Hotels in London

[Felicity]

Now I know that hotels are not strictly speaking fitting into the category of "slow" but there are times when we all need a decent get-what-you've-paid for hotel for a few nights and I have found that a lot of the people who visit me only have 2 to 4 nights to spend in London. It can be a hassle in a rental place for such a short time and this is where the hotel comes in.

I thought this list http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotel/68826/The-best-hotels-in-central-London.html in the Telegraph looked well researched and narrows the field somewhat, as it is overwhelming trying to decide which one, where. Do not be put off by the fact that there are some extremely expensive ones in there - it goes right down to a hostel for £10 a night. I like their choices although I only know a tiny fraction of them.

 

[jonathan]

Philippa and I stayed in their no.78 (cheapest of the 'mid-range'): CitizenM, just over a week ago. We liked it so much, we immediately booked again for our next London visit.

 

[Mike Brown]

I agree with jonathan, i was for 2 days in CitizenM and also enjoyed the rest. And it's not too expensive in my opinion

 

[Pauline]

I am looking at hotels in London and the rooms look very small in Citizen M @jonathan . How did they feel? It looks like the room is literally as wide as the bed.

The trains from Dorset (where we move to next week) come into Waterloo Station, and the ride is an hour longer than we had from Stroud (2hr45min), so for any London visits we will probably spend the night. I am looking at hotels in that area and the Citizen M is close. So are a few of the Premier Inns. We tried one in Dorchester recently and liked it.

 

[jonathan]

Well, the rooms aren't large and, yes, the bed does take up the full width (but it's a very big bed!). However, we found it very well designed, and it didn't feel cramped for our 2-night stay. There's a huge storage drawer under the bed which easily takes the luggage, and some hanging space by the door. Excellent soundproofing.

A disadvantage for some might be the lack of kettles in the room - but I'd rather go down to the (24-hr) bar area and get a decent coffee/tea or whatever. The breakfasts are excellent (but not cheap), the lounge area has lots of newspapers & magazines. Altogether, much less boring than Premier Inn

 

[Pauline]

Thanks @jonathan - I booked it for Sunday April 3 when @Shannon will be in London. I think I will book it for July too, when @PokeyMindy is in London (haven't made plans with her yet, but when I looked at Vancouver Studios where she is staying it was already booked!). You can cancel up to the day of booking, which is nice.

If you join their "club" the prices are better than on booking.com.

I really don't know London and this area south of the river is new to me.

 

[jonathan]

Yes, our first booking was with booking.com, but then we joined their club for the second stay. It's an interesting area: not very far to the river (by Tate Modern, at present going through a big expansion, and Shakespeare's Globe). Not too far from Waterloo, as you say - and Southwark & Borough Market are close by to the east (we're yet to explore that side).