Find out where the best places to stay in London are and get tips on specific budget or high-quality hotels.

Where to stay in London

Are you willing to spend time on the Underground in exchange for cheaper accommodation, or would you rather pay a bit more and enjoy being within walking distance of the most famous sights around Hyde Park?

That is the main dilemma you’ll face when choosing accommodation in London. Hotels outside the city centre offer significantly better value for money than those in the centre.

The 10 best hotels in London

Central London

The area between Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge is considered the true centre of London. The so-called City of London falls under the administration of the City of Westminster, which is one of London’s 32 boroughs.

It offers around 2,000 accommodation options. The advantage is a significant reduction in travel time to the sights, which can save you a few pounds a day on travel tickets. The disadvantage is obvious – the cost of the accommodation itself.

The lowest prices per night start at 100 gbp.

• Search for accommodation in central London

However, other neighbourhoods within London Underground Zones 1 or 2 can also be considered part of central London; from here, not only will your journeys be cheaper, but you’ll never have to travel more than 20 minutes to reach the very heart of London.

You can also look for hotels in the quieter neighbourhoods of Kensington and Paddington near Hyde Park, or the bustling Waterloo area on the south bank of the Thames. In these areas, you may even find prices from 91 eur per night.

Outlying areas

You’ll find lower prices – occasionally as low as around 80 gbpper night – in areas further from the centre. However, it’s best not to stay further than Zone 4 on the Underground, from where the journey to the centre still takes a reasonable 45–50 minutes.

Make sure your hotel is close to a metro or train station. Among the neighbourhoods with the highest concentration of hotels (including larger and better-known chains) are Stratford, Wembley and Hammersmith.

• Search for accommodation in Wembley
• Search for accommodation in Stratford
• Search for accommodation in Hammersmith

Canary Wharf

If you prefer modern neighbourhoods surrounded by the River Thames and man-made canals, then turn your attention to one of London’s business centres: the Canary Wharf area, where you’ll find mainly modern and newly built hotels with prices starting from 125 gbp.

• Search for accommodation in Canary Wharf

Tips for the best hotels in London

To make choosing the best accommodation a little easier, we’ve put together some recommendations for specific hotels, selecting the best value options for each category from thousands of offers.

Cheapest accommodation

The lowest prices, around 75 gbp, are usually offered in London by hostels in shared rooms for several people, or small private hotels further from the city centre with shared bathrooms.

It’s also a good idea to read the reviews, which are often very poor, particularly regarding cleanliness and the size of the accommodation. Decent budget hotels can be found for between 80 gbp and 100 gbp per night

• Pelican London Hotel and Residence *** – a modern hotel on the university hospital campus. Tooting Broadway Underground station is 300 metres away (40 minutes to the city centre)
• Mayflower Hotel & Apartments **** – an aparthotel in Kensington, one of the most popular in London; Earls’ Court Underground station 30 metres away (15 minutes to the city centre)
• Best Western London Highbury *** – a well-known chain in a quiet location, 200 metres from Finsbury Park underground station (40 minutes to the city centre)

Budget hotels right in the centre

If you’re looking for accommodation offering the best value for money right in the very heart of London (Westminster, the City of London, Covent Garden, Soho), the lowest prices start at 100 gbp per night:

• Point A London Liverpool Street *** – a simple, modern hotel, 50 metres from Liverpool Street station, with services to Stansted Airport
• Motel One London - Tower Hill *** – one of the nicest budget hotels, 150 metres from Aldgate or Tower Hill Underground stations, near Tower Bridge
• Hotel Wardonia ** – a small hotel in a prime location near King’s Cross / St Pancras International station

High-quality hotel chains

If you like to treat yourself or are used to the standard you’re accustomed to from other hotels, take advantage of these tips from international hotel chains.

Prices range from 140 gbp to 200 GBP per night for two people, though they can be even cheaper on certain days.

• Holiday Inn Express London Limehouse *** – one of the cheapest chains, situated on the banks of the Thames, 100 metres from the DLR station
• ibis London Shepherds Bush - Hammersmith *** – a classic, hassle-free ibis, situated 100 metres from Shepherd’s Bush Underground station
• Thistle London Hyde Park **** – one of the cheapest 4* hotels in the wider city centre, situated on the edge of Hyde Park, 50 metres from Queensway Underground station
• Radisson Blu Edwardian Grafton Hotel **** – a great hotel near Euston Station, 20 metres from Warren Street Underground station and 75 metres from Euston Square station

Luxury hotels

London is one of the cities with the highest number of luxury five-star hotels in the world. The range on offer is truly extensive, from more affordable hotels on the outskirts of London near motorways or airports to the most expensive hotels in Europe right in the city centre.

Traditional 5* hotels with reasonable rates of around 250 gbp per night for two include London Marriott Hotel Canary Wharf.

Conversely, amongst the very most expensive hotels, with rates of around 1 000 gbp – where a stay is more a statement of social status than simply a place to sleep – are theunique Bulgari Hotel Londonor Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.

Accommodation prices in London

As mentioned above, the price of accommodation will depend largely on the distance from the city centre. You can pay as much as 35 gbp per person for the most out-of-the-way hostel in London, whilst in the centre, you’ll be lucky to find a place for80 gbp.

The 10 cheapest hotels in London

For standard-quality hotels, expect to pay around 85 gbp per room for two in the city centre. Don’t expect luxurious accommodation; the rooms will be small but will have en-suite facilities.

A higher standard can easily cost 200 gbp per night.

Also bear in mind the impact of holidays, weekends and public holidays. Prices in London are very volatile, and the difference between winter and summer can be as much as double. Indeed, similar patterns can be seen in other major cities.