Advantages: Beautiful setting in a buzzing part of London
Disadvantages: Not suitable for disabled people - no lift

...The Ashley Hotel is a superb, well-priced B&B hotel in a gorgeous location in central London. It is situated in Norfolk Square, Paddington, and is just 2 minutes walk from Paddington station. Paddington itself is a buzzing district of London adjacent to the West End, and is packed full of shops, restaurants, bars etc. Norfolk Square is an oasis of tranquility amongst this. It is a square (obviously) of tall, elegant Victorian mansions, all of which have been turned into budget hotels. The hotels are painted white and cream, and have tall windows and beautiful old railings outside. In the centre of them all is a railed garden. Obviously, it was once a place of residence for people of means in the Upstairs-Downstairs tradition. The Ashley Hotel comprises 3 mansions made into one, and has 50 (I think) rooms. The reception is well... Read review

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Advantages: Central.
Disadvantages: no lift

...The Cardiff Hotel is situated in a quiet tree-lined square just around the corner from Paddington Station and offers budget accommodation in pleasant rooms. It is family-owned and children friendly, and the small friendly breakfast room serves full english breakfast inclusive of cereals and toast and marmalade or selection of other spreads. The room I stayed in slept four, and with all four beds was a little cramped for space to walk around the room but it suited our needs just fine. My only complaint would be the lack of a lift and the poor cosmetic repair to the shower's tiled walls, but it was cleaned every day so there were no worries about hygiene. Hairdryers, irons and umbrellas are available to borrow, and every room has ensuite facilities, tea making and a television. Quite enjoyable!... Read review

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Advantages: In London
Disadvantages: Unenthusiastic staff, little support from tutors

...My experience of the University of Westminster when it was formerly PCL (Polytechnic of Central London) was dire, perhaps this was because I was on a part time course commuting into Paddington? I don't know whether the facilities have improved, I found the teaching staff depressed, lacking enthusiasm, and under a lot of stress. Also many members of staff were part time often without degree level qualifications. If the students weren't forced by employers to commute into London they were probably from London itself, some of whom would have been better off commuting out of London. The University seems to run alot of top up degree courses for people with ONC's HNC'S etc... I would personally not go there if I had A level's.... Read review

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Advantages: Fantastic
Disadvantages: not many

...I was in London in the first days of 2005. It was very very cold. Colder than i can imagine. It was the first time i was there. I stayed in a little hotel very close to paddington station. The location (i really don't remember its name, maybe eagle...) was good: nothing's special, but good at all. I had a fantastic first impression staynig there: in the past i was in scotland, inverness, edinburgh and glasgow, but nothing is remotely like london. London is unique. Anyhow, the first impact was awful: the cold, the high prices, the language (englishman speak english!!) and finally the short sun light, were sufficient reason to pant for a while.... but in a pair of our i familiarized with the new environment, the new sensations. So, the second feeling, it was a feeling of complete ... falling in love. Not only and not expecially... Read review

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Advantages: Good special offers, easy to book hotels
Disadvantages: More hotel details needed

...It was very easy to book a luxury hotel in London on this site. They have more than 100 hotels that you can view and book online ranging from Best Western, Comfort Inn, Hilton, Express by Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn and also many independently owned budget hotels. They offer accommodation in Central London ranging from low-cost privately owned guest houses to five star global chains. Most are located close to major London attractions like the Covent Garden theatres, Madame Tussauds, Tower of London and are perfectly situated near Oxford Street, Harrods, Knightsbridge and Kensington for shopping. The rates are much below published rack rates and include local taxes, service and breakfast. We needed two rooms next to each other and the kind people at London Discount Hotel.com were really friendly and helpful. They contacted the hotel... Read review

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Advantages: Cheaper than daily or weekly, limits queueing, 5% reduction for poor service
Disadvantages: Big outlay, poor service, crowded trains

...I have been an occasional user of First Great Western for more than ten years. I recently became a daily user (a couple of months ago), Trains to London are usually reasonably punctual (but less so at rush hours). Trains from London seem to often be very crowded (at least to Reading, often further), and often seem to be delayed by the usual excuses - signal failure and following slower trains. Mechanical malfunctions are also common. The rush hour return to Paddington is very expensive, the weekly costs less than two dailys. The monthly saves a little bit more but the real saving is in not having to queue at the station for a ticket. Season tickets are also subject to savings because FGW are nowhere near their punctuality target, and are unlikely to reach it for quite a while. The further away from the Paddington ticket barriers you... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent decor, great Regents Park location - within 2 mins walk of 2 tube stations
Disadvantages: 4 star decor not matched by corresponding room size

...Last weekend we stayed at the 4 star Sol Melia White House in Regents Park, London after placing a winning bid of 74 pounds on the Priceline UK website (came to 91 pounds after taxes). Located in the deepest northern reaches of Priceline's Bloomsbury area of London it was further than we would have chosen from the center but this turned out not to be an issue. The Melia White House is easy to find and very well connected. it is located 2 minutes walk from Regents Park tube station which is perfect for going west/east along the top of the circle line (e.g. if you're going to be travelling in/out of Paddington where the Heathrow express arrives in London, or Euston). Nearer still is Great Portland Street tube which is perfectly located on the Bakerloo line - this puts it one stop from Oxford Circus, otherwise known as the center... Read review

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Advantages: Clean, Tidy, Friendly and Welcoming at a great price
Disadvantages: Lots of stairs and No Lifts

...in the hot summer months, and for those visiting in the winter as we did, the heating is on so the rooms are nice an cozy. Everything was very clean and tidy, with someone coming in to clean the room each day. It does make a difference to see this being done, from various reports that I have heard of other London Hotels, it seems that such high standards are something of a rarity in cheaper hotels in London. Breakfast is included in the price of the room, and it is served in the basement of the house, which is just as lovely as the rest of it. You get the choice of either a full English breakfast, or a continental one, this is served by Gloria and another very pleasant girl between 8am and 9am. The Dinning room was very clean, and you could see into the kitchen (always a good thing) which was also clean. According to their web site... Read review

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Advantages: Great history, lots of stuff to do
Disadvantages: Hotels can be a bit expensive

...and from there it is easy to go by train (The Gatwick Express) straight into Victoria Station in London. Our hotel was called Monopole and is located in Sussex Gardens near Paddington Station. The hotel itself wasn’t much to brag about. I guess it was cheap according to London standards (about £40 a night for two people). But the room we got had a hard bed, a small TV with few TV station (not that we stayed in much) and in the bathroom there were no shower curtain around the shower so by the time we finished showering the entire floor was wet :-) The first thing we had to do was get a way to get around London. And I feel there is only one way to do that and that is by the underground. We normally travel around quite a lot so we found out that a weeklong pass was the right thing for us. It cost us about £18 each to get zone 1 and 2 covered. We... Read review

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Advantages: Central, Decent Breakfast, Handy for Heathrow Express
Disadvantages: No Customer Service, No bar/tea making, Shabby rooms

...We stayed here with friends who were on their first proper visit to London. They had been down for our Civil Partnership earlier in the year (See my other reviews) We booked flights and accomodation through British Airways Holidays. As such we expected a certain standard, even though it was only rated 2 star. The hotel is centrally situated on Craven Road, just 3 minute walk from Paddington Rail Station. This station is also the terminus for the Heathrow Express which was handy for us. The hotel looks very grandiose form outside. A few steps takes you inside to the reception area. The staff on reception appeared un-interetsed. They didn't make conversation, this may be because they didn't have good english. On the British Airways Holiday website they advise there is a bar. This was never open! Our rooms were on the 5th floor... Read review

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