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Best Budget Hotel London: Travelodge Waterloo Review

February 08, 2011

best budget hotel central London travelodge

If you are looking for a super clean, new, modern low budget hotel in central London, I don't think you can beat the Travelodge Waterloo Hotel. We picked it partly because it was an excellent location near the Theatre District since we had plans to see the 20th Anniversary production of Les Miserables and it was ideal for that, but also perfect for exploring central London, plus very close to conveinent bus and subway lines. Big Ben and the London Eye are both about a ten minute walk.

travelodge london waterloo

The Waterloo Travelodge just opened in 2010 and start at 19 Pound ( 30 dollars!) which is a rare find in expensive London. We were there for two nights in October which is a busy time in London and we were impressed from the start with an easy check in system to the flat screen TV! Our room on one of the higher floors was spacious, comfortable, clean and  quiet with a view of the London Eye which delighted our 10 year old. The decor is basic, Ikea-like modern and in minimalist fashion which is typical  Travelodge, but decent sized and comfortable including the thoroughly modern bathroom.

fast check in at travelodge UK

view of the London Eye from our Travelodge room window

Watch their specials as they often have super bargain rates and discount deals, so  if you can set your travel to coincide with them, you will save the most. The staff that we dealt with were polite, helpful and very professional and it was in a safe area where we felt comfortable exploring even at night.

desk, table, closet and bed at travelodge waterloo

bathroom travelodge london waterloo

comfortable, clean bed travelodge london waterloo

 There are restaurants, grocery stores and shopping within close walking distance. The Waterloo Station is just a five minute walk away and that gives one access to all of London easily. Tea/coffee making facilities and bottle opener were handy.

bar at travelodge london waterloo

We started our day at four in the morning in southern Spain, first we were picked up by the BBC for a Soultravelers3  interview about social media and travel  as we arrived in London, then saw the smashing matinee of Les Miz, followed by a yummy Chinese dinner in nearby Chinatown, so we were tired by the time we got to our hotel room. The next day we went to the booksigning of dear friends and met up with our dear friends from Spain who now live in London. It was a packed schedule.

cafe at travelodge london waterloo

Sometimes family travel is just about hanging out, being cozy and watching a little "telly" since we rarely get to see it. Both evenings, we rested in bed together and enjoyed watching the British hit, "X-Factor" (which is similar to American Idol) and our daughter discovered the old hit series "Friends" for the first time, comfortably via the large flat screen TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed. Funnily, we watched the episode of Friends that took place  in London then taking a flight back to New York City, the night before we took a plane from London to New York!

Friends episode taking plane from London to NYC

There is a great little cafe which serves a generous breakfast and is opened late for bar and meals at decent prices ( and a Sainsbury grocery store close by if you want something even cheaper). We had a "bed picnic" one night with the pizza from the cafe and enjoyed that in our PJ's. I also liked the little eco friendly touches and the fact that they are 100% smoke free.

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Our stay was sponsored by TravelodgeUK.  Our opinions, stories, photos and experiences are our own. This is exactly the kind of place that we would recommend even without their help, but it's great to get first hand experience.This is truly the best place that I know of for budget hotel  lodging in central London and what my budget readers will appreciate because finding budget family digs in London is not an easy task.

IMG_6512_2

The only thing that I could fault them for is that they did not have free wifi which I think every place should have today.The wifi was good but 5 pounds for 1 hour or 10 pounds for 24 hours. Yikes! They also had internet in the lobby for less money for shorter periods. They do have family rooms, but they were booked so we stayed in two regular rooms, but could have easily stayed in just one.

We're really happy that we discoved Travelodge in London and want to thank them for a great stay! Have you ever tried a Travelodge hotel?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gabrielle

Hello !

Happy New Year Souletravelers! (a bit on the late side...). Glad to read that you are enjoying some extended family time... so nice.

We have decided to explore home exchange while we work out the details of long term travels. We hope to get away at every school holidays (we get a lot in France ;-)

I will let you know how this goes but I'm pretty excited about it... This way we hope to get to ski a bit in february, explore Norway and Sweden this summer... and maybe lake Como this spring !

Not as good as extended travel, but close enough ;-)

Take care,

Gabrielle

Jo

That price is incredible. Is it 19 pounds per person or per room? Were you able to find cheap internet elsewhere?

soultravelers3

Happy New Year Gabrielle! Sounds like a great plan to me! It's good to take your time when planning extended travel. Good luck!

soultravelers3

J0- It IS truly an amazing price for central London and it's for the room, not per person.

Follow my link about the bargains as one does have to book ahead to get the best price.

We were busy, so I didn't use the internet much, but one can always find free wifi at McDonalds & I hear lots of places in London now.

If one is doing extensive travel in UK, then it's probably worth getting their weekly or monthly plan if one will be using lots of internet.

For the price, I'd work around the internet limitation. ;)

mina | Postcard Mailing Marketing

30 dollars!!! Oh wow. I better get my self ready for some London travel. Looking at the pictures the place looks pretty decent and ideal for a back pack traveler.

Gabrielle

Thanks !

I will also look intro Travelodge next time we're in UK. We usually have to do a stopover when we go to see my grandparents in Lancashire and it looks like a nice budget possibility.

Alice

That looks good! Looks like a nice place to stay for it's price.

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