Inexpensive but nice hotels in London – Part 1

It’s official! After Moscow, London is the most expensive city in the world when it comes to hotel accommodation. With the average price well over 100 (that’s almost US $200) accommodation will comprise the main part of the expense involved in a trip to the capital. If you aren’t lucky enough to be charging this cost to your company, fear not: it is possible to find good, affordable accommodation in London.

On the whole it’s the chains that are the most expensive so think about staying in independent hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation. Forget the idea of a dowdy, little guest house smelling of cabbage and presided over by an old battleaxe. London has plenty of comfortable family run establishments that are perfectly adequate and don’t cost the earth. Some have private en suite bathrooms, others are shared. Some also offer evening meals, others breakfast only. In fact there are so many to choose from your first task will be deciding which area to stay in. Now, you could stay way out of the center and save money but you’d only spend it on public transport so I’m going to discount those options and look right away at options nearer the center.

The main areas where you’ll find this type of accommodation are Paddington, Victoria, Bayswater, Earls Court and Kings Cross. This is where a little research ensure you make the right choice. Use the Internet to research not just the location of the sights you want to see but also the nightlife and restaurants in the area too. The London Underground means that you can get from one part of the city to another relatively hassle free, even at peak times but some areas may be more suited to your needs than others.

Bayswater this area is just north of Hyde Park. You can walk to Oxford Street in about fifteen minutes so this is a good location for shopaholics. Portobello Market is also close by and this is a great destination for fashion fiends looking for something more unusual.

It’s primarily an area that attracts visitors in the city for leisure so if you are able to travel mid-week you can get some good discounts.

Paddington an ideal location if you are flying in or out of the country from Heathrow because the Express Link departs from the mainline station here. Don’t book too close to the station, look a few streets away at quiet, tree-filled squares such as Sussex Gardens.

Kings Cross much-improved in recent years, Camden Council has invested a lot of money in dealing with some of the social problems