All About Hotels in London

Hotels in the London Context

London is really in its own league when it comes to hotels. The sheer volume of tourists visiting London has produced a seller’s market. As a result, the proprietors of many, many hotels don’t need to offer much in the way of amenities, atmosphere, proper maintenance, or even friendliness to draw travelers in. These hotels bank on waves and waves of tourists and business travelers to continue to fill their rooms.

And even among the hotels that we profile favorably here, many, when push comes to shove, are quite anonymous. All too often, budget and midrange hotels in London meet their standard rather joylessly and mechanically.

There are, of course, tons of great budget hotels in London. Many are listed in our London Editor’s Picks. But traveling Cheapos should approach the London hotel scene knowing that renovations and customer service are not always big priorities in this city.

Hotels vs. B&Bs vs. Hostels

Hotels in London tend to be larger than B&Bs. Some hotels are owned by large multinational corporations; others by families. B&Bs tend to be family-run or owned by individuals.

Most hotels and B&Bs provide a number of standard amenities (see “What to Expect in Your Room” below.) Most hotels and all B&Bs provide breakfast in the morning, and, in the vast majority of cases, breakfast will be included in your nightly rate. Both hotels and B&Bs typically have rooms in single, double, triple, and quad (or family) configurations.

Hostels are a different matter altogether. Hostels only extremely rarely have televisions or telephones in rooms, and most bathroom facilities will be shared. Most hostels have pay telephones, television lounges, and guest kitchens on the premises. Hostels typically have a handful of smaller rooms and many room with dormitory-style configurations of six, eight, or ten beds.

What to Expect in Your Room

Most London hotel rooms at the budget and mid-range parts of the spectrum have telephones, televisions, heating, a kettle for tea, and a small bathroom with a shower. Very few have air conditioning (don’t worry—you won’t need it) and only a handful have bathtubs. Space is at a premium in London; you'll all too often find yourself in a cramped room.

Breakfast

Breakfast is included in the nightly rate at most of our editors’ picks. What counts as breakfast varies markedly. Some hotels offer a “continental” breakfast consisting of cereals, toast, tea, coffee, juice, and possibly also fruit, porridge, and slices of meat and cheese.

Most hotels we profile in London, however, will provide a cooked English breakfast, often to order. The English breakfast option—sometimes called a “full English”—will usually include eggs, bacon, sausages, fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, toast, and baked beans. We know, not the healthiest slop to shovel down. But when it’s done right, it’s oh so good.

Another designation we came across often during our hotel visits is the buffet breakfast, which is like the lighter continental breakfast but with greater variety.

Occasionally there will be a different approach to breakfast in London. One hotel we visited doesn’t offer a traditional breakfast at all. Rather, it provides small fruit baskets for its guests every morning. This sort of arrangement is quite unusual.

A few hotels charge for the full breakfast but not their continental offerings; others charge for all breakfast options. Though this is the exception to the rule, you should always inquire in advance. At some hotels, you might even be able to obtain a discount in your nightly rate if you opt for no breakfast at all.