22 of the best affordable hotels in London under £200

Times

06-05-2025

London might be one of the most expensive cities in the world, but there's no need to blow your entire travel budget on a hotel. Forget tatty rooms and shabby surroundings: in recent years, a wave of smart openings across the capital has tapped into the growing realisation that good value shouldn't mean compromising on excellent design. Increasingly, destination restaurants and buzzy, neighbourhood bars (quite rightly) come as standard too. Want to hang out with the creative set in Shoreditch or in the cultural hub of the South Bank; at a sweet, up-and-coming spot in the suburbs or slap bang in the centre of the city? There are plenty of places that won't scrimp on service or style, or dip too heavily into your holiday spending pot. Here are the best affordable places to stay in London, all offering room-only doubles at under £200 a night.
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Best for a spot of shopping
Forget Oxford Street: the newest Hoxton hotel is right by Westfield shopping centre for a spot of retail therapy. A 20-minute stroll takes you to Holland Park (and Notting Hill is one Tube stop further on). You'll want to head back to the hotel for dinner at the Thai-Americana restaurant, Chet's, where you can feast on firecracker lobster noodles or sea bream, coconut and lemongrass fish curry. Stylish rooms have peach-toned walls, scallop-edge headboards, terrazzo-topped bedside tables and copper finishes and eight categories range from Hideout (with no windows but a king-size bed) to Biggy, with a freestanding tub.
thehoxton.com
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Best for a great jumping off point
The Australian-born hotel brand TRIBE landed in Canary Wharf in 2022, bringing a smart, wallet-friendly place to stay in the financial district. Brass lamps and funky cityscape artwork add character to the bedrooms while all-day dining happens at California-inspired Feels Like June (tuna steaks, cobb salad, chipotle half chicken), and there's a 24-hour grab-and-go counter for coffee and snacks. Best of all, though, is the buzzy outdoor terrace with canal views for sundowners. Hop on the Jubilee line west to Bermondsey for the Maltby Street food market held on weekends or take the DLR to Cutty Sark to stroll up One Tree Hill for panoramic views of the capital.
tribehotels.com
Best for refinedvillage life
The Thames setting — and the restaurant's wraparound balcony overlooking the water — are the biggest draws to this south London hotel and members' club. The executive chef Vanessa Marx (previously a guest judge on Celebrity MasterChef South Africa) emphasises wild, foraged and sustainable ingredients; oyster mushrooms grown from recycled coffee grounds and microgreens such as radishes and rainbow chard cultivated at Rooftop Farm Wimbledon. Rooms are pared-back and neutral with handmade beds and wooden floors; the best have copper baths. Drop into yoga classes, book a guided paddleboard session on the river or a massage in the new treatment room. Richmond Park is on the doorstep and glorious Kew Gardens is a 15-minute drive away.
binghamriverhouse.com
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Best for soul-soothing stays
A calming antidote to the chaos of the outside world (and nearby Paddington station), this Scandi-style haven is centred on wellness — from the plant-centric menu at Kitchen restaurant, curated by the health brand Yeotown, to the noise-free library and wooden boxes in rooms that encourage guests to lock their phones away at night. Plus, there is a changing wellness programme that could include morning meditation, vinyasa yoga and guided runs in Hyde Park. It's a 20-minute walk to the independent boutiques on Marylebone High Street in one direction and Little Venice, where the Grand Union Canal and Regent's Canal meet, in another.
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Best for home-from-home appeal
A budget-friendly hotel in upmarket Belgravia? Incredibly, yes, at this long-established, boutique within walking distance of the neighbourhood's fancy delis and galleries, with Buckingham Palace and Sloane Square also nearby. The 26 rooms are split across a pair of Georgian townhouses with bold, feature wallpapers, Pooky lampshades and geometric cushions — downstairs you can tuck into brunch at the Buttery, where the likes of shakshuka and warm beetroot salads are served until 3.30pm, or while away sunny afternoons with a book and an Aperol spritz in the walled garden.
limetreehotel.co.uk
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Best for living like a local
With the V&A and the Natural History Museum on the same road, this beautifully designed aparthotel couldn't be better placed for a weekend of culture. There's a mix of art deco and 1960s influences in the rich jewel-like colours and retro tassel lampshades in the rooms, studios and suites; the last come with a kitchen kitted out with a microwave and dishwasher if you want to tuck into a takeaway from restaurants such as Thali, an Indian institution on Old Brompton Road (it's a 15-minute walk or order on Deliveroo). There's also everything you might want on site, from a laundry and gym to a co-working space, garden and EVE, a coffee shop, bar and restaurant rolled into one.
lockeliving.com
Best for smart, contemporary design
Fresh from refurbishment at the end of last year, this hotel is a two-minute walk from magnificent St Paul's Cathedral, and less than ten minutes from the Thames. Its location also makes it the perfect place for long weekends, with Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane and Shoreditch just two Tube stops away. Mid-century pop art prints and fluted headboards give nods to the building's postwar heritage while handy touches such as self-check-in iPads save time and there's a co-working space in the Living room for relaxing with coffee or cocktails from the Counter.
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• Great things to do in London when it rains Best for entertainment valueYou can't miss the bright red lights of the Bedford — just a five-minute walk from Balham station — and you wouldn't want to either. This 15-room pub with boutique rooms charms you with its circus theme downstairs and wows you upstairs in the bedroom: expect bold wallpapers, Instagram-worthy tubs and loud but stylish interiors. A stay here will put you in very good company: the likes of Ed Sheeran, Paolo Nutini and KT Tunstall have all performed in the club room before they hit the big time. It's a hotbed for new comedy talent too, having hosted a young Harry Hill and Frank Skinner. There's always something happening in the five bars, be it a swing dance or an open mic night, and the buzzing pub guarantees a good time, a great meal (food is half-price on a Tuesday) and plenty of tempting cocktails.
Best for smart technologyBrilliantly positioned just behind the South Bank and a few minutes' walk from London's renowned Borough Market, this is a smart hotel in both senses of the word. Everything from check-in to browsing menus for the canteen M bar is done on an app. All rooms are the same; compact but with all the necessities you need for a good night's sleep: coloured mood lighting, blackout blinds, king-size beds. There's a help-yourself breakfast and a stylish living room hangout space furnished with Vitra chairs, a curated collection of books, modern art and iMacs.Best for a laid-back vibeA pub, restaurant and hotel rolled into one, the Culpeper is a stone's throw from buzzing Spitalfields Market and Liverpool Street. Expect virtually the same menu — comfort classics such as beer-battered fish and chips — in the light-filled pub and the smarter bistro on the first floor. Rooms are rustic-luxe, with wooden bedheads and wicker lights, tree-trunk tables and cosy throws on the beds. In the summer, the best spot for dinner and drinks is the rooftop, where produce for the kitchen is grown in the garden.
Best for rooftop garden views Named in homage to the local 19th-century anti-slavery campaigner and social reformer Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, this characterful pub and hotel sits right on Brick Lane (it's the younger sibling to the Culpeper down the road). The 15 pared-back but functional rooms feature handwoven artworks, rugs and blankets (another nod to Buxton, who also raised money for the weaving community) and a selection of books chosen by the nearby bookshop Libreria. The ground-floor bar serves low-intervention wines, local beers and a bar menu of nibbles such as artichoke hearts, Ortiz sardines on toast and a Mons cheeseboard. There is also a guests-only rooftop garden, which delivers knockout views of the City.
Read our full review of the Buxton
Best for family weekendersThere's a loose sports theme to Moxy London Stratford — a reference to its location, a ten-minute walk from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park — from the silhouettes of athletes swimming, skipping and playing table tennis, printed on wood panelling, to a light fitting designed to imitate gymnastic rings. There's also a mural by illustrator and street artist Alex Lucas depicting east London landmarks. Table football, books and board games (as well as the bar) encourage families to stay put, while the 24-hour grab-and-go is perfect for stocking up on provisions before heading out.
Best for visiting museumsIt's the convenient location of the Rockwell in west London, close to blockbuster museums and boutique shopping in Chelsea, that makes it a winner. Inside the Victorian townhouse, the look is classic (rooms are furnished with floral wallpapers and oak furniture). Another boon is the walled garden, dotted with pretty plants and ideal for alfresco summer drinks, while the restaurant serves an all-day brunch menu that covers everything from soups and salads to fish and chips and steak.
Best for creative typesA social enterprise hotel for the arts opposite Wood Green Tube station (it's just 12 minutes to King's Cross), Green Rooms has discounted rates for artists and creatives. Chairman Kurt Bredenbeck founded the Hoxton in Hackney and advised on the design here: expect original art deco period detailing complemented by a stripped-back, rustic aesthetic in the 24 rooms. Some have shared bathrooms, and there are also 12-bed and 14-bed dorms). The restaurant, Oita, specialises in Japanese food in a relaxed atmosphere.
Best for seeing the sights
The no-frills, function-first Z Hotel group has 11 outposts dotted around the capital but this one, in a red-brick house that backs onto St Paul's Church behind the Piazza in Covent Garden, stands out for its buzzing, brilliant location. Rooms are compact (some categories have no windows) but come with crisp linens and comfy beds. There's a café for a continental breakfast, toasties and pizza lunches, and wine in the evenings.Best for stylish breaksThis grade II listed Victorian pub with rooms is perfect for those who want a boudoir they'll remember. Forget plain walls and soulless furnishings; the decor here is a tasteful clash of bold wallpapers, velvet curtains and vintage furnishings. Downstairs there's a lively restaurant and well-stocked bar, while every spare wall is covered in a mix of quirky photographs and paintings. Food is a cut above standard pub grub and the Sunday roast is one of the best in London. Here on a summer evening? Tuck in on the terrace: it's perfect for warm evenings with an Aperol in hand.
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Best for an East End escapeHoused in a former textiles factory in Whitechapel, this New York-inspired hotel nods to its industrial past with exposed brick walls and huge metal-framed windows. Even the smallest rooms come with a king-size bed; the best loft room has its own hot tub on the roof. Social spaces include a games room with a pool table, a library and yoga studio, while the menu at Mr White's English Chophouse restaurant, which centres around halal steaks, grills and chops, is devised by the chef Marco Pierre White. Tower Bridge and the Tower of London are within walking distance.Best for exploring south of the river This hotel, a ten-minute walk from London Bridge Tube station, provides a great base for those who want to explore the South Bank — the Tower of London and Borough Market are both a short stroll away. Rooms are comfortable and surprisingly spacious and the best come with excellent views of the Shard. There's plenty of choice at breakfast and the mood-lit bar is the perfect place to put your feet up after a day of walking around the city.
Best for couples getawaysThe design-centric chain Mama Shelter's London outpost is in the heart of Shoreditch so there's no shortage of things to do nearby. But if you're thinking about staying put, the hotel has a busy restaurant and bar serving an eclectic menu ranging from fish and chips to peri peri chicken burger, plus some banging cocktails. Guests can also make use of the gym — and the hotel even has its own karaoke rooms. Bedrooms here are on the cosy side but they have everything you'd need, from a mini-fridge to a desk. A USP for the brand is that free movies are included as part of your stay, even X-rated ones.
Best for sustainable stays If you want somewhere to stay with eco-friendly credentials, look no further than Room2. On the roof, there are solar panels as well as 75,000 bees creating local honey and contributing to biodiversity in the area. Inside, all energy comes from renewable sources and the showers use 40 per cent less power (with a promise that they don't scrimp on water pressure). Climate-friendly measures extend to the decor, with pieces made locally wherever possible and carpets created from fishing nets. There's a café serving breakfast and light bites — or you can make use of your room's handy kitchenette. Best for solo travellersThis hotel is housed in a slick, post-war office building, around a courtyard just off Fleet Street, once the home of some of Britain's best newspapers ‚— you'll be less than ten minutes' walk from St Paul's and only a little further from the theatres of Covent Garden. Rooms, decorated in greys and emerald greens, manage to feel both comfy and upmarket and bathrooms are kitted out with Antipodes products. Chambers restaurant, a nod to the courts nearby, serves hearty classics and steaks and spills out into a courtyard during summer.Best for music loversThis hotel will hit the right note with music lovers. Formerly the Hard Rock Hotel, there's memorabilia everywhere and guests will find vinyl record players and black-and-white shots of big-name rock legends on the walls. Live music takes centre stage each evening — best enjoyed between 5pm and 7pm when the cocktail happy hour is in full flow — and hearty American favourites are dished up at the Sound Bar: sizzling fajitas, stacked burgers and sides of mac and cheese. You'll struggle to find somewhere more central too. The hotel is a few minutes' walk from Marble Arch tube station and Oxford Street is moments away.
Additional reporting by Lucy Perrin, Alexandra Whiting and Qin Xie
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