London: Cheap(ish) places to stay

Good grief there are a lot of London threads! I hope this one isn't too annoying to have revived.

I am living in Paris but would like to visit London for a long weekend sometime between now and August. I have never been to London so any help would be appreciated. I would be traveling with my wife and three young children. At least in France it is hard to find a place to stay for three days or so with space (i.e. beds) for my whole family, without spending an unholy amount of money. I would be happy to stay pretty far outside London and take a train to and fro the city each day: this is fine since with my kids I wouldn't be in the city much later than 9 or possibly 10 at night, and probably more like 8. We'd be coming to see the famous museums and to watch people drive on the wrong side of the road (har har). Do any of you have suggestions of a place---e.g., a suburban town---with an inexpensive place to stay that would accommodate my entire family? By inexpensive think: 70 pounds a night. Or is that just absurd? We're not looking for a huge place, just a place that would sleep five. We'd spend basically no time there outside of sleeping.

I'll try asking this again now that it's during European working hours. It would be great if anybody had any suggestions, like "try looking at places in this suburb of London". I know that these aren't going to be fun places to hang out after dark, but that's ok with me. I just want to visit London and see the major museums.

It's possible that the cost of taking a train for five people both in and out of the city will add up to more than it saves to stay further away, though. I don't know.

Try Sidcup, my old home town, about 30 minutes from the centre of London by train, plenty of cheapish accommodation, relatively safe suburban area with the odd nice park, mentioned in 'The Caretaker' by Harold Pinter - but anywhere along the Kent/London border that's in easy reach of a train station - Bromley, Eltham, Bexleyheath, Welling - will prob fit the bill

ok thanks, that's exactly the kind of advice I'm seeking! I will investigate both Sidcup and other towns along the border you mention.

There was a hotel on Queens Avenue, Muswell Hill, that my mum, sister & her kids stayed at when they visited me when I lived there (as it was next door to my flat) that wasn't expensive and was OK. Can't remember what it was called but I would guess it was number 19.

Google indicates that there's a National Hotel at 17-19 Queens Avenue, Muswell Hill. I will give it a look.

To be honest you'd be better off staying slightly closer in - maybe a B&B near Greenwich or out towards Wimbledon or something. I don't think they'll be appreciably more expensive and they're more pleasant and interesting places to wander round if you can't face the trains on one day.

Eltham/Bexleyheath/Bromley town centres tend to get a lot of yr rampaging Saturday night drinkers and are best avoided really. There are probably suburbs of North/North West London that are better bets - places like eg Finchley or Cricklewood are not wildly exciting at least have the advantage of being on the Tube.

Also how young are yr kids?

Cricklewood doesn't have the advantage of being on the tube.

My kids are 9/6/3. It's bewildering to look for lodging in the London area b/c straightforward travel googling points toward central London, which is bank-breaking and generally involves only single or double rooms, meaning I'd need two rooms for my family.

The only big city we've ever stayed overnight in, as a family, is Paris, where we've always rented apartments. Otherwise we stay in the countryside and have day trips to big cities. But London is close by, time-wise, and seems to have great things to do with kids---and the Eurostar has deals right now b/c it's winter and (I gather) b/c of the problems they had over the break.

http://www.hoxtonhotels.com/ - this place has had a lot of +ve press for its budget accommodation - more info on the site. plus they have a £1 room deal periodically that you have to sign up to their mailing list to be told about...

Cricklewood doesn't have the advantage of being on the tube.

Yes, sorry. I am a bit crap when it comes to North London suburbs, although I maintain they're probably a better bet for the sort of thing you want to do, if only due to frequency of trains.

I'm not aware of anywhere that will sleep five people in one room but you may find B&Bs/hostels/apartments that are cheaper than hotels when it comes to renting two rooms.

Some of the Holiday Inns in the Kent area, as suggested above, have rooms that sleep five with the use of a sofa bed. That's fine for us. So this looks doable!

It's more than twenty years since I lived in the Kent suburbs, so can quite believe Matt when he says that they're not fantastic places to be on a Friday/Saturday night - tho' I'm guessing that with three kids in tow, you won't be out that late (trains out from central London to the suburbs are def really really horrible after abt 10pm, and to be avoided - but during the day and early evening they're fine). I personally find the tube an even more horrible way to travel and would only really use it for quick short jaunts across the centre of town.

Kent is a pretty big county, obv, and many parts of it are quite some distance from London, even by train.

I expect we'll head back to our hotel by 8 in the evening each day. I'm personally interested in seeing London at night but my kids won't have it. I'm sure that at some point I'll visit London on my own so it's no big loss for me.

Kent is a pretty big county, obv, and many parts of it are quite some distance from London, even by train.

Yes, I'd say any further out than Dartford is probably a bit too far to be travelling in. Actually Dartford is probably good for your needs because there are regular trains that will take you to Charing Cross (ie slap bang in the middle of London and within easy reach of most of the museums and anything you'd be likely to be taking kids to).

Beautiful, and thanks for the help!

I should add it's neither interesting nor pretty but that doesn't seem to be a top priority.

no, the priority with lodging is simply a place to sleep that doesn't break the bank. We'll be sightseeing from early in the morning until the evening, and then all will sleep. We're pretty good at going out with the kids for the whole day---as long as we find a playground now and then, and feed them, they're happy to see whatever we want to see. And London seems to have lots of playgrounds, and anyway we just want to see the big museums, really.

Dartford is the last stop on the same rail line as Sidcup, prob. takes an hour or so from Dartford station to Charing Cross. Funnily enough, I did visit Dartford in the last cpl of years - Mick Jagger is a Dartford boy, and its now home to the Mick Jagger School of Musical Excellence, but the town centre itself was deserted on the day that I went - there's a massive fuckoff shopping centre called Bluewater on the outskirts of Dartford which has obviously taken away most of the local trade. Mind you, I don't think you'll be going there for the shopping!

trains out from central London to the suburbs are def really really horrible after abt 10pm

nah they're a great laugh!

you may end up passing through my hood on the train. only takes about 45 minutes from dartford to charing x, but it's a great 45 minutes to be sure. south east london will reveal its delights. thrill! at the new cross/bermondsey incinerator. gasp! at the rebuilt lewisham st john's bridge. etc etc

haha well I live just outside the périphérique of Paris so the view on my train ride in, at least when I take the RER E, consists of warehouses, train depots, and brutalist apartment blocks. At least it's only 15 minutes to the center.

there's actually a few decent sights on the way into london bridge. mostly because you get a good sweep of the isle of dogs with all its spectacularly huge buildings. yes, i know you could put three canary wharfs on top of each other and the burj dubai would still be taller. it's the principle.

let's not forget the mysterious cat toilet with flowers

or does that come after london bridge? it's been so long since I've come into London that way.

hang on, what's that? if it's on the route i've been past it about 2000 times in my life o_O

if we're really getting into the ephemera of the route i can observe the cat and cucumber cafe and the downside-worth-fisher boys clubs (get there by network south east!)

I think.. on the way into London, it's between LB and WE stations. Sit on the right side of the train and look out the window and you should see it.

And in response to the question, there are some Travelodges scattered around London that aren't super far out but are still within/under your budget. I checked rates for the Kew Bridge (near lovely Kew Gardens) one out of interest and advance bookings for family rooms come in at £45/night for travel during May, which is a good time to visit because the place won't be full of other tourists but it'll be warm. There's one in Kingston as well, which is maybe only 30 min or so to Waterloo in central London. So maybe that helps?

euler - this might help too? http://www.kewaccommodation.com/

Is the cat toilet in the Cannon Street triangle, near the market? Or is it nearer the Blackfriars rise?

sure!

(I don't know what either of those things are)

Thanks for the Kew information---I'm so provincial that I'd not heard of Kew Gardens until this morning when I did a bit of reading about things to do with kids in London, and it sounds wonderful---a UNESCO World Heritage site, no less.

The route to WE passes over a marketplace with a sloping roof, just after the Cannon Street line peels off. There's a triangle completed by a single track connecting Cannon Street to WE. Then a bit later, on the right, a line breaks off and rises up to join the main Thameslink route to Blackfriars. I know that on the right down this stretch is the London Flying Pizza, an advert for the Tate in glittering lights on the inside of a bridge-arch, and a large church, but I can't think of a cat toilet.

Euler, please feel free to ignore this. I'm something of a geek when it comes to the geography of London routes. Kew Garden is totally aces, of course. There's a good butterfly house round there too!

no, go ahead and keep it up; I'm fascinated by city geography, London and otherwise.

Euler: also be sure to look into some of the 2-for-1 deals here (http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/) You can get cheap entry to Kew Gdns, the Aquarium or Zoo, and other stuff if you have valid train tickets.

LJ: maybe it's on/near the Chocolate Factory. You obviously think about these sorts of things way more than I do. I can't decide if that is impressive or terrifying.

Ah, the Menier Chocolate Factory. Isn't that on the left of the route going into WE, though?

I don't think so... isn't the only thing on the left that loooooooooooooonnnnng estate with the horrible tiny windows and like 200 train tracks?

!! no !! it is on the right. google maps doth nay lie. will look out for it next time i go! which may be this evening.

there is a really big ugly office block on the left, yeah. and a billboard which used to have an advert for male potency products.

I think the issue is that the chocolate factory is more visible coming back from WE, so it's on the left as you look. Again, I could be wrong. My spatial awareness is taking a kicking!

maybe it is more noticeable on the way back. as I said... it's been ages since I've gone that way. I haven't been on a WE inbound or outbound train since the summer, so my memory isn't the most reliable. anyway, because things tend to go like this, it'll probably be gone when you try to look for it and you'll think I'm some crazy catlady.

you are to photoshops of russian footballers what catladies are to litter cleaning

BEWARE because a budget hotel in Kew Bridge is likely right beside the M4 and not the villagey riverside inn you might envisage. Getting from that part of West London to your Eurostar connection will be nothing but arsepain.

I'm gonna throw a curveball here and say it's probably a good idea to base yourself someplace that's less than an hour from Eurostar terminus and reachable direct. King's Cross St Pancras is not ideal for young family adventures. If you're prepared to pay £125/night the family rooms here are a good deal: http://www.lagaffe.co.uk/rates.php - and it's in Hampstead, a direct Tube ride to KXSP.

Eurostar also do break packages and it's a good idea to look for discount codes for hotels/breaks on the Guardian website - the consumer pages have started aggregating them.

Thanks, Suzy. I will look into the hotel you mention and those Guardian pages. We're pretty flexible in timing---I was thinking we'd just come for a weekend but since London looks to be jam packed with fun maybe we'll spin it into a longer stay, esp. with the strength of the euro versus the pound at present.

Hampstead is the best suggestion on this thread. That place will be more expensive than a hotel in the London/Kent suburbs BUT you'll save a lot of money on train fares. Plus it's much more child-friendly and there are places nearby you can wander out to for dinner if you don't fancy eating at the hotel again. Also, it is pretty.

Incidentally the cat toilet appeared to have mysteriously disappeared last time I looked.

bah

hampstead is the noveau-riche arsenal-armchair-fan (well the seats at the emirates are armchairs) cosy-twee dinkums option. not the *real* suburban london experience. *glowers*

*nouveau

If they'd let us sleep amongst the Elgin Marbles then I'd be happiest.

athens welcomes you

Hampstead is the best suggestion on this thread. That place will be more expensive than a hotel in the London/Kent suburbs BUT you'll save a lot of money on train fares. Plus it's much more child-friendly and there are places nearby you can wander out to for dinner if you don't fancy eating at the hotel again. Also, it is pretty.

plus, hampstead heath for walks when you don't feel like central london!

Plus awesome views over London.

I live near the British Museum and most of the small hotels around here are either OK for student/backpacker types (not good for kids) or down-at-heel shitholes (also not good for kids).

Since Euler's family are American with a weekend to spend, I thought giving them the choice to stay in a non-chain in a nice bit of town, which is nice without being 'intimidating', would probably piss over all the other options TBH.

i was just kidding. let it be hampstead. probably as fine an option as there is for this sort of thing. but if you feel like straying south of the river, we're a welcoming bunch...sort of...

we just love it when people give us attention.

http://www.vermontcanada.org/img/CanadianFlag.jpeg

Yes, fancy no-one thinking to suggest a non-chain in a nice bit of town, which is nice without being 'intimidating' before you did :P

xpost to suzy

I thought Euler said he was looking at a budget of £70 a night - £125 a night seems quite a pricehike from that...

http://www.ukmidlands.co.uk/selfridges_birmingham_01.jpg

Hampstead sounds great; the price is higher than I'd hoped but when you factor in train fare, it fares better.

An alternative would be to find an apartment somewhere in London for a week. Do any of you have recommendations of services that rent apartments this way? We've had lots of success doing this in Paris and throughout Italy, since we can cook for ourselves then and typically have a bit more space.

I'll trade my apartment for yours.

she belongs to dulwich now

I know, I'm just so eager to go somewhere other than London for once.

It wouldn't work anyway. Apt doesn't sleep enough people.

Euler - try this for apartments. May involve some trawling through, however, and you're not really sure of the quality, but you never know...

thanks! It's always a risk with these apartment rentals, but we've not been burned yet...

it's not so bad euler, dulwich is pretty much the poshest part of south london. with the exception of where matt dc lives. crucial point: i live within about 5 minutes' jog from matt dc, but on the low-rent side of the lee green traffic lights

I would do an apartment swap but yeah, I sadly need a pretty well-sized place; hence why I live in the Paris suburbs rather than in the city itself.

If you're staying a week the self-catering option is the best and will be cheaper than the hotel I recommended (but you should still stay somewhere like Hampstead that's an easy ride to Eurostar). It's just really hard to find a hotel in London for five that's under £100 and not wrrrrrrrong in some way - even the one I went for warns its customers on the site that the rooms are small because of the architectural makeup of the 18th century buildings.

re. hard to find hotels for 5: I know; it's funny b/c Europe is, in our experience, more "family-friendly" than the USA, at least for visiting nice places. But finding lodging for families is really hard, by which I mean finding a room that isn't a double or possibly a triple. Whereas in the USA rooms that sleep four (and thus five, if you don't mind squeezing) are very common, even in big cities, without paying a lot more than a double costs.

Our solution is either to go the apartment route, or if we're in the country, to find a campground with bungalows that rent by the week (we've done this throughout France and Italy).

I am surprised that even France is not good for a 5-bed family room cz I have a few memories of childhood family holidays w/the parents in a 4-bed family room with no wall between me and my father snoring, ugh. But it's not the kind of thing British hotels seem very good at in general.

(sorry, no helpful advice - not a Londoner, nor someone who's stayed in hotels there recently or cheaply enough to help)

(memories of 4-bed family-room holidays in France, that is, for people who like posts to make a little more sense than that one did)

We can find the big rooms in France, but (a) they cost a lot more than a double, which isn't how things work in the USA in our experience; and (b) they're a lot harder to find than doubles, which again is different than the USA in our experience.

When we camp in (Mediterranean) Europe, though, there are lots and lots of big families, so I gather this is how families travel.