In this guide
We priced 46 budget hotels that London’s lists and travellers name, each on the same five nights across the year. 22 made this guide: 3 in central London, and 19 further out, near a fast train into town. Hotels are priced on their cheapest double or twin, which at some is a windowless room. Hostels, capsule hotels and windowless hotels have their own guides.
Every hotel here is named by independent lists, blogs and travellers, and was kept only if its typical night came to £150 or less.
💡 The Short Version: Only three central London hotels the lists agree on came in at £150 a night or less: The Z Hotel Shoreditch (£150 typical), hub by Premier Inn London Shoreditch (£131) and hub by Premier Inn London King’s Cross (£137). Go further out on a fast train and 19 more do, from Kip Hotel in Hackney (£81) and Travelodge London Docklands (£81.99) to Time Out’s number one, Good Hotel London (£150). Book a Sunday if you can: at the same hotel, the October Saturday cost a median 72% more.
Three picks: Kip Hotelad (£81 typical, Hackney Downs five minutes) · The Z Hotel Shoreditchad (£150 typical, one minute from Old Street) · Good Hotel Londonad (£150 typical, Time Out’s number one).
📊 The evidence behind this guide. 91 sources carrying 780 citations across 418 named places to stay. 170 are named by two or more independent sources. Built on: Which?’s survey of hotel chains; Time Out, Condé Nast Traveller and the Evening Standard; budget travel blogs; YouTube; 40 forum threads on Reddit, Mumsnet and the Rick Steves forum. Evidence rebuilt 14 September 2026 · How we rank →
What a night actually costs
Every hotel was priced the same way: the cheapest double or twin for two adults, for one night, with taxes and fees, on the five nights below. Its typical night is the middle of those prices, and that decides whether it’s in.
| Night | Date | Central London | Further out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, three weeks out | 11 October 2026 | £139 | £99.50 |
| Wednesday, five months out | 17 February 2027 | £153 | £102.50 |
| Saturday, a month out | 17 October 2026 | £218 | £185.50 |
| Second Saturday of December | 12 December 2026 | £243 | £166 |
| Saturday, seven months out | 17 April 2027 | £178 | £147 |
The middle price that night across the hotels we priced, 19 in central London and 26 further out, among those with a room.
Book the Sunday if you can. It was the cheapest of the five nights at 34 of the 46 hotels, and the October Saturday, six days later, cost a median 72% more at the same hotel. At 14 hotels it cost double or more. The December Saturday was the dearest night in central London, and the October one further out.
Central London hotels at £150 or less
The Z Hotel Shoreditch
Typical night £150 · £95 to £201 on our five nights · Shoreditch · 1 min from Old Street · Cited by 8 sources · Hotels.comad
A family room at The Z Hotel Shoreditch.
136-144 City Road, EC1V 2RL. On all five nights we priced, the cheapest double here was one with no window. The Hotel Guru puts it on its budget list from £125.
It’s a minute’s walk from Old Street station. Z’s free membership takes 10% off the public rate and adds complimentary cheese and wine. Family rooms sleep four, on two beds stacked as bunks with separate stairs to the top one.
hub by Premier Inn London Shoreditch
Typical night £131 · £63 to £179 on our five nights · Shoreditch · 4 min from Shoreditch High Street · Cited by 4 sources · premierinn.com
A room at hub by Premier Inn London Shoreditch.
Quaker Street, E1 6SN. The cheapest night in central London was here: £63 on a Sunday in October. A Wednesday in February was £90, and the two Saturdays in October and December were £167 and £179. A traveller on r/uktravel says it “can be vastly cheaper and especially on Sunday and Monday nights”.
hub is Premier Inn’s small-room brand. A Standard room is 11 square metres with a double bed, storage underneath it and a touchscreen for the lights and heating. A Bigger room is 14 square metres with a king-size bed. It’s four minutes from Shoreditch High Street on the Overground.
hub by Premier Inn London King’s Cross
Typical night £137 · £92 to £196 on our five nights · King’s Cross · 6 min from King’s Cross St Pancras · Cited by 4 sources · premierinn.com
The lobby at hub by Premier Inn London King’s Cross.
50 Wharfdale Road, N1 9FA. Six minutes from King’s Cross St Pancras, for the Eurostar, six Underground lines and the Regent’s Canal. The rooms are the same as at every hub: 11 square metres for the Standard double, 14 for the Bigger room with a king-size bed. The Sunday we priced was £92 and the February Wednesday £114.
A Mumsnet poster found it “v nice”, and on r/TravelHacks it is “reasonably modern, clean, and comfortable”. Candace Abroad lists it among London hotels under £150.
Further out, on a fast line
Every area here has a direct train, with no change, to the West End or the City in 30 minutes or less, on a line that runs all day. The minutes below are time on the train, from TfL’s Journey Planner for a weekday morning; each entry gives the walk to the station. To choose an area by what the trip is for, see the best areas to stay in London.
Across the 26 hotels we priced further out, the middle typical night was £141.50, against £179 across the 19 in central London. 19 of the 26 came in at £150 or less; in central London, 3 of the 19 did.
These are the areas with a hotel at £150 or less, fastest first.
| Area | Station | West End | City | The train |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitechapel | Whitechapel | 8 min | 3 min | Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street, 21 trains an hour |
| Kennington | Kennington | 7 min | 6 min | Northern line to Leicester Square and London Bridge, 21 to 26 trains an hour |
| Stratford | Stratford | 13 min | 7 min | Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street, 11 trains an hour |
| Shepherd’s Bush | Shepherd’s Bush | 10 min | 20 min | Central line to Bond Street and Bank, 27 trains an hour |
| Earl’s Court | Earl’s Court | 10 min | 21 min | Piccadilly line to Green Park, District line to Bank, 22 to 24 trains an hour |
| Canning Town | Canning Town | 17 min | 11 min | Jubilee line to Westminster and London Bridge, 27 trains an hour |
| Royal Docks | Custom House | 16 min | 11 min | Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street, 12 trains an hour |
| Hackney | Hackney Downs | - | 12 min | Overground to Liverpool Street, 8 trains an hour |
| East India | East India | - | 13 min | DLR to Bank, 6 trains an hour |
| West Brompton | West Brompton | 14 min | 24 min | District line to Westminster and Bank, 10 trains an hour |
| Golders Green | Golders Green | 17 min | 23 min | Northern line to Tottenham Court Road and Bank, 12 trains an hour |
| Hanger Lane | Hanger Lane | 21 min | 32 min | Central line to Bond Street and Bank, 10 trains an hour |
| Wood Green | Wood Green | 23 min | - | Piccadilly line to Leicester Square, 23 trains an hour |
| Greenwich | Deptford Bridge | - | 25 min | DLR to Bank, 13 trains an hour |
East London
ibis budget London Whitechapel
Typical night £125.50 · £84 to £168 on four of our five nights · Whitechapel · 6 min from Whitechapel · Cited by 3 sources · all.accor.com
A room at ibis budget London Whitechapel.
100 Whitechapel Road, E1 1JG. Mumsnet’s pick for east London, with one warning: the rooms only sleep three. Visit London lists it for “the low-cost and great location”.
The October Sunday was £84 and the April Saturday £107; the December and October Saturdays were £144 and £168. From Whitechapel station, six minutes’ walk, the Elizabeth line reaches Liverpool Street in 3 minutes.
New Road Hotel
Typical night £143 · £97 to £215 on our five nights · Whitechapel · 5 min from Whitechapel · Cited by 4 sources · Hotels.comad
A double at New Road Hotel.
103-107 New Road, E1 1HJ. A 79-room hotel in a former textile factory. Every room gets daylight and has a rainfall shower and air conditioning. There’s no kettle: tea, coffee and hot chocolate are free from machines on every floor.
The cheapest room is the Pocket Double: £97 on the February Wednesday and £109 on the October Sunday. On the October Saturday the cheapest double left was a Warehouse Double, at £215. Whitechapel station is five minutes’ walk.
Premier Inn London Stratford
Typical night £134 · £71 to £203 on our five nights · Stratford · 6 min from Stratford · Cited by 2 sources · premierinn.com
9 International Square, Westfield Stratford City, E20 1EE. Inside the Westfield Stratford City development, “handy for Westfield” according to a Mumsnet poster.
The October Sunday was £71 and the February Wednesday £106; the October and December Saturdays were £186 and £203. Stratford International is three minutes’ walk, but the Elizabeth line leaves from Stratford station, six minutes away, and reaches Liverpool Street in 7.
Moxy London Stratford
Typical night £143 · £99 to £199 on our five nights · Stratford · 3 min from Stratford · Cited by 4 sources · Hotels.comad
86 Great Eastern Road, E15 1GR. Marriott’s Moxy brand, three minutes from Stratford station. Visit London calls it “boutique on a budget”. A Reddit traveller found it “far away from everything”, though the Elizabeth line reaches Tottenham Court Road in 13 minutes.
The cheapest room on all five nights was a double with one queen bed: £99 on the October Sunday and £124 on the February Wednesday, then £143 to £199 on the Saturdays.
ibis London Canning Town
Typical night £106 · £84 to £168 on our five nights · Canning Town · next to Canning Town · Cited by 2 sources · Hotels.comad
8 Silvertown Way, E16 1ED. Next to Canning Town station, where the Jubilee line reaches London Bridge in 11 minutes and Westminster in 17, and runs all night at weekends. The Budget Savvy Travelers call it “both affordable and convenient”.
The February Wednesday was £84, and the April Saturday and October Sunday £100 and £106. The October and December Saturdays were £153 and £168.
ibis London ExCeL Docklands
Typical night £101 · £76 to £185 on our five nights · Royal Docks · 6 min from Custom House · Cited by 2 sources · Hotels.comad
9 Western Gateway, E16 1AB. Beside the ExCeL exhibition centre, six minutes’ walk from Custom House, where the Elizabeth line reaches Liverpool Street in 11 minutes. A Mumsnet poster calls it “excellent - cheaper than a PI”, meaning Premier Inn.
The October Sunday was £76, and the April Saturday and February Wednesday £97 and £101. The October and December Saturdays were £185 and £156.
Good Hotel London
Typical night £150 · £75 to £153 on our five nights · Royal Victoria Dock · 9 min from Custom House · Cited by 5 sources · Hotels.comad
Good Hotel London, moored at Royal Victoria Dock.
Western Gateway, E16 1FA. A floating hotel, moored at Royal Victoria Dock, and Time Out’s number one budget hotel in London. Its prices barely moved: £150 to £153 on three of the five nights, and £75 on the October Sunday. The rooms have walk-in rain showers, and there’s a bar on the roof.
The roof bar at Good Hotel London.
Lonely Planet warns that the rooms are compact.
Kip Hotel
Typical night £81 · £72 to £163 on three of our five nights · Hackney · 5 min from Hackney Downs · Cited by 2 sources · Hotels.comad
A double at Kip Hotel.
2 Aspland Grove, E8 1JW. A hotel next to Hackney Central station that sells its rooms by size, from solo cabins and a “snug double for two” up to large doubles, family rooms and a penthouse. The cheapest rooms are singles with no window and a shared bathroom; the prices here are for a double.
The October Sunday was £72 and the February Wednesday £81, but the December Saturday was £163. For the centre, walk five minutes to Hackney Downs, where the Overground reaches Liverpool Street in 12 minutes.
Travelodge London Docklands
Typical night £81.99 · £34.99 to £111.99 on our five nights · East India · 5 min from East India · Cited by 3 sources · travelodge.co.uk
The Travelodge tower at East India.
1 Oregano Drive, E14 2AE. A new-build Travelodge at East India, which Travelodge calls London Docklands Central, with the cheapest night in this guide: £34.99 on the October Sunday. The February Wednesday was £42.99, and the three Saturdays £81.99 to £111.99.
A Mumsnet poster found it “clean and spacious”. The DLR from East India reaches Bank in 13 minutes, but only six trains an hour.
Premier Inn London Greenwich
Typical night £142 · £66 to £166 on our five nights · Greenwich · 4 min from Deptford Bridge · Cited by 4 sources · premierinn.com
43-81 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8JL. Three family travel blogs list it. The October Sunday was £66 and the February Wednesday £86; the three Saturdays were £142 to £166.
This is the slowest journey in the guide: Deptford Bridge is four minutes’ walk, the DLR takes 25 minutes to Bank, and there’s no direct train to the West End.
South London
The Tommyfield
Typical night £149 · £139 to £189 on three of our five nights · Kennington · 5 min from Kennington · Cited by 2 sources · Hotels.comad
The Tommyfield, Kennington Lane.
185 Kennington Lane, SE11 4EZ. A pub with six bedrooms upstairs, each with a king or super-king bed. The Hotel Guru and Forever Out of Office both list its rooms.
The October Sunday was £139, the February Wednesday £149 and the April Saturday £189. Kennington station is five minutes’ walk, and the Northern line reaches London Bridge in 6 minutes and Leicester Square in 7.
West London
W12 Rooms
Typical night £114.50 · £80 to £130 on the four nights it had rooms · Shepherd’s Bush · next to Shepherd’s Bush · Cited by 4 sources · Hotels.comad
A double at W12 Rooms.
54 Uxbridge Road, W12 8LP. Nineteen rooms, with Westfield London on the doorstep. It was sold out on the October Saturday, and £80 to £130 on the other four nights. On r/LondonTravel: “£80 a night and clean and well connected.” The Central line from Shepherd’s Bush reaches Bond Street in 10 minutes.
Mowbray Court Hotel
Typical night £119 · £85 to £176 on three of our five nights · Earl’s Court · 1 min from Earl’s Court · Cited by 2 sources · Hotels.comad
28-32 Penywern Road, SW5 9SU. A hotel in a listed Victorian building around the corner from Earl’s Court station, with a lift and a 24-hour front desk. A twin is 12 square metres, and every room has its own shower room and a kettle. Breakfast is £10 a head. The Holiday Lab and Her Nomad Eyes both list it.
The February Wednesday was £85 and the October Sunday £119; the April Saturday was £176. The Piccadilly line from Earl’s Court reaches Green Park in 10 minutes and runs all night at weekends.
The Rockwell
Typical night £120 · £105 to £190 on three of our five nights · Earl’s Court · 5 min from Earl’s Court · Cited by 2 sources · Hotels.comad
Inside The Rockwell.
181-183 Cromwell Road, SW5 0SF. An independent hotel in a Victorian townhouse, with a bar, a restaurant and a garden, and rooms from singles up to garden rooms and a mezzanine suite. The Evening Standard called it a bargain in 2024, with rooms “just over a hundred quid”.
The February Wednesday was £105 and the October Sunday £120, but the October Saturday was £190. Earl’s Court station is five minutes’ walk.
Premier Inn London Kensington (Earl’s Court)
Typical night £147 · £85 to £221 on our five nights · Earl’s Court · 3 min from Earl’s Court · Cited by 5 sources · premierinn.com
A double at the Earl’s Court Premier Inn.
11 Knaresborough Place, SW5 0TJ. Mumsnet’s guide to budget family hotels calls it the best overall, and two family travel blogs pick it for the museums, a short walk away. The Sunday we priced was £85 and the February Wednesday £104. Both October and December Saturdays were over £200, so this is a weeknight hotel if the budget is tight.
It has family rooms and a restaurant, and when an adult orders a Premier Inn breakfast, up to two children eat breakfast free.
hub by Premier Inn London West Brompton
Typical night £141 · £59 to £176 on our five nights · West Brompton · 1 min from West Brompton · Cited by 3 sources · premierinn.com
11-15 Lillie Road, SW6 1TX. Next to West Brompton station, with the same small rooms as every hub: 11 square metres for a Standard double, 14 for a Bigger room with a king-size bed. A Mumsnet poster recommends “the one by West Brompton station, which tends to be a bit cheaper”, and on Reddit: “we’ve had a room in West Brompton for as little as £50.”
Our Sunday and Wednesday bear that out, at £59 and £64. The three Saturdays were £141 to £176. The District line reaches Westminster in 14 minutes.
Premier Inn London Hanger Lane
Typical night £114 · £47 to £142 on our five nights · Hanger Lane · next to Hanger Lane · Cited by 2 sources · premierinn.com
1-6 Ritz Parade, W5 3RA. The cheapest Premier Inn we priced: £47 on the October Sunday, £76 on the February Wednesday, and no night over £142. The Central line runs from Hanger Lane station, next door, to Bond Street in 21 minutes, 10 trains an hour.
North London
NOX Golders Green
Typical night £119 · £89 to £208 on our five nights · Golders Green · 5 min from Golders Green · Cited by 3 sources · noxhotels.co.uk
146-150 Golders Green Road, NW11 8HE. A hotel with a 24-hour reception, selling doubles and double studios; some studios are on the lower ground floor, with no window. A Reddit traveller found it “budget friendly but clean”.
Four of our nights were £89 to £124; the April Saturday was £208. Golders Green station is five minutes’ walk, and the Northern line reaches Tottenham Court Road in 17 minutes.
Green Rooms
Typical night £88 · £80 to £96 on three of our five nights · Wood Green · 1 min from Wood Green · Cited by 3 sources · greenrooms.london
The café and bar at Green Rooms.
13-27 Station Road, N22 6UW. An arts hotel opposite Wood Green station, with a discount for artists and creatives. The standard and corner rooms share bathrooms on both floors; there are also en-suite rooms, studio apartments for up to four adults, and two dormitories.
The October Sunday was £88, and the October and December Saturdays £96 and £80. The Piccadilly line reaches Leicester Square in 23 minutes and runs all night at weekends.
Named everywhere, priced over £150
These hotels are named by four or more independent sources, but their typical night came to more than £150.
| Hotel | Sources | Typical night | Cheapest to dearest night |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pilgrmad | 10 | £204 | £179 to £259 |
| The Z Hotel Strandad | 8 | £180 | £146 to £247 |
| Premier Inn London County Hall | 7 | £177 | £92 to £295 |
| citizenM London Banksidead | 7 | £220 | £155 to £251 |
| The Hoxton, Shepherd’s Bushad | 6 | £159 | £144 to £214 |
| The Z Hotel Trafalgarad | 6 | £173 | £127 to £235 |
| The Z Hotel Sohoad | 6 | £205 | £145 to £250 |
| The Z Hotel Covent Gardenad | 6 | £211 | £151 to £266 |
| Motel One London-Tower Hillad | 6 | £222 | £160 to £243 |
| The Z Hotel Victoriaad | 5 | £165 | £135 to £205 |
| ibis Styles London Southwarkad | 5 | £223 | £139 to £257 |
| Premier Inn London Southwark (Bankside) | 4 | £161 | £102 to £243 |
| Point A Hotel London King’s Crossad | 4 | £176 | £126 to £220 |
| Point A Hotel London Liverpool Streetad | 4 | £178 | £92 to £203 |
| Premier Inn London King’s Cross | 4 | £179 | £127 to £283 |
| The Resident Victoriaad | 4 | £258 | £222 to £272 |
| The Hoxton, Holbornad | 4 | £304 | £239 to £369 |
The Corner London City, the most-cited budget hotel of all, was £132 on the October Sunday and £153 on the December Saturday, and sold out on the October Saturday; its 2027 prices on Hotels.com run from £446 to £1,008 a night. The Culpeper had rooms on two of the five nights, at £185 both times, and St. Athans Hotel on one, at £106.
The budget chains, compared
Which? members score the hotel chains they’ve stayed with. Its survey, published in November 2025, covers 7,287 leisure stays at 32 large chains across the UK. These are scores for each brand as a whole, not for any London branch.
| Chain | Which? member score | Place, of 32 |
|---|---|---|
| Wetherspoon Hotels | 76% | 5th, and a Which? Recommended Provider |
| Premier Inn | 73% | 7th |
| Holiday Inn Express | 71% | 11th |
| hub by Premier Inn | 70% | 13th |
| Hampton by Hilton | 67% | 17th |
| Best Western | 66% | 19th |
| Greene King Inns | 65% | 22nd |
| ibis Styles | 64% | 23rd |
| ibis | 61% | 25th |
| Travelodge | 59% | 28th |
| ibis budget | 57% | 30th |
| Days Inn | 54% | 31st |
| Britannia | 44% | 32nd, last |
Which? members still rate Premier Inn “far superior” to Travelodge, which got two stars out of five for its bedrooms, bathrooms, breakfast and value for money. Several of the brands London’s lists name most often aren’t in the survey at all, including Z Hotels, Point A, citizenM, easyHotel, Motel One and Moxy.
How their London hotels priced. Every hub we priced came in under £150: Shoreditch at £131, King’s Cross at £137 and West Brompton at £141. Premier Inn only did further out, at Hanger Lane (£114), Stratford (£134), Greenwich (£142) and Earl’s Court (£147); its County Hall, Southwark and King’s Cross hotels were £161 to £179. Of six Z Hotels, only Shoreditch made it, at £150, and both Point A hotels were over, at £176 and £178. Among sources that recommend a chain rather than a hotel, Premier Inn is named most often, by 11, then Point A and Travelodge, by 7 each.
Family rooms on a budget
Our prices are for a double, so for a family these are the hotels to price first.
Premier Inn London Kensington (Earl’s Court) is the one the family sources agree on most. Mumsnet calls it the best budget family hotel in London, and up to two children eat breakfast free when an adult orders one. Travelodge London Covent Garden is Mumsnet’s pick in central London, and Lost in Landmarks puts its family rooms from around £150 for two adults and two children. ibis budget London Whitechapel is Mumsnet’s pick in east London, with the warning that its rooms only sleep three. The Z Hotel Shoreditch has family rooms for four, on two beds stacked as bunks.
Other cheap ways to sleep in London
- Hostels. Several lists count a hostel as a budget hotel: Time Out ranks Generator London second, and Mumsnet names YHA London Central its best hostel. See the best hostels in London.
- Capsules. A berth with a shutter in a shared dormitory, for when you only need somewhere to sleep. See London’s capsule hotels.
- Windowless rooms. A proper en-suite room with no daylight. Every Z Hotel sells a windowless grade, and Zedwell builds whole hotels that way. See windowless hotel rooms in London.
- Aparthotels. Rarely cheaper per night, but a kitchen can cut the cost of a longer stay. See London aparthotels.
- Everything else on a budget. London on a budget covers the free museums, the free viewpoints and where to eat for under £10.
- University rooms in summer. Student halls let rooms to visitors in the summer holidays. LSE’s Bankside House, behind Tate Modern, is named by EuroCheapo, Wanderings with Bri and BudgetTraveller.
Common questions
What counts as a budget hotel in London?
In this guide, a hotel whose typical night for two came to £150 or less, taxes and fees included, across five nights we priced between October 2026 and April 2027. Of the 46 hotels we priced, 22 came in at £150 or less.
Is it cheaper to stay outside central London?
Yes, as long as the train is quick. Across 26 hotels we priced further out, each near a direct train to the West End or the City of 30 minutes or less, the middle typical night was £141.50. Across 19 in central London it was £179.
What is the cheapest night to book a London hotel?
Sunday. A Sunday in October was the cheapest of our five nights at 34 of the 46 hotels we priced, and the Saturday six days later cost a median 72% more at the same hotel.
Which budget hotel chain is rated best?
In Which?'s member survey published in November 2025, Wetherspoon Hotels scored 76% and Premier Inn 73%, while Travelodge scored 59% and ibis budget 57%. Those are scores for each brand across the UK, not for its London hotels.
