Sleep well, sleep cheaply and safely in London: Part 1

Whenever we try to save money, we sort of always check out the YHA or youth hostels, thinking that it should be the cheaper alternative. No, in London, these are not any cheaper than privately run hostels or hotels. Private hostels do have rates starting from £9/night, and usually average around £13/night or so. There are plenty of rooms available, and you don’t have to worry, unless you decide to come on Fridays! Fridays and Saturdays are when the whole country and Europe come to town to play. So make sure you got a room on these days in spring or summer!

I have been helping my friend find a short term accommodation for a couple of days and have been surprised by the number of hotels offering from £120 per week. These hotels usually charge about £25-40 per night for a non en-suite single room.

These hotels are located around Earls Court and Bayswater, and these are good, safe and well lit areas to stay in. There are lots of hotels and activities at night.

What kind of room can you get with that kind of price? Well, you get what you pay for.

Usually they won’t give you breakfast, or just give you the basic coffee and cereal plus milk which I had mentioned. If you want to have an English breakfast, you might have to add £5.00 or something like that per day. Is it worth it? Well, I would not pay for it. Would rather save it up for a nice brunch at a nice café or grab a quick lunch at Pret a Manger- a popular sandwich joint that you will see everywhere. For £5, you could also have a huge plate of roast duck rice at FOUR SEASONS or other Chinese restaurants, or even lunch buffets at Chinatown(Chinese Food) or Bayswater (Indian food)!

The size of the room? Small!

It is always small in London, anyway, unless you pay top price in a top hotel. Usually there is just enough room for you walk around the bed, and the bed would be pushed against the wall for maximum space saving! Some rooms would have a small cabinet for tv and bar fridge, and some have only one of these! There is usually a chair, or a small sofa.

You might have to share a toilet and bathroom with others, usually a 2-4 more rooms. I know, that will give you the creeps, especially for gals, because of all the sagas of hidden cameras. Unfortunately, I have no solutions for that. For the toilet thingy, what I do is always have a small packet of baby wipes or moist toilet tissue with me. I will give the seat a few wipes (using a bunch of toilet paper to grab that wet toilet tissue) before using. The soap solutions in the tissue should kill off most of the germs, and you get a clean seat. If you are not bringing this from home, you can get it from one of the supermarkets or at Boots.

If you go for an ensuite room, you got to find out more about what you are paying for. Usually it is a TINY shower plus toilet only. A bath tub is rare, except in hotels that cost more than £70/night.

Security? This is something which you must be alert to when you go to the hotel. Some small hotels would lock the front door, and a staff would open the door for you to go in. I think that is very reasonable, since they have no security guards. I prefer this to hotels whereby you could just walk in, and head off to the lift.

P/S: we found a great bargain at Holiday House Hotel at Leinster Garden, near Lancaster Gate tube. Damage? Only £125/week for an ensuite room. You got your own bar fridge, and there is communual lounge for tv, cooking facilities and coin operated laundry!

Another good deal is at Hyde Park House at St Petersburg terrace. Also £120/week.

Added: 1 June 06
Note:
We did not like the Holiday HouseTHAT much, probably because of the ongoing renovation, and some "dodgy" lookinh characters who try to be "friendly" to gals. Make sure they give you a room to lower floors, the top floor means more than 80 steps up the narrow stairs, with feeble water pressure.

For a more $$, get a place at Royal Bayswater Hotel at £45/day, including an English breakfast. We saw the room, small but very clean and nice!! It is along the Bayswater road, and the bus-stop is just downstairs. Thumbs up for location and security