Cheap hotels in London, meaning private rooms under about £150 a night for two on an off-peak Tuesday, grouped by what you trade for the price: Zone 1 rooms with a window, Zone 1 rooms without one, Zone 2, further out, and Sunday-night bargains in the City. Each has a dated rate and one honest catch.
Yes, you can still get a decent private room in central London for under £150 a night. My short answer: NOX Hyde Park in Bayswater at about £119, or the Crestfield by St Pancras at £125.10, both with their own bathroom and a window, on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Give something up and it drops further: a hostel's private twin at Generator London in Bloomsbury was £78.70, and a Premier Inn in Fulham, a short ride out on the Tube (the subway), £98. This is a shortlist across the whole city rather than an area guide; if you're still choosing where to base yourself, begin with where to stay in London, and for more hotels at every budget in Zone 1, see the best hotels in central London. Every room here is private; dorm beds belong in a separate hostels guide.
My line is about £150 a night for two. Each rate is for Tuesday 10 November 2026 (a Sunday or Saturday where the weekend tells a story), taken from the hotel's own site unless the card says Booking.com and dated 23 to 25 September 2026, so treat them as a guide for comparing, not a quote. VAT at 20 per cent is already in them, and there's no London tourist tax yet: the government plans to let the Mayor introduce one, but no start date has been set. The rooms are grouped by what you trade: Zone 1 rooms with a window; Zone 1 rooms that are tiny, windowless or share a bathroom; Zone 2, a short ride on the Tube or Overground; cheapest by a mile, further out; and Sunday nights in the City and the Docklands, when business hotels halve. Zone 1 is the middle of the Tube fare map, where the sights are, and Zone 2 is the ring around it. A day of unlimited Tube travel on contactless or Oyster is capped at £8.90 in Zones 1 and 2, £12.80 out to Zone 4 and £16.30 to Zone 6 (TfL's 2026 fares), so a room further out has to save more than the difference.
Cheap in London depends on the calendar as much as the hotel. In the run-up to Christmas the same rooms climb: for Tuesday 8 December, Premier Inn London Kensington (Earl's Court) was £217 against £135 in November, Premier Inn London Fulham £150 against £98, and the Wembley Travelodge £64.99 against £54.99, on each hotel's own site. Summer is pricey too, from the Wimbledon Championships in late June through the school holidays. Big nights at Wembley, The O2 or Twickenham do the same street by street: Travelodge London Wembley High Road went from £54.99 on the Tuesday to £137.99 for England v Croatia on Thursday 12 November, and Travelodge London Richmond Central from £68.99 to £269.99 for England v New Zealand at Twickenham. January and February are the cheapest months, and summer rooms are worth booking three to six months out.
Zone 1 under £150: a proper room with a window and your own bathroom. These seven are the cheap central rooms I'd book without apology, each a short walk from a Zone 1 station. NOX Hyde Park comes first. Its Double Room cost about £119 on Booking.com for Tuesday 10 November, and for that you get air conditioning, a lift and a night desk on Queensway, with Bayswater station (Circle and District lines) two minutes from the door and Kensington Gardens six. Google reviewers give it 4.6 across roughly 2,700 reviews, which is a very good score for a room this cheap. Our Paddington and Bayswater hotel guide has more nearby.
Rooms are small and the rate is room only, so breakfast means a café on Queensway. Coming from Heathrow, don't walk it from Paddington (17 minutes with a case); change onto the Circle or District line instead.
Skip the lower-ground studio (kitchenette, no daylight) and take a plain Double. Triples and family rooms are above ground. Nothing extra fits in the rooms, so no rollaway beds.
Clean room with ac in a great location right off the tube right by Hyde park and Kensington gardens. from a visitor review
Lancaster Hall Hotel is the park-side choice, tucked into Craven Terrace, a quiet street five minutes' walk from Lancaster Gate station on the Central line and six from both Paddington and the Italian Gardens. Its 12.5 square metre Basic Standard Double was about £121 on Booking.com for Tuesday 10 November; book on its own site and breakfast is included. There are lifts, a bar and a desk staffed around the clock, and around 890 Google reviewers average 4.2. Our Paddington and Bayswater hotel guide has more nearby.
The cheap rooms have no air conditioning (the Superior ones do), so this is an autumn-to-spring booking. It looks its age inside, and one guest paid to leave bags after checking out. I'd accept both for this address at this price.
Book with the hotel directly to get breakfast thrown in. Only Superior rooms are air-conditioned. Be packed by 10:30am, the check-out time.
The area is really quiet so you can relax after visiting London. from a visitor review
The Crestfield Hotel is my budget pick for the Eurostar. It's a 52-room Georgian terrace three minutes from St Pancras International and four from King's Cross, run by the same owners for over 30 years, and its 11 square metre en-suite Double cost £125.10 booked direct for Tuesday 10 November, a price that can still be cancelled up to 24 hours ahead. King's Cross St Pancras Underground has six lines, so the rest of London is one train away, and the desk never closes. Our King's Cross hotel guide has more nearby.
Space, cooling and a lift are what the price leaves out: rooms are tight, fans stand in for air conditioning, and it's stairs all the way up. Breakfast isn't served, though the station concourses have plenty. It holds 4.0 on Google from roughly 950 reviews.
Choose the Double or Twin over a single: suitcases slide under the bed. Rooms at the rear are quieter. Ceiling fans only.
Be aware that the rooms are quite small and compact (especially the standard ones), so it can feel a bit tight. from a visitor review
The Jesmond Dene on Argyle Street, a couple of minutes from St Pancras, is the Crestfield's closest rival. Its 12 square metre Standard Double comes with a private shower and toilet, and it was £132 on the hotel's non-refundable rate for Tuesday 10 November (£152 if you want the option to cancel). The rooms are spread across listed townhouses, reception runs 24 hours, and about 490 Google reviewers give it 4.1. Our King's Cross hotel guide has more nearby.
Expect a small double bed, no breakfast, and cooling only in some rooms at extra cost. The upper floors are a climb, which is why the ground-floor request matters.
Carrying something heavy? Request a ground-floor room at booking, because the building's lift only serves the Suites. Air conditioning is a paid extra, and not every room has it.
Only issue was my room was on the top floor (4th I think) and there was no lift. from a visitor review
The Rockwell is the cheap room that doesn't feel cheap. This independent hotel faces Cromwell Road, an easy five-minute walk to Earl's Court station (District and Piccadilly lines, on the Zone 1 and 2 boundary), and its air-conditioned Standard Double measures 18 square metres, more space than most central London doubles, which often run 12 to 17. It cost about £135 non-refundable on Booking.com for 10 November, £150 with free cancellation. Downstairs are a restaurant, a bar and a walled garden, and it scores 4.3 on Google from about 450 reviews. Our Kensington hotel guide has more nearby.
The road is the drawback: it's one of west London's busiest, and a guest given a lower-ground room beside it said so; others mention rattling sash windows. Breakfast costs £15. From Earl's Court, the Piccadilly line takes you straight to Piccadilly Circus in one direction and to Heathrow in the other.
Request a rear-facing room so Cromwell Road stays on the other side of the building. Rooms take two guests at most.
Bonus points for having an AC and a spacious clean bathroom. Was pleasantly surprised by the new elevator. from a visitor review
Premier Inn London Kensington (Earl's Court) is the no-surprises family option. On Premier Inn's site a Standard room for 10 November cost £135 on the non-refundable rate, £156 semi-flexible or £173 fully flexible. It sits on Knaresborough Place, four minutes' walk to Earl's Court station and nine to Gloucester Road, with the Natural History Museum 15 minutes away on foot. There are family and accessible rooms, and Google reviewers rate it 4.1 over more than 2,000 reviews. Our Kensington hotel guide has more nearby.
Air conditioning comes only with Premier Plus, at £156. Some rooms are a long trek from reception across two lifts, and bathrooms look a little tired. With the museums free and children's breakfasts free, a family can do Kensington cheaply from here.
From June to August, book Premier Plus: standard rooms have no air conditioning. Up to two children breakfast free for every adult who pays for one.
Room was very spacious lovely big bed with a deep mattress.. bathroom alittle dated but ok .. room was clean and presentable. from a visitor review
Travelodge London Vauxhall is the quickest cheap bed into the West End from south of the Thames. Vauxhall station, two minutes away and in both Zone 1 and Zone 2, puts you on the Victoria line: two stops to Victoria, four to Oxford Circus. A Standard Room was £129.99 on Travelodge's non-refundable rate for Tuesday 10 November (£145.99 flexible), with air conditioning, a Bar Café and a desk open all night. Our South London hotel guide has more nearby.
About 1,780 Google reviewers rate it 3.7, and the complaints are consistent: bar noise on one side, rooms below ground, no fridge. Think of it as a bed by a very fast Tube line, and nothing more.
Pay for Travelodge's room-picker and go high, away from the bars and the basement. The Victoria line is at the end of the street.
literally a 2-minute walk from Vauxhall tube and train stations, with buses literally outside the door from a visitor review
Zone 1 for less: small rooms, no window, or a hostel's private room. The cheapest central rooms are cheap for one of three reasons: they're tiny, they have no window, or the bathroom is down the corridor. Each card says which. The Z Hotel Victoria is the windowless one I'd book: about £140 on Booking.com for Tuesday 10 November for a 9 square metre double with no window at all. Victoria station is four minutes' walk and the coach station seven, and the room is air-conditioned, with a lift, a café-bar and a 24-hour desk. Around 1,800 Google reviewers score it 4.2. Our Victoria and Westminster hotel guide has more nearby.
Windowless rooms suit some sleepers and make others feel boxed in fast. On the same night a double with a window was from £160. For a night before an early coach or the Gatwick Express, it does the job; for a longer stay, spend the extra.
Stopping more than two nights? The same-night window room cost about £20 extra, and it's money well spent.
Point A Hotel London Paddington is a modern budget hotel on Praed Street, handy for Edgware Road station (four minutes away on the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines), with Paddington six minutes off for the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line. For 10 November, Booking.com's lowest price was about £143 for a Cosy Double with no window, non-refundable, or £159 cancellable. Rooms are air-conditioned and very clean by most accounts; Google reviewers give it 4.1 from around 1,900 reviews. Our Paddington and Bayswater hotel guide has more nearby.
Even the largest rooms here are 13 square metres, none sleeps more than two, and cots aren't possible. One guest felt trains rumble below, which is another reason to go high. Booking direct as a member adds a continental breakfast, a real saving at this price.
Sign up to Point A's free A List and book on its site: breakfast is included and you choose your room. Ask for a high floor.
Clean modern hotel with friendly staff. Rooms small but do the trick for a good nights sleep. from a visitor review
Jesmond Hotel is a family-run bed and breakfast on Gower Street in a house dating from 1786, with Goodge Street station (Northern line) five minutes' walk away and the British Museum six, and a cooked breakfast comes with the room. For Tuesday 10 November the cheap option was a Standard Double at £130, breakfast included, cancellable until 8 November. Our Bloomsbury hotel guide has more nearby.
Be clear what that £130 buys: an 8 square metre room at the very top of the house, reached by six flights of stairs, with the bathroom shared on the landing. The en-suite doubles had gone for that date. Google reviewers score it 4.5 from about 300 reviews, and one called it "value for money, had a good english breakfast every day".
The en-suite doubles overlooking the back garden go early, so book those weeks out. Reception shuts at 10pm; warn them if you'll be late.
It is value for money, had a good english breakfast every day from a visitor review
Generator London is a large, design-heavy hostel on Tavistock Place (its bar is built around a vintage London bus), and its private rooms are the cheapest lockable doors in Bloomsbury. A private twin sharing a bathroom cost £78.70 on the hostel's own site for Tuesday 10 November, non-refundable, with breakfast included for direct bookings. Russell Square (Piccadilly line) is six minutes on foot, the King's Cross St Pancras stations nine, the British Museum 13. Our Bloomsbury hotel guide has more nearby.
Google reviewers put it at 3.7 across about 6,100 reviews: the shared bathrooms are the main complaint, the bar keeps late hours, and summer can be hot. The en-suite private rooms tend to go first. For two friends who'll be out sightseeing all day, £78.70 in Zone 1 is hard to argue with.
Book on Generator's site for free breakfast and 15% off at the bar and café. Rooms with their own bathroom sell out first.
The location, is next to kings Cross station but is quite far from central London. from a visitor review
YHA London Earl's Court brings cheap private rooms to the museum end of town. For 10 November a private twin sharing a bathroom was about £68 on Booking.com, and a four-bed private room with its own bathroom £115, one of the cheapest family rooms in Kensington. The hostel fills a Victorian house on Bolton Gardens, five minutes' walk to Earl's Court station, where guests can cook for themselves, sit out in a courtyard garden and check in at any hour. It holds 4.4 on Google from roughly 950 reviews. Our Kensington hotel guide has more nearby.
The £8.95 breakfast gets lukewarm reviews, one guest found the room warm even in mild weather, and you can't park. Cook in the evenings, use the free museums by day, and Kensington costs very little.
Families should book the four-bed private room, which has its own bathroom. Use the guest kitchen to keep dinner cheap as well.
The location is excellent, the hostel is quiet and I felt very safe during my stay even when walking around at night from the tube station. from a visitor review
Onefam Notting Hill had the cheapest private room in Zone 1 for Tuesday 10 November: a double at £65.45 on the hostel's own site, non-refundable, or £73.15 with cancellation up to 48 hours before. The name misleads a little, as it's in Bayswater on Prince's Square, eight minutes on foot from Bayswater station and ten from Kensington Gardens, with a guest kitchen, a terrace and staff on the desk day and night. Google reviewers give it 4.3 from about 1,000 reviews. Our Paddington and Bayswater hotel guide has more nearby.
It's built for meeting people, with walking tours, group dinners and nights out, and only takes guests aged 18 to 36. Five floors, no lift, towels cost extra, and Booking.com shows the double with a shared bathroom. Quiet travellers should look elsewhere; sociable ones won't find a cheaper central room.
Its own website undercut Booking.com by about £25 for the double. Only 18 to 36 year olds are accepted, for up to seven nights.
If you didn't want to play drinking games or go out drinking, there was no pressure from staff to attend. from a visitor review
Zone 2: more hotel for the money, a short ride in. Zone 2 is the ring around the centre. Expect an extra 10 to 20 minutes on each journey and a slightly higher daily fare cap, and in return the same chain room costs less and the streets are quieter at night. Premier Inn London Fulham shows the trade best: £98 for a Standard room on Premier Inn's non-refundable rate for Tuesday 10 November, £123 semi-flexible, in a new hotel on North End Road with air conditioning and a bar-restaurant that never closes. It's eight minutes' walk to West Kensington station (District line), from where Piccadilly Circus is roughly 18 minutes away. Our West London hotel guide has more nearby.
Being new, it has few Google reviews yet (4.3 from around 140), and one guest on a week-long stay had to wait several nights for the cooling to be repaired. Don't bring a car.
Children eat breakfast free, two per paying adult. There's no parking at the hotel; the nearest car parks on Lillie Road charge around £30 a day.
Clean, comfortable, quiet and lovely food, the cooked breakfast is outstanding. from a visitor review
Premier Inn London Hammersmith (Shepherds Bush Road) is three minutes from the Hammersmith stations, and the Piccadilly line from there gets you to Piccadilly Circus in about 17 minutes or out to Heathrow with no change. Premier Inn charged £117 non-refundable for a Standard room on 10 November, with king-size beds and air conditioning, and the Eventim Apollo is a seven-minute walk if you're in town for a gig. About 700 Google reviewers give it 4.3. Our West London hotel guide has more nearby.
Guests mention sealed windows and a fry-heavy breakfast, and the hotel has no parking. Two other Premier Inns in Hammersmith are close by if it's full.
For £20 more, the Semi-Flex rate lets you cancel until three days out. Flying from Heathrow? The Piccadilly line from Hammersmith goes straight there.
Prime location for those who want to be close to Eventim Appolo venue. from a visitor review
Safestay London Kensington Holland Park is where London's prices bottom out: about £40 for a Double Room Ensuite on the hostel's own site for Tuesday 10 November, or £48.11 with breakfast. It used to be YHA Holland Park and occupies a wing of the 17th-century Holland House, inside the park itself; Holland Park station is a ten-minute walk through the gardens, and from there the Central line runs direct to Oxford Circus. Our Notting Hill hotel guide has more nearby.
Google reviewers give it only 3.5 over roughly 2,400 reviews, and that's a fair warning. Recent guests describe hot rooms with no fans, and one reported bed bugs. Doubles can also sell out at weekends. Book it when price outranks everything else.
Arrive before midnight or your booking may be cancelled as a no-show. Breakfast is cheaper added at booking. Ask about stairs, since no lift is advertised.
We found this quiet little hostel and were surprised by the very central location, especially for the price we had paid. from a visitor review
Smart Camden Inn on Bayham Street is a hostel that also sells private rooms with their own shower. Mornington Crescent station is five minutes away and Camden Town six (both Northern line, straight into the West End), and Camden Market ten. For Tuesday 10 November, a private room with bunks and its own shower was £84.83 non-refundable, booked direct; a private en-suite double started at £89.15. It's air-conditioned, guests share a kitchen and terrace, and someone is on the desk around the clock. Our Camden and Islington hotel guide has more nearby.
Google reviewers average 3.6 over some 1,100 reviews, so be careful. Rooms on the street are loud enough for the desk to hand out earplugs, and a recent guest complained about stained bedding. Sleep here, spend your evenings elsewhere.
Request a room on the quiet side. Towels are £3, and breakfast is £5.99 each when you add it online. Mornington Crescent is the nearest station.
If you just want somewhere cheap to sleep for the night, you can't go wrong. from a visitor review
Camden Road Hotel has the lowest price for a private double in north London that I'd actually book: £65 non-refundable, direct with the hotel, for Tuesday 10 November, £68 flexible, for a refurbished air-conditioned room with its own shower and a desk staffed 24 hours. It stands on the main road that links Camden Town and Kentish Town, 13 minutes' walk from Kentish Town station (Northern line) and 12 from Camden Road on the Overground. Our Camden and Islington hotel guide has more nearby.
A Standard Double measures just 10 square metres, a guest reports no lift, another found a basement room musty, and sirens pass on the main road at night. It scores 3.6 on Google from roughly 670 reviews. The real cost is the walk: budget a quarter of an hour to the Tube each time.
Ask for a room above the basement. Travelling with big bags? The 14 square metre Superior Double has space for them. Check-in is contactless, with keypad entry.
It's a clean, nicely renovated hotel. from a visitor review
Kip Hotel is east London's cheap weeknight room, a design-minded budget hotel beside Hackney Central on the London Overground, a few minutes from the bars of Mare Street and the Hackney Empire and about 20 minutes door to door from Liverpool Street. Its KipSmall double (around 11.6 square metres) was £113 on its own advance rate for Tuesday 10 November, £127 flexible. Our Shoreditch and east London hotel guide has more nearby.
It's only cheap midweek: that room was £220 for Saturday 14 November. There's no air conditioning, just portable fans, trains pass about 20 metres from the building, and some rooms lack a window. Google reviewers give it 3.8 from roughly 1,160 reviews. Good on a cold Tuesday; in summer, pay more for cooling.
The larger KipLarge, about 16 square metres, cost only £17 more than a KipSmall for 10 November. Cooling is by portable fan.
There was no working AC in our room and it got pretty hot at night. from a visitor review
Cheapest by a mile: further out, on a direct line in. Beyond the centre, budget chains fall to about £45 to £80 a night, which on a quiet weeknight can halve what a trip costs. The price is 20 to 45 minutes each way, and for the two furthest, Wembley in Zone 4 and Teddington in Zone 6, a higher daily fare cap (£12.80 and £16.30); Greenwich and Pudding Mill Lane sit on the Zone 2 and 3 boundary, so the £8.90 cap still covers them. Travelodge London Wembley High Road sits over Wembley Central station, where the Bakerloo line reaches Oxford Circus in 29 minutes with no change, and a Standard Room was £54.99 non-refundable on Travelodge's own site for Tuesday 10 November. Our Wembley hotel guide has more nearby.
It's an ordinary Travelodge, 3.7 on Google from about 1,060 reviews, with a Bar Café open late. Mind the stadium: for England v Croatia on Thursday 12 November the same room was £137.99. On a match or concert night, sleep somewhere else.
Look up Wembley's event calendar first, since a stadium night more than doubles the rate. Get your car park ticket stamped at reception for £6 a day at Wembley Central Square.
Usual very busy Travelodge especially when something happens at Wembley stadium, nice late night pizza from a visitor review
Snoozebox Olympic Park is built from shipping containers on the southern edge of the Olympic Park, right by Pudding Mill Lane DLR. Stratford is the next stop, and from there the Elizabeth and Central lines reach Liverpool Street in 8 to 10 minutes. A Standard Double En-Suite cost £68.48 on the hotel's direct non-refundable rate for Tuesday 10 November, £85.60 flexible, and Google reviewers give it 4.4 from about 1,120 reviews. Our Stratford hotel guide has more nearby.
Each room is roughly 7 to 8 square metres, a double bed with a single bunk over it, and a guest mentions windows that don't open. It's adults only, with no parking. On a West Ham home Saturday (21 November) prices started at £116.53. Fun for a night or two, cramped for a holiday.
Adults only. Quiet hours begin at 11pm, though the bar next door hosts late DJ sets, so ask to be further away. On the direct rate you can change dates free until 48 hours before.
Brilliant location. Small but functional room. Lovely breakfast. Great staff. from a visitor review
Travelodge London Greenwich High Road puts you by the river, the park and the market in Greenwich for a Travelodge price: £79.99 non-refundable on Travelodge's site for Tuesday 10 November, even with a show at The O2 that evening, and £110.99 for Saturday 14 November. Greenwich station and the DLR are two minutes away, with trains to London Bridge in around 10 minutes and the DLR under the river to the Docklands. Our Greenwich and The O2 hotel guide has more nearby.
Rooms rely on a desk fan, and a recent guest's window looked onto a loud bar opposite. Google reviewers score it 3.7 from around 1,100 reviews. For a winter weekend based in Greenwich, with trips into town, it's the cheapest sensible bed.
There's no air conditioning, just a fan, so avoid it in a heatwave. Burney Street car park, a short walk away, is free after 6:30pm.
Very conveniently located for Thames Link and DLR. from a visitor review
Travelodge London Teddington had the lowest hotel rate out in the suburbs: £46.99 non-refundable on Travelodge's own site for Tuesday 10 November, £54.99 flexible. It's four minutes from Teddington station, a few steps from the high street and close to Bushy Park, with Hampton Court Palace a 34-minute walk, and direct trains to Waterloo in about 38 to 41 minutes. Parking costs £6 a day. Our Richmond, Kew and Twickenham hotel guide has more nearby.
It's a long way out for a first visit and the rooms are basic: 3.6 on Google from about 860 reviews, with recent complaints of hot rooms and a smell of smoke. It makes most sense for drivers, for Hampton Court or Kew, or for a trip where central London is only one day.
The £6-a-day parking is first come, first served, which makes this a handy base for drivers. Bushy Park starts at the end of the road.
Location is great for exploring teddington and london from a visitor review
Weekend bargains: the Sunday-night trick. Hotels in the City of London, the Docklands and the streets south of Tower Bridge price for office workers. Saturday falls a little, or in the Docklands can even rise, but Sunday night often halves, because nobody is in town for a Monday meeting. On a Tuesday these four are over my line; they're here for Sunday nights only. Travelodge London Bermondsey shows the swing most sharply: £48.99 for a Standard Room on Travelodge's own site for Sunday 15 November, against £153.99 two days later. It's on Tanner Street, nine minutes' walk from Tower Bridge, 11 from London Bridge station and 15 from Bermondsey (Jubilee line), with air-conditioned rooms. Our London Bridge hotel guide has more nearby.
Travelodge itself calls the site railside, and guests hear trains through the night. It has only about 160 Google reviews (3.9), and the free Wi-Fi in standard rooms lasts 30 minutes. For £48.99 a few minutes from Tower Bridge, I'd still take it.
Trains run right past, so buy Travelodge's choose-your-room option and take a high room on the side facing away from the line.
Good clean rooms with a comfy bed, exactly what you'd expect from a Travelodge from a visitor review
Premier Inn London Canary Wharf (Westferry) drops to almost a Travelodge price on a Sunday: £51 non-refundable on Premier Inn's site for Sunday 15 November, compared with £142 on the Tuesday and £157 on the Saturday. The tall hotel on Limehouse Causeway is a minute's walk from Westferry DLR and ten from Canary Wharf's Elizabeth line, which gets to Tottenham Court Road in 13 minutes. Rooms are big for London, there's a restaurant, and about 1,380 Google reviewers give it 4.4. Our Canary Wharf and Docklands hotel guide has more nearby.
Because the Saturday here costs more than the Tuesday, split a weekend: Saturday elsewhere, Sunday here. Evenings in the Docklands are quiet. As a Sunday-to-Monday stay, it's an outstanding price.
Request a high floor for the Docklands view. Westferry DLR is a minute's walk.
Premier Inn London City (Aldgate) is the Sunday choice for families: £78 non-refundable on Premier Inn's site for Sunday 15 November (£100 fully flexible), where the Tuesday was £175 and the Saturday £156. You'll find it on Alie Street, three minutes from Aldgate East station (District and Hammersmith & City lines) and a 17-minute walk from the Tower of London, with air conditioning and family rooms. Roughly 2,600 Google reviewers give it 4.4, and one singled out the soundproofing. Our City of London hotel guide has more nearby.
Aldgate is on the edge of the City rather than in it, so the Tower is a real walk rather than the view from your window. There's no parking. Note the pattern here: the Saturday hardly moves, the Sunday halves.
Children get two proper small beds in the family rooms, not a sofa bed, and two eat breakfast free per paying adult. Aldgate East station is three minutes on foot.
It is also soundproofed extremely well, we didn't hear another guest during our entire stay. from a visitor review
hub by Premier Inn London Tower Bridge gets you a Sunday night six minutes on foot from the Tower of London: £86 for an 11 square metre Standard room on Premier Inn's site for Sunday 15 November, where the Saturday was £161 and the Tuesday £226. It's on Great Tower Street, five minutes from Tower Hill station, and scores 4.4 on Google from about 1,460 reviews. Our City of London hotel guide has more nearby.
hub rooms are compact by design: a double bed, storage underneath and not much else. The 14 square metre Bigger room was just £93 that Sunday, and it's the one to book. Two guests in July 2026 complained of broken air conditioning, so summer carries some risk.
Spend the extra few pounds on the 14 square metre Bigger room, where the king-size bed has space on both sides. The door is on Lower Thames Street.
Firstly, as should be obvious from the website, the rooms are small. With that out of the way, otherwise this is a great place to stay. from a visitor review
Cheapest good room in Zone 1: Bayswater's NOX Hyde Park, about £119, en suite, with a window and air conditioning.
Arriving by Eurostar: the Crestfield, £125.10, three minutes from St Pancras.
Couples who want a nice room: the Rockwell in Earl's Court, about £135 for 18 square metres with air conditioning.
Families: Premier Inn London Kensington (Earl's Court), £135, with free breakfast for up to two children per paying adult, or the four-bed private room at YHA London Earl's Court, £115.
Cheapest private room in Zone 1: Onefam Notting Hill, £65.45, if you're 18 to 36; otherwise a shared-bathroom twin at YHA London Earl's Court (about £68) or Generator London (£78.70).
Best value a short ride out: Premier Inn London Fulham, £98.
Cheapest overall: Safestay London Kensington Holland Park, about £40 en suite, or Travelodge London Teddington, £46.99.
A weekend: book Sunday night in the City or the Docklands: Premier Inn Canary Wharf (Westferry), £51.
Space. Budget doubles run from 7 square metres at Snoozebox to about 12 at most townhouse hotels. Two people with big cases should pay for the next room up.
Daylight. The Z Hotel Victoria's and Point A Paddington's cheapest rooms have no window, and the same goes for some rooms at Kip and NOX Hyde Park's lower-ground studios.
Stairs. The King's Cross townhouses, Jesmond Hotel and Onefam have no lift for the cheap rooms; Jesmond's top-floor double is six flights up.
Heat. Air conditioning is missing or extra at Lancaster Hall's cheapest rooms, the Crestfield, Kip, Travelodge Greenwich and standard Premier Inn Earl's Court rooms. Book them for autumn to spring.
Shared bathrooms. The cheapest rooms at Generator, YHA Earl's Court and Jesmond Hotel share one down the landing.
Time. Each Zone 2 base adds 10 to 20 minutes each way; the suburban Travelodges add more, and the fares add up over a week.
A few good budget rooms came in just above £150 on the Tuesday. Travelodge London Central Waterloo was £150.99, the Georgian House Hotel in Pimlico about £155 and the Belgrave about £164 (Victoria and Westminster); the windowless Z Hotel Gloucester Place in Marylebone about £155 and Zedwell Knightsbridge about £157. Travelodge London Central Kings Cross sat right on the line at £149.99, but only its pricier SuperRooms have air conditioning (King's Cross).
Two well-known cheap names missed out on that date. The Z Hotel Soho publishes doubles from £90, but Booking.com's price for Tuesday 10 November was about £170, and Zedwell Piccadilly Circus's windowless Cocoon was about £164 (Soho, London). Try them on a quieter date.
Every rate here is a dated snapshot, not a quote, so check the hotel's own site for your dates. Non-refundable rates ran about £3 to £70 below the fully flexible ones, which pays off only if your dates are fixed, and several brands (Point A, Generator, Onefam) are cheaper or include breakfast when you book direct.
Still weighing up neighbourhoods? Where to stay in London compares them side by side, and our London trip costs page covers food, transport and sights so the savings on the room don't leak away elsewhere.
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