Would you be surprised to learn that London, according to BBC News, is home to more than 130,000 hotel rooms? 70,000 of those hotel accommodations are rated three-to-five-stars. Given the pure volume of people visiting the UK’s capital every year, a number estimated at 30 million by the London Plan, it’s really no surprise that London Town has such a huge selection of hotel accommodations. While variety can certainly be a good thing, it can also make choosing the best hotels in the city exceptionally difficult. If you’re trying to plan a European holiday in London, here are four ways you can wade through the chaff and find only the best hotel accommodations the city has to offer.
First, Decide How Often You’ll Be in Your Hotel Room
Before you do anything, decide exactly what you need to book hotel accommodations for in the first place. Do you plan to spend every waking moment enjoying your European vacation on the varied, exciting streets of London? If so, choosing basic hotel accommodations is all you really need. After all, you’ll be doing little more than using your room as a place to sleep and take a shower. On the other hand, if you’re planning a more relaxed vacation, choosing a room with more amenities is much more sensible.
Find Hotels in the Heart of the Action
As statistics from Market Metrix show, 30.2% of travelers choose their hotel accommodations based on their location. That’s almost twice the number of people who choose a room based on its price. Why is location more important? Quite simply, a hotel offering a great location is more convenient and cost effective. Consider, if you book hotel accommodations in the outskirts of the city, you’ll have to spend a large amount of your time and budget on getting to and from your hotel. On the other hand, if you stay in a centrally located hotel, like those in Victoria or Camden, you can simply walk most places.
Shop Around to Find the Best Hotel Prices
As the travel experts at BudgetTraveler.com suggest, shopping around the web’s best hotel accommodations search sites is a great way to find hotels that match your budget. Using meta-search engines, like Kayak.com, you can compare prices from the most popular travel sites. Further, you can bundle your hotel accommodations with your airfare, saving yourself as much as 20%, according to CNN Travel.
Don’t Choose Hotels Based on Their Star-Ratings
Many people choose where to make hotel accommodations based on the star-rating given hotels on popular review sites or in travel guide-books. However, as suggested on SmarterTravel.com, star-ratings have no universal meeting. For instance, a one-star-rating on Travelocity means the rooms meet “basic budget needs.” On Orbitz, however, a one-star-rating means “simple accommodations.” Given the arbitrary meaning of the star system, you should choose hotels based on their reviews, not their assigned star-rating.
London has an endless list of hotels to choose from. Using these four tips, you can weed out the good from the bad and find the hotel accommodations that fit all your wants and needs. References: www.comfortinnvictoria.co.uk
