London

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Budget Gauge:

Two links for free rooms which people agree to offer in their own home or where they stay on the basis of you agreeing to offer the same at sometime when you are able. If you want / need a room make sure it is not just a sofa offered. Meeting People: See the free rooms links near the bottom of the accommodation information for meeting people, especially Couchsurfing. People who advertise with Place2stay will often meet you whether or not they offer to accommodate persons.

News 11 May 2008: If you have stayed at any of the guest establishments listed on this site, please do leave a short (or longer if you wish) review of your experience, using the Forum, or the Guestbook of this site to be quicker.

Many people know from Tripadvisor and similar sites, the same hotel can have 5 star reviews next to 1 star reviews. Though it is a good idea on this site to leave your impression, as just the information that an establishment was clean, reliable and gave a reasonably pleasant stay, even if the room is basic, can encourage people to visit London at the places shown here and without paying a large amount for accommodation.

Accommodation:

London and around

                                               1. Guest Houses and small Hotels.

The Swan Guest House. (Chiswick). A single at £27.50. Nice, simple place. Good breakfast on a huge table looking onto the garden. I love the small front single room with a small balcony to sit looking on the quiet street (bathroom is not private for this room, most rooms are ensuite at higher prices). 44 (0)20 8994 2870. A nice breakfast on a huge oak table looking through onto a pleasant garden. Sorry, no web page or email address is identified currently for The Swan.

(The Swan)

UK Expo B. and B. (Directory). Lots at great prices. http://www.uk-expo.com/bnb/find-a-london-bed-and-breakfast.htm

Chiswick Court Hotel. Single with private facilities at £35.  http://www.chiswickcourthotel.co.uk/ 020 8995 9903

The Chiswick Guest House. Simple and quite basic. I liked staying there. 44 (0) 20 8994 0876 http://www.chiswickguesthouse.co.uk/

London Home to Home. (Directory). The prices of some places outside of Central London in this collection are under fifty pounds per night. 020 8769 3500 http://www.londonhometohome.com/

The Aquarius Hotel. Single with private wash facilities at £35. http://www.aquariushotel.co.uk/ 020 7373 6155 or 020 7370 6582.

The Dalmacia Hotel, Shepherds Bush. Singles with private facilities from £45. Breakfast £3 or £5 extra. 3% card payment fee. http://www.dalmacia-hotel.co.uk/

London Lodge. I found this very nice looking place which has "economy" rates from £45 including the very small galley room in the eaves pictured and there is full access including to a living room for guests and a small outdoor terrace garden. http://www.alto-products.de/londonlodge

(London Lodge)

Plaza Guest House, Shepherds Bush. 020 7603 2667. Singles from £35 http://sitebuilder.yell.com/sb/show.do?id=SB0001742108000020

Studios 92. Links to hotels and guest houses. http://www.studios92.co.uk/

A1 Tourism. (Directory) Very many links here to establishments, many at under fifty pounds per night. http://www.a1tourism.com/uk/london-west.html

London Guest House. Single Ensuite from £40. http://www.londonguesthouse.uk.com/

Zettai. (Directory). Also select the areas on the right of the screen for more places. http://www.zettai.net/find/london/guest-houses

City Visitor. (Directory). Contact each establishment for their price. http://www.city-visitor.com/westlondon/guesthouses.html

A traveller's personal list.  http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/5636/BB.html

A list (from a college).  http://64.26.129.41/pdf/2605068accomodation%20list%20feb%202005.pdf

For the Good Times. (Directory). Contact each establishment for their price. http://forthegoodtimes.co.uk/bed+and+breakfast/england/london/london.html

London City UK. (Directory) From Claridges, The Dorchester and The Savoy to halls of residence. http://londoncityuk.com/london/london_city_uk_map.php

At Home in London. Only a few properties at under £50 per night, though some more at very good weekly rates (you may be required to stay two weeks, check with the agency). http://www.athomeinlondon.co.uk/cgi-local/listing/webdata_newahillist.pl?cgifunction=Search

The London Bed and Breakfast Agency. A good few rooms at below 50 pounds. One of the first I looked at I visited years ago, in Category B+, and has a sauna and small pool for guests (£55 single, £33 shared double). 44 (0)20 7586 2768 http://www.londonbb.com/cata.html

2. Easyhotel.

Singles with ensuite shower and W.C. from £25. These three London hotels are worth checking near or at your time of stay though prices are often higher if you book around the time you are staying.

Checking near the end of July 2007, a basic room costs at least £35 per night for any time tried within over a month. Rooms at £25 were found beyond this time.

There are no windows in rooms at any price quoted here and rooms are very small. Each room has a double bed.

(Easyhotel South Kensington)

http://www.easyhotel.com/

3. Halls of Residence (only some here)

And Baden Powell House

Most are available student vacation times only:

Summer, Christmas and Easter,

 except Baden Powell House (all year round).

City University Hall of Residence: Walter Sickert Hall. 32 pounds for an ensuite (basic rather than "executive") single room. 020 7040 8822 http://www.city.ac.uk/ems/accomm/wsh.html

London School of Economics Vacations. Single rooms from 30 pounds. Web booking fee of £3.50. http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/vacations

L.S.E.'s accommodation is at: Bankside House, Butler's Wharf, Carr-Saunders Hall, Grosvenor House Studios, High Holborn, Northumberland House, Passfield Hall and Roseberry Hall. (You can choose which from what's available.)

University College London. From £22 without breakfast. http://ucl.ac.uk/residences

Kings College London. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/about/structure/admin/facser/conbro/accom

(Kings College Hall)

Meininger Hostel and Hotel, Baden-Powell House From around £28 per person for a single room for Y.H.A. members / youth / school groups often, though can sometimes be double this price or more. Spaces in small dorms are cheaper. Self catering is not offered. http://www.scouts.org.uk/nationalcentres/bpactivity.html

Climate Care

The Carbon Neutral Company

4. Homestays

Usually the same or a little cheaper than good priced Guest Houses. There is usually little difference in accommodation though you are in someone's own home space outside your room(s). This type of accommodation is called "private rooms" in much of Europe.

London Host and Guest Service. 44 (0)20 7385 9922 and http://buzzaway.beduk.co.uk/  (Choose details for London and scroll down the list to below the hotels.)

(Powell, A London Host and Guest Service house)

Welcome Homes. 44 (0)1227 276455 or 0845 370 9009 http://www.welcomehomes.co.uk/

See agencies in the college list above in the Guest Houses and small Hotels section.

Album: Full size photographs and information

5. Self Catering.

I've also included some travellers' hostels in section 6 for private rooms where you can cook at though The Central does not have much room for this.

Welby. http://www.welby.co.uk/  

Studios with full equipped kitchen area in quaint, old London terraced villas (North-West, Belsize area). THE MINIMUM STAY / CHARGE IS OF ONE WEEK.

Low Season Rates: Shared washroom & w.c. at £200 per week, then £40 per night after that if less than a week. Ensuite shower & w.c. at £260 per week, then £50 per night after that if less than a week. Better rates are available for stays of 4 weeks and longer (from £150 per week shared facilities and from £220 per week ensuite). £10 administration fee per booking to be paid on arrival. Summer time rates are higher.

The prices are for double studios with a double bed (1 or 2 persons). A twin bedded studio has a slightly higher rate. The telephones in the rooms have incoming calls only.

Studios 92. Details as before. Select the Studios or Flats / Studios tab. Basic, clean accommodation. The lowest price shown was £21 per night, with the minimum stay for that price being for a week. For self catering, check when booking there are these facilities. A payment in advance may be required, maybe by payment card. Deposits may be payable.

(A Studios 92 location)

Belsize Park Apartments, Belsize Square. I have stayed here a lot. A basic price appartment,  not ensuite, is one self-contained studio room and is £34 per night. Or £44 with private bathroom.

Staying at this place is very handy for self-catering on a nightly basis. Longer stays are welcome. It is clean and quite basic though comfortable enough (with T.V.). There is a mini kitchen in each room with cooker, mini fridge and sink, also pots, plates and cutlery. Shared showers and loos are fine too for basic price rooms.

This is good value for London if you don't especially plan to cook and very good value if that is what you want. Belsize Park, just over 10 mins. walk away, has some restaurants, cafes and bars and there are a handful closer in quaint, tiny Belsize Village. Hampstead town is a good 10 to 15 mins. walk further from Belsize Park. Swiss Cottage is 10 mins. also

44 (0)20 7435 2557 or 44 (0)20 7794 4307.
http://www.belsizeparkapartments.com/

"A list (from a college)." See above in 1.

Concept Studio Apartments. From £50 to £90 per night for a self-contained studio flat for a short let. The minimum stay is seven days. £300 deposit is required at booking, and there is a £40 vacating cleaning charge. A medium let is a minimum of 90 days and has same daily rate as a short term let. 44(0)20 7229 1011 http://www.conceptlondon.co.uk

Some more agencies you can search on the web to find (not at great budget prices): Acorn Apartments, The Apartment Service, Landmark Trust, At Home Abroad, Hideaways International, Hometours International, Interhome, Vacation Home Rentals Worldwide, Villanet, Villas and Apartments Abroad, Villas International.

Acarnos Travel Directory   Acarnos.com

The Acarnos list of the one hundred best or most useful travel websites on the Internet:  Top 100

6. Self Catering in Travellers' Hostels.

(Private room)

Also some information about dormitory spaces.

Two of the very cheapest hostels are: Hostel 639 in Kensal Green and Central Hostel in Bayswater. These are O.K. places, basic, clean and respectable, the former with a reasonable amount of space to hang around in, the latter with little space but cosy, and both a more pleasant stay than in some hostels. 

http://www.hostel639.co.uk/ and http://www.centralhostel.co.uk/ 

The Globetrotter Inn, near Hammersmith.

You may like to stay here for all or part of your stay if you like to meet people and to have good facilities:

a bar, kitchen (no washing up), London and U.K. travel information desk, computers with web access, eat your fill continental style breakfast provided, good sized attractive garden with tables outside by the bar, a pool table, small gym room, large screen video room with body sized beanbags and free video library, small T.V. rooms, small rooms to sit or work in.

If you want a private room, there are no single rooms advertised so you would have to pay the twin rate of 54 pounds per night, going over a £50 budget, unless though you work out something better with reception. And if you cook for yourself you would anyway save on eating out you'd probably do in a guest house or hotel. It's probably one of the best travellers' hostels in London, and for the facilities the most reasonable. The staff wash up for you if you cook for yourself and the kitchen is well arranged. There is a private or ensuite washroom if you take a private room. The bar is quite nice, with a good video jukebox and the option to drink outside.

It's an art-deco period simple and interesting building which used to be the headquarters of The Masons in the U.K. Each upstairs room has coloured crests upon its door of a particular British branch of The Masons. You can walk around and discover.

 http://www.globetrotterinns.com/

(A dorm. space from £19.)

Also, London Tourist Board's information telephone line can be good for Homestay or Homeshare agencies and guest room  agencies (as well as more guest houses, hotels, appartments and self catering accommodation). 44 (0)20 7971 0027 or 44(0)20 7932 2000.

The British Tourist Authority who can help are at 44 (0)20 01 8846 9000. Visitor Centre 44 (0)20 7620 1550 and accommodation line: 44 (0)20 7808 3801.

For those interested in learning English there are Homestay agencies with links to learning schools and learning with house hosts in accommodation.

Canterbury: you can get a return coach or train ticket from London if you want to remain there and commute for a day or a number of days, going early in the morning and leaving up to around nine or eight to nine in the evening.

'Funfares' coach tickets are available if you buy from The Web network only, with a card* (nationalexpress.com). These are often five pounds or less. There are many domestic travel agents which sell regular National Express coach tickets and you can buy from Victoria Coach Station anytime before you depart, and online or by telephone and pick up the ticket at Victoria Coach Station anytime the booking office is open, including on day of travel. Campus and S.T.A. sell them, whatever age the buyer is. As do most Y.H.A. youth hostels, all those in London, and the Canterbury and Dover Y.H.A. hostels. Regular coach tickets to Canterbury cost £12.80 day return, £12.70 for an economy return and £11.70 for a single. If buying online, again the fare is just £2 to £5 return.

Regarding staying most cheaply, I have stayed in the Y.H.A. Hostel and Kipps Hostel. They are each about 15 minutes walk from the very centre, each in the opposite direction. A single room at Kipps is £19. (A dormitory space is £14.)

http://www.yha.org.uk/find-accommodation/south-east-england/hostels/canterbury/index.aspx and

http://kipps.matrixnetwork.co.uk/

Some Canterbury guest houses: http://www.uk-expo.com/bnb/canterbury.htm

Free rooms and / or meeting people

http://www.place2stay.net/

http://www.couchsurfing.com/

Some places to stay around the country.

http://www.uk-expo.com/bnb

6 June 2007.

mailto:stayinlondon@bluebottle.com

(not for bookings)

Contact me by electronic mail with comments you wish to give about accommodation mentioned here or on list or links page mentioned here. Or post in the guest book or in the Travel Forum pages.

I can't answer any enquiries about the accommodation beyond what is given, except to give personal experiences if I remember.

I would be happy to receive information about more London budget accommodation establishments.

London Budget Accommodation on Freewebs 

Travel Forum

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* Considering National Express 'Funfares' and also generally, if you don't have a credit or debit card to purchase online, by post or by telephone travel tickets or to pay for accommodation online, by post or by telephone, you can easily get the following prepaid cards. You don't need a bank account or to be employed or a credit reference. National Express take all of these cards. Most places which take cards take MasterCard and just about anywhere which takes cards takes VISA (see 3V VISA Vouchers, Lloyds prepaid VISA and other prepaid VISA cards).

VISA Electron card* (Travel Money Card) from the Post Office (£10, information at postoffice.co.uk, given immediately at many Post Offices if passport is presented and your initial load amount of at least £250 is loaded. Takes a day to activate.)
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/

MasterCard from Virgin Money (£9.95, posted in around a week from a Web network application.)
http://uk.virginmoney.com/pay-as-you-go/

VISA vouchers and 3V card (The card is free and the vouchers cost a few pounds each time. These can be used only by telephone, mail order or online anywhere which accepts VISA. This is unlike the other cards as there is a maximum limit of £200 per voucher and so per transaction. Though for paying for accommodation in advance, you could pay for nights separately in stages, and also break down purchases of more than one item into more purchases.)
https://www.3vcash.com

About prepaid cards in The U.K.

* Prepaid cards which are not linked to a personal bank account are typified by a charge for cash withdrawals from cash dispensing computers and some by a percentage charge for transactions. (Remember that Credit Cards have an interest rate based fee which adds up if transactions are not paid for within an interest free period.) Most prepaid cards don't have a monthly fee, the fee for those that do is small. Some charge a small loading fee also. (The Post Office only charges transaction charges if the purchase is in a different currency to the card currency, though any person can take out one each of Sterling, Euros and Dollars card, £10 each to obtain. There is only a loading fee, of 1.5 % or £3 a time at least and £20 at most, with Sterling currency cards. Their cards do not have to be used for travel related spending.)

 Some travellers'  hostels require a key or security deposit payment to be made on arrival (as well as your payment) by some means if 'credit' card's security details aren't given, and some hostels only take a payment for this. Some hotels, most often apartment hotels, ask for a security deposit, most often for 150 to 750 pounds for stays of a week or longer. Prepaid card holders could only use their cards for this by paying from the card rather than guaranteeing. These deposits are seldom asked for before arrival and cash is always taken.

A small percentage of commercial companies ask for the card which purchased the item to be presented if collecting an item in person after payment for identification purposes (I don't know if whether or not you have your passport for example, usually only stated is for the payment card to be presented). This includes many concert venues in the U.K. for prepaid ticket collection. This is fine with most prepaid cards. I am not sure about the 'Virtual VISA cards' or the 3V card together with a voucher. Though I don't know. Ask the seller regarding these before or at time of purchase. It seems also to me that with such proof, and a passport or license as well, how could you be refused what you have paid for?

It may also be the policy of some hotels, hostels and guest houses to ask to see the card which paid when you arrive for identification purposes only. This might be a problem if you paid with a 3V card or 'Virtual VISA' card and they assumed it is a physically operable VISA card. With 3V payments it is wise to keep the voucher just in case. Many persons would say they can't see you being denied when you have paid if presenting I.D. as well, though some places may just refuse if a card can't be shown with the card number on it. Establishments may be required to see a payment card with card number.

3V cards have a different number to the VISA card transaction number, which is given in the voucher you buy, and which is the number you give on the phone or type into a computer to pay. The VISA transaction number, from the 3V voucher, is the equivalent of a credit or debit VISA card number. The 3V card number is meaningless to a retailer and they don't know about it anyhow. 3V cards don't have a VISA logo or name anywhere on them. Establishments may themselves be required to see a payment card with the VISA transaction number on it.

Any of these cards can be used to pay anywhere in the world. Again the 3V card with 3V VISA vouchers can not be used in person.

Some of the prepaid cards declare they don't allow, specifically, payment via Paypal (eg. Post Office VISA Electron) with them and some do. But I have unwittingly used this card with Paypal.

Some cards, as with the Post Office card, bizarrely don't enable payment to individuals as distinct from companies if made via The Web network (but telephone payments are fine). I suppose that might be only if you know it is an individual you would be paying. (I have made cheque payments for guest house rooms to individuals but wouldn't have known about that if I had paid by a card.) It seems to me likely that these rules go against European and perhaps national legislation. As with Paypal, though it is possible, and, actually, why shouldn't you? In this one instance anyway, I am sure the card issuers don't care.

Some cards do not enable payment for personal escorts or any service which comes under the umbrella label of "massage" (for those wishing a non-sexual massage a regrettable label). In places like Edinburgh it may often not be known in advance what kind of massage is being arranged, if there are such boundaries at certain times. And in Edinburgh many intending to take a hot, reserved "sauna" would be unwittingly unable to pay by certain prepaid cards. One imagines, if the personal service is taken, card payments are processed and the banks don't care, naturally. After all, the same banks' credit card customers can take these services and pay with their cards, wittingly and firstly unwittingly. All that can be said perhaps is that "gremlins got in to the works" somehow. But isn't that true everywhere? It is not often so obvious how bad these "gremlins" are. The worst.

Some cards state they do not allow payment for seeing some photographs or drawings of the naked human body though it is probably O.K. in art galleries.

email: stayinlondon@bluebottle.com

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