London Hotel Tips by Krumlovgirl

For a long time now London has lacked a really great hostel. At last, this problem has been rectified. The Globetrotter is wonderful. From the sprawling, beautiful building and gardens to the amenities, it certainly can't get any better than this in London. And oh-so-clean. I asked the receptionist and she said that the bathrooms are cleaned five times a day. I can believe this-they sparkled. I stayed in a two person room, ensuite. The bathroom itself was larger than my entire room has been in most hostels.

Unique Qualities: Where do I start? The money cinema? The TV rooms? The concerige desk that booked my day tour to Canterbury and Leeds? The great Internet Cafe? The spacious kitchen? The individual curtains and reading lamps around the bunks? The GYM? The bar? The pleasant, soothing atmosphere? The grocery store? THIS is the way a hostel is supposed to be. Also, if you cut through the park to King Street there are loads of ethnic restaurants that are great values for your money. You can have your pick of Chinese, Persian, Polish, Japanese, continental, and Thai.

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Theme: Hostel
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Directions: From the Victoria station, get on the District Line Westbound and alight at the Stamford Brook stop. Exit the station and take a left. Then take a right onto Ravenscourt. The hostel is the big sprawling brick structure on your left, about 50 meters down.
Website: http://www.globetrotterinns.com/

I have stayed at this hostel twice, in different rooms. During my first visit I was in a mixed dorm room with three other people. This was during the summer and the place was really hopping-sometimes the bar seemed to never close. But since I am a little past the partying stage at this point in the game it wasn't really my scene. During my second stay, in December, things were a bit quieter. I stayed in a two person room which seemed to be more my style. My only complaint is that the bathroom was a little too far down the hallway and the halls echoed. I swear every person in the dorm room next to me had to go to the bathroom at least three times apiece in the middle of the night-lots of doors slamming and such.

Unique Qualities: Well, for starters they have a hot tub and a sauna on the roof. You don't find that in many hostels! I also really enjoyed the bar and pub food. (Show your room key and you get a discount.) The staff went out of their way to make sure that we knew of the activities that were going on in the bar, as well. One night there was a comedy show, another night open mike night, etc. The cleanliness level is about average. They seem to clean the bathrooms once a day and I would recommend wearing flip flops in the showers. But it's not any worse than normal.

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Theme: Hostel
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Address: 161-164 Borough High Street, , London, England SE1
Directions: At the end of London Bridge, on the south side. There's a bus that runs from Victoria Station and stops directly in front of the hostel. From gatwick airport, take the Southern Rail train straight to the London Bridge station for 8 pounds.
Website: http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/

It used to be an old boarding school and now it's a big, rambling hostel. The rooms are clean, the shower's are good, and it has internet access.

Unique Qualities: A little far out of the city, the other nice things about it makes up for the distance. There is a huge kitchen, a computer, great beds, and a nice shower. You can buy towels at the front desk, along with stamps and other things. The people who run it are very nice, too.

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Theme: Hostel
Comparison: least expensive

Phone: (+44) 20 8458 9054
Address: 4 Wellgarth Rd, Golders Grn, London NW11 7HR
Directions: Get off at the Golder's Green station. More directions will come shortly.
Website: https://www.yha.org.uk/make_booking/process/785.ht

For a Holiday Inn Express at the airport I was pleasantly surprised at this hotel. It seemed fairly new so it was very clean and up-to-date. The room was large and although it didn’t have a bathtub it had an above averaged size bathroom and shower. The shower was great itself. Lots of pressure. There seemed to be a space-shuttle thing going on with the bathroom with strange blue lights but it wasn’t bad. They don’t have a restaurant per se, but after 6:00 pm you can order from a limited menu at the bar which takes up most of the lobby. It’s expensive but I ate there and it was decent. The beds were really comfortable with thick duvets and thick pillows. The hotel runs a shuttle to the airport for 2 pounds per person but it doesn’t run at all between noon and 4:00 pm so you have to take a taxi. I took one going to the hotel and it only cost 4 pounds so it wasn’t too bad. We didn’t get any airport noise.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: +44 0 1279 680015
Address: Thremhall Avenue
Directions: Stansted CM24 1PY- Just a kilometer or so from the Stansted airport.
Website: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/