Cheap Bed & Breakfast Accommodation In Central London
London has a reputation for expensive hotel accommodation with
very little cheap budget hotels. OK so what is cheap. For the
purposes of this article lets define cheap as below 100$US per
night, (60 pounds sterling in local currency) for a standard
double/twin room with all taxes paid.
Most of the hotel accommodation in this bracket is termed 'bed
and breakfast' hotels. This can be misleading to the unaware. No
it's not a cosy family owned guest house with personal attentive
hosts, traditional English breakfasts and home-made offerings,
commonly available outside London. The vast majority are small
hotels with 20-50 rooms, staffed by immigrants on very low
salaries with very simple rooms, seldom lifts and 'continental
breakfasts'. That is not to say that these establishments should
be avoided, but there are an awful lot of poor quality ones.
The main cheap hotel districts in London are Bayswater, Victoria
and Kings Cross. Here you will see lots of these bed and
breakfast hotels together in clusters. An ensuite double or twin
room with breakfast in these areas is around 70-100$US
Kings Cross has a poor reputation, it used to be notorious for
drugs, crime and prostitution. That is all largely behind it now
and it's a district on the up, the whole area is being
rejuvenated and Eurostar Trains will terminate at Kings Cross
station in 2007. The bed and breakfast hotels are all around a
garden square immediately opposite Kings Cross Station. Kings
Cross is no more than a mile from the West End, the central
entertainment area of London, and there's lots of public
transport on your doorstep.
Bayswater is on the northern border of Hyde Park, London's
biggest, and within a mile are Oxford Street, Kensington Palace
and Paddington Station, (terminus for the Heathrow Express
airport link). Bayswater is a traditional budget area and a
great place to stay for the cost conscious traveller. Bayswater
High Street (Queensway) is host to a great variety of economical
restaurants and shops. Everyday supermarkets, launderettes etc
are commonplace.
Victoria is very central, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace,
Westminster Abbey and the London Eye are all within walking
distance. The cheap hotels are south of the railway station,
stretching from the coach stations to Pimlico Underground. The
area is pleasant and safe.
Room rates are highly variable. In the depths of winter, rooms
may be discounted as low as 50 US$, but be warned these tend to
be of the hotels of the worst kind. Most of the hotels will also
discount less at the weekend.
Some of the better bed and breakfasts include the Montana Excel
and Howard Winchester Hotels in Kings Cross, the Central Hotel
in Victoria and the Blakemore and Annur Hotels in Bayswater.
Some of these may be advertised as three star hotels - beware in
small print you may notice the words 'self rated'.
A good starting point for your research on cheap bed and
breakfast hotels in London are: Cheap Bed and Breakfasts in London, Bed and Breakfasts near London Victoria Station,
Bayswater London Bed and Breakfasts and Bed and Breakfasts Kings Cross, London