Hotel Accommodation
Advice about choosing a hotel location in London, what the star ratings actually mean, plus detailed reviews of everything from cheap 3-stars to luxury 5-stars
3-star hotel reviews
Comfort Inn Westminster - a cheap but perfectly nice little 3-star in Pimlico close to Victoria station2
Days Inn Hyde Park - a decent 3-star by Paddington station close to Marble Arch and Oxford Street4
Ibis London City Shoreditch - a business hotel 10-mins from Tower Bridge and the Tower of London2
Premier Inn Leicester Square - a cheap 3-star hotel that’s in a fantastic location just off Leicester Square3
Travelodge Covent Garden - an ugly hotel that’s a short walk from Covent Garden and Oxford Street1
4-star hotel reviews
Citadines South Kensington - farther out than we usually like, but worth it for the kitchen in the room4
Club Quarters St. Paul’s - it’s more like a 3-star than a 4-star, but it’s only a 1-min walk from St. Paul’s1
Holiday Inn Regent’s Park - a huge hotel with a decent location in walking distance of Oxford Street4
Mercure Paddington - a 4-star that’s more like a 3-star, but it’s only 1-min walk from Paddington station2
Radisson Blu Edwardian Sussex - small rooms but in a good place round the back of Oxford Street1
The Strand Palace - a huge hotel at the end of Waterloo Bridge, round the corner from Covent Garden6
Thistle Holborn Hotel - quite posh with a good location near Shaftesbury Avenue and the British Museum1
The Tower Hotel - don’t be put off by its ugly exterior because it has a great location by Tower Bridge3
5-star hotel reviews
Andaz Liverpool Street - it tries too hard to be cool, but it’s situated next-door to Liverpool Street station4
The Piccadilly West End - small but luxurious rooms, in the heart of the West End in Shaftesbury Avenue4
The Ritz Hotel – the finest hotel in London (maybe the world!) and you’ll never forget your stay here6
Royal Horseguards - one of our favourite hotels in the whole of London, between Whitehall and the river4
Shangri-La The Shard - if you don’t mind heights you’ll get a great view two-thirds the way up The Shard5
Threadneedles Hotel - our second-favourite hotel in London, round the back of the Royal Exchange3
The Trafalgar St. James - famous for its open-air rooftop restaurant that overlooks Trafalgar Square4
The Waldorf Hilton - the rooms are luxurious and it’s perfectly situated on the bend of Aldwych4
Find a hotel by area
Central London – Aldwych · Barbican · Belgravia · Bloomsbury · City (Square Mile) · Clerkenwell · Covent Garden · Holborn · Farringdon · Fitzrovia · Knightsbridge · Leicester Square · Marble Arch · Marylebone · Mayfair · Piccadilly Circus · Soho · St. James’s · St. Paul’s Cathedral · Trafalgar Square · Victoria · West End · Westminster
North London – Camden Town · Euston · Finsbury · Hoxton · King’s Cross · Little Venice · Maida Vale · Pentonville · Somers Town · St. John’s Wood
South London – Bankside · Borough · Lambeth · London Bridge · Nine Elms · Pimlico · South Bank · Southwark · Vauxhall · Waterloo
West London – Bayswater · Chelsea · Earl’s Court · Kensington · Paddington · South Kensington
East London – Bermondsey · Canary Wharf · Greenwich · North Greenwich · Shoreditch · Spitalfields · Tower of London · Whitechapel
Where should I stay in London?
If you want to stay somewhere cheap then try Victoria / Pimlico, Bayswater / Paddington or Earl’s Court / Kensington. You should be able to find plenty of B&Bs, 1★, 2★ and 3★ hotels there. The nicest areas are Victoria, Paddington, Bayswater and then Pimlico (in that order).
If you want to stay in a mid-priced hotel then 3★ can be found all over London – you can even get some in the West End around Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden). Despite being in the centre of town there are a surprisingly high number of mid-priced hotels there. Of course they all come with shoebox rooms as standard, but you can’t be too fussy if you want something cheap and central.
And if you want to stay in a 4★ or 5★ hotel then just go straight for the centre. We’d be happiest around Covent Garden, Bloomsbury, Holborn, Soho and The City, plus Mayfair, St. James and Westminster. And don’t stay anywhere further east than Tower Bridge, further west than the Royal Albert Hall, or north of the Marylebone / Euston Road.
What do hotel star-ratings mean?
Hotel star ratings can be awarded by different companies using different criteria, but here’s what you can typically expect to find in each grade of hotel:
B&B hotels - £35 to £80 - Small hotels with breakfast included in the price. They probably won’t have a proper restaurant, only a small breakfast room. Rooms will have either an ensuite bathroom or a shared bathroom that you can access with a key. If it’s not ensuite then you’ll probably have a sink in the room instead. Most B&Bs also provide a kettle, TV and telephone in the room.
1★ hotels - £30 to £60 - Okay for a couple of night’s sleep, but the rooms will be the smaller than a shoebox and have a shared bathroom that you can access with a key. You might get a sink and a TV in the room, or you might not. You might get a kettle and a hairdryer, or you might not. The lobby might have a small breakfast room if you’re lucky, or more likely a vending machine in the corridor.
2★ hotels - £30 to £110 - The bedroom will probably have an ensuite bathroom, or possibly a shared one down the hall. The rooms will probably have a TV, hairdryer, kettle, but you’ll probably have to request the iron from reception. The safe will probably be in reception as well. The hotel should definitely have a breakfast room, and might also have a restaurant for lunch and dinner.
3★ hotels - £100 to £200 - Good quality rooms with an ensuite bathroom, kettle, telephone and TV. You might get Wi-Fi for a charge. You might get a minibar. You should get a safe. There will definitely be a bar and a breakfast room, and they might serve lunch and dinner as well. Many of the 3-star hotels are very centrally located, and it’s possible to find a few right in the centre of town.
4★ hotels - £130 to £280 - As above, but with a good-quality bar and restaurant. Rooms will be quite spacious (although in my experience some 4-star hotels seem a lot like 3-stars). They will probably have a minibar and room service. You might get complimentary Wi-Fi, or you might have to pay for it. The hotel will have business facilities and concierge services, and maybe a little gym attached. It might even have a car park.
5★ hotels - £260 to £520 - As above, but with larger rooms. They will probably have a couple of different bars and restaurants inside the hotel to give you a choice. They will probably offer a few of these: gym, sauna, spa, swimming pool, in-room massages, business facilities, valet parking, limo service and laundry, and maybe a turn-down service as well. You’ll also get 24-hour room service.