfing! I just ignore the tour information, but did buy a backpack from them and it's still going strong 10 years later...so...
We spent 6 weeks trekking through Europe and Morrocco and never had a problem with any Rick place.  (Places do change management, but usually they try to weed them out.)

I have also used their advice in several trips since then.

Gee...I seem like I work for them!



 

I've used Rick Steves suggestions and guides before and found them absolutely brilliant! Nice choice vnicepeeps!