Guide To Hotel Districts of Central London
Identify the right hotel district for your hotel accommodation in Central London
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On this page we make an attempt so the first time visitor to London can make an informed choice on suitable districts to stay in London. There are literally hundreds of hotel accommodation options in London, each one of them meeting the needs of a particular market.
There is no 'best' hotel or 'best' district to stay in, there are better districts than others for your own individual preferences and budget.
Safety In London
First of all, London is a safe city for the visitor. All the main hotel districts are safe, even at night - but of course this assumes you take the normal common sense precautions like anywhere else in the world.
The London Underground is the main way most visitors will get around London. Its perfectly safe (again with the normal common sense precautions) to ride the Underground until it closes around midnight. If you hire a taxi, make sure its a proper licensed taxi - only London's distinctive black cabs are allowed to solicit for business.
Overview Of London Hotel Districts - Impact Of Public Transport On Your Hotel Choice
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The geographical centre of London is Trafalgar Square. This is where all the mileages on road signs to London are measured too.
The area round Trafalgar Square is called the West End and is the theatre district of London and tends to be in the evening where tourists drift into to people watch, eat and be entertained. The commercial area, the original City Of London is a mile or so east.
Some major visitor attractions are within walking distance, but most days even if you are based here you will use public transport, predominantly the London Underground to get where you want to go. Traveling by any form of road vehicle is a frustrating experience, though riding on the top deck of a London bus is recommended.
Nearly all hotels in the West End are 4 or 5 star hotel grade with prices for those on business accounts or quite wealthy. There is no great advantage in staying in the West End and you pay a big price premium over hotels just a mile away. A lot of visitors from countries used to the 'downtown' concept and poor public transport pay this premium, on their second visit they go further from the centre.
Around the West End, the districts of County Hall, Bloomsbury and Victoria are within walking distance of the West End and are more economical. As said before the sights of London are spread out, the London Eye is by County hall, Buckingham Palace by Victoria and the British Museum is Bloomsbury for example. You will get a much broader choice of hotel accommodation too in these districts too.
Circled Around County Hall, Victoria and Bloomsbury there is another step change in prices for broadly the same type of hotel. Major hotel districts for visitors who have one eye on their wallet are Kensington, Bayswater/Paddington and Kings Cross St Pancras / Euston. These districts too have their attractions, Harrods and the South Kensington Museums are in Kensington, the British Library and Harry Potter's platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross, the Tower of London out in the City of London as is St Paul's Cathedral.
Nearly all hotels in London are within 5 minutes walk of an Underground station and you will normally be where you want to go within 30 minutes using the London Underground. So one of the first things a canny visitor does is check out where the nearest Underground Station is together with access to the hotel from the airport, cruise terminal or rail station you will be arriving at in London. There are no transport hubs in the West End its far too congested.
We have pages on all the hotel districts in London, within which is guidance on how easy/expensive it is to get to that district from all major entry points.
Given that you are going to use the London Underground so much, and given that only a very small percentage of unaware people buy individual transport tickets, you should check out the basics of using London's public transport and in particular which travel pass to buy. We have a dedicated page discussing the merits of the two transport passes Oyster v Travelcard.
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Impact On Prices Of Day and Season
Hotel prices can be very volatile, broadly the more upmarket the hotel the more price volatility
London despite all the tourists is fundamentally still a business centre. Hotels and hotel districts that focus on the business traveler have a fundamental problem at weekends and holidays when the businessmen are at home.
Business orientated hotels which includes nearly every 4 star hotel or above outside the West End often deep discount at weekends. You can get very nice top rate hotels at the weekend around Liverpool Street, Tower of London, County Hall and Westminster often cheaper than no frills hotels elsewhere. The main holiday periods in London where long term discounting goes on is at Christmas / New Year (business closes down in the UK between Christmas Eve until after New Years Day) and August (summer school holidays in the UK is just for 6 weeks centred around August).
Conversely a leisure orientated district like Bayswater will have much higher room rates at the weekend than during the working week.
Sunday for many hotels is the cheapest day of the week to stay.
Budget Districts And Hotels
The cheapest hotel accommodation is the so called Bed and Breakfast hotels.
Be not in doubt, these are not homely houses with a couple of rooms rented out by attentive family owners. These are small simple hotels, with none of the frills.
The Bed and Breakfast hotels are typically 4, 5 or 6 storey Victorian terraced houses. Many will not have lifts. The main attraction is price, somewhere to safely store your luggage and a simple place to sleep overnight while you spend the day exploring London.
| Main Bed & Breakfast Hotel Districts | ||||
Mid Market Hotels and Budget No Frills Hotels
If you are looking for a comfortable hotel but don't want to pay out for concierges, fitness centres, 24 hour room service that come with 4 and 5 star hotels then the benchmark will normally be the 'no frills' budget chains. In the UK, the leading such chains are Travelodge and Premier Inn which you might like to use as a benchmark.
Travelodge is the cheap one, Premier Inn the quality one. There are of course others, independents tend to be cheaper and other chains like Best Western, Ibis and Comfort Inn are all well represented.
2, 3, 4, 5 Stars Hotels - Misleading Indicator
A lot of people make the mistake that they think the number of stars that a hotel has reflects on how good it is. Every country seems to have different rules for the classification of hotels. In the UK stars are awarded purely on the basis of services provided, not how clean a hotel is or how good the service.
Some hotels, notably the no frills chain hotels don't even bother getting stars assigned as it would be totally misleading for them.
A Broad Summary Of The Main Hotel Districts
West End - Geographically the most central in London. Mostly 4 /5 star hotels with high prices.
Bloomsbury - Only 15 minutes walk from the heart of the West End. Very interesting district with lots of bookshops, collectors palces and quirky attractions. Wide range of all types of accommodation a step change in price down from the West End.
County Hall - A cluster of hotels, mostly 4 star by the London Eye. Can offer good deals at the weekend. Walk across the River Thames to Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Good location if you have a cruise from Southampton (direct rail link)
Victoria - The full breadth of accommodation from cheap and nasty to top of the range. Premium to districts like Kensington and Paddington but much less than West End. Excellent location if you are flying into Gatwick or have a cruise from Dover or Southampton.
Mayfair & Knightsbridge - The most exclusive part of London with some of the most expensive hotels. If you have to look at the price of something you want, then don't come here.
City Of London, Tower Bridge, London Bridge - The commercial district of London. Hotels can be exorbitant during the working week but at the weekend bargains at nice 4 star hotels can be found. Direct trains to Gatwick, Stansted and Luton and Dover and Harwich cruise ports.
Marble Arch, Oxford Street - Cluster of hotels around London's busiest shopping street of all grades. Big premium on hotels under a mile away at Paddington. Direct airport buses to Stansted and Luton airports.
Kensington - Large area, broadly the further west you go the cheaper the hotel rates. A benchmark district to check out if you're flying into Heathrow with excellent connections. Earls Court, great for cheap Bed and Breakfasts and those on a budget, Gloucester Road for mid market Holiday Inn style hotels..
Paddington - Revolves around Paddington train station, terminus of the Heathrow Express train and trains to the west of England and Wales. A district for those wanting value for money, the full range of hotel grades are available.
Regents Park & Baker Street - A mixed bag of hotels dispersed over a wide area. Very good value sometimes around Swiss Cottage with a Marriott and Holiday Inn Express. Pleasant enough area with direct airport buses to Stansted and Luton.
Kings Cross St Pancras - We reckon sets the benchmark if low cost is you main purchasing criteria. Lots of relatively good quality bed and breakfast and no frills budget hotels. Almost unbeatable as a transport hub. Direct trains to Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton plus Dover cruise port. If you have an old out of date guide book it may say this is a district to be avoided, all that is long gone - much rejuvenated area and now London terminus for Eurostar trains.
Bayswater - A budget accommodation district mostly of independents. Queensway the heart of Bayswater and is a very good district for those on a budget. Take care with your accommodation choice and you should have a great time without blowing your bank account.
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