Where to stay

try travel lodge

Cheap and cheerful

I paid £150 a night for a room in a star hotel in London and it was half the size of a travel lodge room and pig ugly

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Try the BEST WESTERN on Shaftsbury Ave. You don't get much more central and you can pick up some good deals if you book in advance. NOT as nice as the RITZ though!!!

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If you just want somwhere to sleep and get a shower there is the County Hotel at Euston which does single rooms for £40ish per night but shared bathroom. There are single rooms with en-suite facilities at the Central Hotel and Meridiana on Argyle Street near Kings Cross for a similar price. These are about 15 minutes walk from the West End and are about the cheapest you will get in London. there may be other similar hotels near other railway stations. If you want somewhere that is quiet, does a decent breakfast and is more central the prices will go up eg Covent Garden Travelodge and Premier Inn County Hall approximately £100 per night.

www.cheaphotels.co.uk

It's a great website, covers hostels as well. I've stayed in the Royal Bayswater hostel twice now, both times in a shared room with about 20 beds (2 bathrooms). It's always clean and I've never had any issues with it at all. I think I paid about £9 a night, but that was with student discount.