Planning a trip to London for May! Hotel help

Penpal

So i'm planning a trip to London for my girlfriend and I, and I'm fairly inept at the entire thing. Looking for a hotel is where I'm clinched at the moment, and I'm really trying to find one that isn't too shady, is within my budget, and is within pretty good tube range so we can get to other parts of the city easily. Is there anyone with some travel knowledge that could help me out? I was looking to head out early may, and for about 10-11 days. My hotel budget as it stands is anywhere from 12oo-15oo, canadian.

Thanks in advance!

saint2e

$1200-$1500 CAD is about 600-750 Pounds, or about 50-60 pounds a night. That's gonna be pretty rare in the london area, but not unheard of.

When I lived over there, I frequently used "Premier Travel Inn" hotels. They were simple, but did the job. They were usually around 50pounds/night.

Look on their website for their hotels on the outskirts of London. I know there's one in Wimbledon, and they have a train/tube station that'll get you into London easy peasy.

But you gotta book early, so good luck.

corcorigan

Central London can be up to £100 a night, for pretty basic rooms.

It's an expensive city.

LewieP's Mummy

Check out these websites, they're normally quite good:
www.laterooms.com

www.lastminute.com

But don't stay in Excell - transport not very good there, hotels noisy cos of City airport being close. Greenwich will be too far out - takes an hour to get into central London from there.

Buy off peak saver cards for on the tube - much cheaper to travel after 9:30 a.m., or get an Oyster card - discounted travel cards.

Janson

For your budget I'd probably go for a chain like Travelodge or the one saint2e mentions. Cheap hotels in London are really too hit and miss to bet on. The chain motels are at least of a consistent standard and although basic I have always found them to be clean and reasonably comfortable (and to be honest, with more room and sometimes nicer bathrooms than more expensive hotels).

Bad-Beat

If you can avoid it, try to avoid Central London for your hotels.
Greater London is your best bet considering your budget. London has a very decent transportation system so going from one end of London to the other is fairly easy to do, compared with other UK cities. Places like Croydon, Wimbledon, Wembley.
Premier Inn and Travelodge, in my opinion, are the two best hotels that won't cost the Earth. Obviously booking early is a given.

Penpal

Alright!
Thanks a lot for the info. I should have said that I wasn't exactly looking for dead center London, but a hotel that is a block or two away from the tube so I can just get a ride in. The cheaper the better, and my budget can grow, I'm still saving, and cheap hotels aren't really a problem, it's just sketchy hotels/areas that get to me.

So i'm assuming when I hit up heathrow or something, I can buy tube passes there?

Bad-Beat

If you fly into Londn Gatwick, as apposed to Heathrow you can get an "Oyster" card. Basically it is a top up card that you can take into most retailers and get it topped up. It works out cheaper then a standard tube ticket and you can just pay when you need to.
Info on Oyster
Gatwick Express is a train that runs from Gatwick Airport right through to Victoria station, pretty much in the heart of London, where from you can take a train to most places.
Info on Gatwick Express

Janson

You can buy an Oyster card at Heathrow, too. I was there only last summer.

But yes, an Oyster card is definitely worth buying.

corcorigan

In fact, you can get into central London from Heathrow via the tube, but Gatwick is way further out.

Bad-Beat

Gatwick is further out but will go straight to Victoria. The tube to and from Heathrow would take longer because you'd have to stop at a hell of a lot of stations before getting to the same sort of area. GE is a more comfortable experience compared to tube trains as well, as it is an overground service.

corcorigan

Bad-Beat wrote: »

Gatwick is further out but will go straight to Victoria. The tube to and from Heathrow would take longer because you'd have to stop at a hell of a lot of stations before getting to the same sort of area. GE is a more comfortable experience compared to tube trains as well, as it is an overground service.

More expensive though. Isn't there a Heathrow Express too? I'd personally not want to get the tube into central London after a 12 hour flight.

My main experience of the Gatwick Express is watching it zoom past as I wait for commuter trains at East Croydon...