Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
London is an expensive city for lodging. Cheaper rooms are relatively dumpy. Don't expect
£130 cheeriness in an £80 room. For £70, you'll get a double with breakfast in a safe,
cramped, and dreary place with minimal service and the bathroom down the hall. For £90,
you'll get a basic, clean, reasonably cheery double with a private bath in a usually cramped,
cracked-plaster building, or a soulless but comfortable room without breakfast in a huge
Motel 6-type place. My London splurges, at £160-290, are spacious, thoughtfully appointed
places good for entertaining or romancing.
Looking for Hotel Deals Online:
Given London's high hotel prices, using the Internet
can help you score a deal. Various websites list rooms in high-rise, three- and four-star busi-
ness hotels. You'll give up the charm and warmth of a family-run establishment, and break-
fast probably won't be included, but you might find that the price is right.
Start bybrowsing the websites ofseveral chains to get a sense oftypical rates and online
deals. For listings of no-frills, Motel 6-type places, see “Big, Good-Value, Modern Hotels,”
later.
Pricier London hotel chains include Millennium/Copthorne
(
www.millenniumhotels.com
), Thistle (
www.thistle.com
), Intercontinental/Holiday Inn
(
www.ichotelsgroup.com
), Radisson (
www.radisson.com
)
, Hilton (
www.hilton.com
)
, and
Red Carnation (
www.redcarnationhotels.com
)
.
Auction-type sites (such as
www.priceline.com
or
www.hotwire.com
)
match flexible
travelers with empty hotel rooms, often at prices well below the hotel's normal rates.
My readers report good experiences with these accommodation discount sites:
www.londontown.com
(an informative site with a discount booking service),
ht-
tp://athomeinlondon.co.uk
and
www.londonbb.com
(both list central B&Bs),
and
Using a Booking Agency:
Cross-Pollinate is an online agency representing B&Bs and
apartments in a handful of European cities, including London. They handpick their listings,
presenting each one as if recommending it to a friend. Search their website for a listing you
like, then submit your reservation online. If the place is available, you'll be charged a small
deposit and emailed the location and check-in details. Policies vary from owner to own-
er, but in most cases you'll pay the balance on arrival in cash. Minimum stays vary from
onetofivenights(UStel.800-270-1190,UKtel.020/3514-0083,
www.cross-pollinate.com
,
