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[expatinuk]

Does anyone have a fave London hotel?

[august_leo]

No, but I want to try this: http://www.doctorhouse.co.uk/ some time.

[mischt]

I stayed at the IBIS near Euston station for a conference a few years ago and found it pretty ok. That area is really tough (around the University of London) and I've stayed in AWEFUL places near there for a lot of money. The real advantage of IBIS is that one or two occupants cost the same amount and my partner was with me there...
best,
mischt

[deleteplease]

I've been doing a fair amount of research at the British Library over the years and have developed a group of favourites, ranging from the places I used to stay when I had a very minimal research budget to the places I can now afford in a good (major grant) year. From cheapest on up:

LSE student rooms: available in summer. Good place for poor grad students (I remember them as 25 pounds/night). Cleaner than cheapest B&Bs, but definitely for students and very poor junior faculty only (noise is an issue). Shared and occasionally grubby lavatories.

Penn House: fairly close to BL. Clean and somewhat comfortable. No A/C (and, alas, every summer I seem to encounter a heat wave for at least a week or so). Moderate price.

Comfort Inn, King's Cross. Clean, convenient, air-conditioned. Some rooms have microwave and mini-fridge. Eatable breakfast. VERY convenient to BL and rail station. Solid mid-range hotel (usually about 70 pounds a night). Free WiFi.

Radisson Grafton (Tottenham Court Road): Very nice hotel with sparkling clean rooms and washrooms, good workout room, A/C, etc. Definitely my choice when I can afford it. 10-15 minute walk to BL. One of the less expensive of the good business hotels.

[expatinuk]

hmmm.... thanks for the suggestions. I'm looking for a place to stay because my club (yes, I'm a member of a private club) is full the nights I need to be in London.

[brummagem]

Last time I was in London I stayed at the Euston Square Hotel. It was modern, convenient (right by the station), and very Euro. I would recommend it! I think I purchased through Expedia for about £65 per night.

[science_expat]

I've stayed at the Premier Inn County Hall several times. Big rooms, quiet, right next to the London Eye with friendly staff and a good bagel place across the road. Fairly good bar as well.

Not cheap, ~£100 /night, but that rate is per room.

http://www.premierinn.com/pti/hotelInformation.do?hotelId=23881

[sandrino]

Goodenough College has short stay accommodation at Goodenough Club that is well-located in Bloomsbury (Mecklenbugh Square), and includes a very good breakfast (buffet style, with lots of healthy options, plus your typical fried muck if you want). It costs around £80/night, and is a lot nicer than the B&Bs on Gower Street (which aren't bad for around £45). I think it's open to all, but there's a discount for academics.

Here's some info...
http://www.club.goodenough.ac.uk/club.html

  Goodenough Club accommodation offers:

    * Attractively furnished en-suite faculty bedrooms, in historic  Mecklenburgh Square
    * All with television, telephone and unlimited internet access, hairdryer, toiletries and complimentary hot drinks tray.
    * 19 single bedrooms, 35 doubles/twins and 6 family rooms plus
    * 4 luxury suites, each with its own spacious sitting room. These can also be converted into conference rooms for up to 12 people.
    * Prices, per room per night, range from £90 for a single bedroom to £185 for a suite including breakfast.

[alwaysanon]

If you can afford the Ritz, it's as sensational as the name would suggest. I've only ever had the opportunity to stay there once, but if you've got the money then it's worth it. Even if you don't stay there, I'd recommend it for afternoon tea or for lunch, though you'll need a jacket.

Barring that, I second meden's recommendation of the Comfort Inn King's Cross, or the Novotel, if you want to spend a bit more. Both are very convenient for the British Library and for Euston and King's Cross - St Pancras stations. And there's the new Eurostar terminal at St Pancras, if you fancy a day trip to Paris.

[secretweapon]

hmmm.... thanks for the suggestions. I'm looking for a place to stay because my club (yes, I'm a member of a private club) is full the nights I need to be in London.

The last time I had to stay in a hotel in London convinced me that I needed to join a private club.  But doesn't your club have reciprocal arrangements with other clubs?  The ones I have fantasised about joining do.

[normative_]

I tend to stay in Bloomsbury or Fitzrovia.

For a moderately priced hotel on Southampton Row (get out at the Holborn tube station), the Bonnington has nice, deep bathtubs and in the back of the building, the rooms look out over a park and you can't even hear the street. The single rooms are terrible, though. It has breakfast if you want it.

My first real fave is the Rathbone, on Rathbone Street just north of Oxford Street. If that's full, I sometimes book in at the Grange Fitzrovia on Bolsover Street. The single rooms there are great, the best of all the three. Both are fairly posh, in neighbourhoods with good stuff around it, and you can get good deals off the otherwise stiff prices. I paid something like 70 quid for the Grange (alone) last time and I forget what I paid for a double at the Rathbone, but it wasn't any more than 120. Both offer breakfast for an additional price, but it's not worth it.

[normative_]

I tend to stay in Bloomsbury or Fitzrovia.

For a moderately priced hotel on Southampton Row (get out at the Holborn tube station), the Bonnington has nice, deep bathtubs and in the back of the building, the rooms look out over a park and you can't even hear the street. The single rooms are terrible, though. It has breakfast if you want it.

My first real fave is the Rathbone, on Rathbone Street just north of Oxford Street. If that's full, I sometimes book in at the Grange Fitzrovia on Bolsover Street. The single rooms there are great, the best of all the three. Both are fairly posh, in neighbourhoods with good stuff around it, and you can get good deals off the otherwise stiff prices. I paid something like 70 quid for the Grange (alone) last time and I think a double at the Rathbone wasn't any more than 110. Both offer breakfast for an additional price, but it's not worth it.

[expatinuk]

thanks for all the suggestions. I should say that this isn't a business trip but rather a 'dirty weekend' with Hubby Bubba. We're going down to see the King Tut exhibit. I'm also going to take him to the Tower. He's a Londoner and he's NEVER been to the Tower! In fact the only time he's been to Westminster Abbey was when *I* took him there!  *laugh*

I think that we're going to stay at the Landmark Hotel ... not sure...

[normative_]

The Landmark looks fabulous!

I've only gone to the Rathbone for those 'dirty weekends' with Formative, and we love it there. But it's also quite small and doesn't have all those things inside like the Landmark.

[drspouse]

Hope it's not out of place (slap my wrists if so) but we have a flat in London that is rented out (minimum 1 week) through an agency. If you are going for a week's research/library some people find this works out better than a hotel. The agency is www.homefromhome.co.uk and our flat is in Bloomsbury but as there are several there I guess I'm not specifically plugging our business!

To be even more non-partisan, there are also a few flats for rent in central London through www.holidaylettings.co.uk/.