Reasonably priced but cool places to stay in London

[Clair De Lune]

Hi loves, some friends really lovely friends of mine have scraped together enough cash to take their first holiday. They are taking their son to London for the first time to see an exhibition in the British library in Sep. They're looking for a unique/quirky/interesting hotel or somewhere with a cool view of a tower clock (their son is obsessed) or a nice church. Their budget is £240 tops for 2 nights. Any ideas would be most welcome

 

[Cloo]

Hi loves, some friends really lovely friends of mine have scraped together enough cash to take their first holiday. They are taking their son to London for the first time to see an exhibition in the British library in Sep. They're looking for a unique/quirky/interesting hotel or somewhere with a cool view of a tower clock (their son is obsessed) or a nice church. Their budget is £240 tops for 2 nights. Any ideas would be most welcome

I'll be honest, it'll be a struggle to find anything even very basic for under £200 a night centrally; their best bet, if it's early in September, might be university halls, some of which rent out their rooms to travellers before students arrive? That would be inexpensive and something a bit different I suppose. And there's a good few near British Library, which would save on travel costs.

 

[surreybrowncap]

This might be useful..

bookings for everyone

UniversityRooms.com has availability in over 400 university colleges and student residences in over 100 cities around the world.

www.universityrooms.com

 

[A380]

I used to use this place when staying in town for work in the before time. Prices varied but sometimes you could get a room for as little s £40 a night. Suspect it might me a bit more in the holidays. HOTEL BELGRAVE HOUSE | ⋆⋆ | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM | SEASON DEALS FROM £121

It's not that cool but is near Victoria and very very cheap. It's one step up from a hostel and has some comedy small bedrooms, but was always really clean.

 

[salem]

You could try the YHA in St Pancras, might just about get a view of the clock tower in St Pancras (you'd want to call) and it's quite reasonably priced and right opposite the British Library

 

[RoyReed]

I can't recommend anything personally, but there are loads of hotels near the BL at between £150 and £200per night. It should be possible to get one with a view of the clock tower on St Pancras Station.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I stayed at the Church Street Hotel in Camberwell recently which was cheap and pretty good for a cheap hotel - has a bit of character in a good way. I mean it's still a cheap hotel so you get what you pay for but good value. Camberwell probably isn't anyone's ideal location for a visit to London but it's pretty easy to get to the centre.

 

[Clair De Lune]

Thanks so much everyone x

 

[Pickman's model]

there's a clock tower at norwood junction and there's two trains an hour from there direct to st pancras - which is right beside the british library

don't know about hotels in norwood tho. there are other clock towers at crouch end and golders green tho again dk about hotels

 

[AverageJoe]

When I had to stay in London for work I always stayed in a serviced appartment. There's one in Long Lane that is five mins from London Bridge so you have Borough Market etc on your doorstep and you're a bus ride from anywhere.

The added advantage is that they have a kitchen too so you can eat for realistic prices. There's a Tesco underneath too and the floor to ceiling windows give you a fab view at night.

London Bridge - Empire Square

Marlin Apartments Empire Square offer three times more space than a hotel room. Book direct for our guaranteed best rates. 5 minutes walk from The Shard.

www.marlin.com

 

[RoyReed]

St Pancras clock tower



Kings Cross has a clock tower too, so you might even get two for the price of one.

 

[Elpenor]

When I want a cheap night in London I stay at the Hampton by East Croydon station - often around £70/ night.

Frequent and quick trains to the various stations, there’s a coop 50m away and Boxpark is a bit further.

Not much help I’m afraid but there is a clock tower within 10 mins walk or so

 

[RoyReed]

There's also St Pancras Old Church which is just up the road from the BL.

 

[RoyReed]

And if they're coming via Victoria they have to stop and see Little Ben.

 

[nottsgirl]

I didn’t have a good experience at the YHA St Pancras when I stayed there. I’d be tempted to look at Air Bnb.

 

[BristolEcho]

We stayed in the Charlotte Guest House in West Hampstead which is apparently a short train ride to the Library. This place always sticks in mind as being a good one as I've stayed in some dives in London.

The triple room seems to be between £200-260 for two nights depending on dates. No idea if it has any clocks near by though.

 

[scifisam]

I'm struggling to think of anywhere at all that's suitable for two adults and a kid TBH, let alone somewhere quirky. I've just looked up houseboats, as somewhere quirky, but they're at least double that budget. Staying further out would help, of course. Croydon isn't a bad suggestion - it's really easy to get to King's Cross via the Thameslink from there.

When I had to stay in London for work I always stayed in a serviced appartment. There's one in Long Lane that is five mins from London Bridge so you have Borough Market etc on your doorstep and you're a bus ride from anywhere.

The added advantage is that they have a kitchen too so you can eat for realistic prices. There's a Tesco underneath too and the floor to ceiling windows give you a fab view at night.

London Bridge - Empire Square

Marlin Apartments Empire Square offer three times more space than a hotel room. Book direct for our guaranteed best rates. 5 minutes walk from The Shard.

www.marlin.com

They're well over £300 a night though.

 

[cesare]

I know it's not quirky/cool as such but it's a stone throw from Tower Bridge and the Tower of London - right on the Thames and St Katharine's Dock. You can get a family room in the Tower Bridge Guoman Hotel from £123 per night (DBL bed and sofa bed).

 

[danski]

There are often reduced rooms in or around the city of a weekend.
At least, that has been my experience but I’ve not stayed there for a few years now so may or may not be the case still.

 

[DaphneM]

Airbnb?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Second attempt to reply (first attempt somehow disappeared completely)

I've never done the hotel thing in London - either lived there or close enough, or stayed at mum-tat's place, and no she can't do B+B for 3. I get the impression some London hotels work on the basis that guests from around the world are unlikely to come back, so they don't try very hard - although the online review era may have weeded out the worst. AirBnB can be a lottery - not sure i'd recommend it with kid in tow. It may be safer to go for one of the chains rather than 'quirky'...

Somewhere touristy may be out of price range, and (assume we're talking a weekend) things may be expensive if one of the big london football teams has got a big match on.

danski 's comment about the City may also apply to places that cater more for business travellers in the docklands patch, although again a big event at excel or the O2 may bugger that idea up.

as a slightly random suggestion, would somewhere like woolwich work? it's got the Docklands Light Railway and Crossrail and a fairly frequent normal train service (all subject to disclaimers about engineering works), so is fairly well connected, and (if it's working that day) has the woolwich ferry and the pedestrian tunnel under the river, which may appeal to kid. and handy for blackheath / greenwich park (and the museums) which may appeal for the other day if they don't want to do central london again.

Woolwich doesn't have a stand alone clock tower, but would the royal arsenal gate, town hall, and former co-op head office / department store (now a travelodge) do for a start? The only churches I know of are two former 1930s cinemas.

 

[Clair De Lune]

My friend is super grateful for all your replies. I've passed them on including the churches and clocktowers to check out x

 

[Red Cat]

No quirky cool or airbnb in London at that budget. Further out in a premier inn is more realistic, we stayed in one in Ealing which was fine, 5 mins from the tube, and several tube lines and train to paddington from there.

 

[Plumdaff]

The Belsize Park Premier Inn is pretty centrally located near Camden, Hampstead, Parliament Hill and with bus and tube outside, we've used it a few times. It doesn't get that booked up, I bet if they renamed it Camden it would be full (please don't Premier Inn)

 

[what]

If your friend searches the budget chains, travelodge, premier inn etc with london as the location. They can see how far out they need to go for their budget.
Its not all lost if its a way out as there is many train and tube lines which will get you into the centre quickly. Use google maps to see how long.

 

[marty21]

There's also St Pancras Old Church which is just up the road from the BL.

View attachment 333710

With the Thomas Hardy grave tree

 

[marty21]

There are often reduced rooms in or around the city of a weekend.
At least, that has been my experience but I’ve not stayed there for a few years now so may or may not be the case still.

The city is a lot busier at weekends now , I used to love wandering around an almost empty district on a Sunday afternoon , now more of the cafes & pubs actually open , it's no longer the weekend ghost town.

 

[Sweet FA]

I stayed at the Church Street Hotel in Camberwell recently which was cheap and pretty good for a cheap hotel - has a bit of character in a good way. I mean it's still a cheap hotel so you get what you pay for but good value. Camberwell probably isn't anyone's ideal location for a visit to London but it's pretty easy to get to the centre.

Stayed there a couple of weeks ago & agree - cheap & pretty good. Clean, comfortable etc.

 

[wtfftw]

If your friend searches the budget chains, travelodge, premier inn etc with london as the location. They can see how far out they need to go for their budget.
Its not all lost if its a way out as there is many train and tube lines which will get you into the centre quickly. Use google maps to see how long.

Can also hotel search on Google maps. Shows price by night and can filter so good for area prices.

 

[mango5]

I was going to suggest Church Street Hotel | Free Breakfast | Best Price | Book Now as I know of Urbs staying there in the past. Not the ones who posted on this thread, so seems a popular choice. It's also nice because it's family run.

I also had a colleague who stayed at some sort of convent near Russell Square that does B&B. But I'm not sure exactly what it's called and where it is. Maybe this post will jog someone's memory.