When visiting London, finding a cheap hotel room can be a challenge. On the tail end of a long trip, funds were tight and I thought I’d give the hub by Premier Inn a go!
The hub is a subset of Premier Inn that focuses on being more technologically friendly to make up for its compact square footage.
There are 15 hub locations throughout London, so there’s almost always a convenient location to check out, regardless of where you’re looking to visit while in the city.
Since I knew I wanted to check out Borough Market and Tower Bridge, I booked a Standard Room at the City Bank location. There was a Tower Bridge location mere blocks away, but they seemed similar enough that I just went with the cheaper option.
The entrance to this hotel was down a quiet alleyway and the lobby was modern looking with plenty of seating and a bar serving both alcoholic and non alcoholic refreshments. This is also where breakfast is served in the morning.
Since my room wasn’t ready, I checked my bags for free and headed out to explore the city while I waited.
Perhaps because I had returned to check into my room quite a bit later into the day, I was given a basement-level room. This didn’t make a huge difference since none of the rooms seem to have windows, but it did feel a little like I was being sent to the dungeon- emotionally speaking.
The room itself was as compact as advertised- a comfortable double bed took up the majority of the space in the room, though there is some storage space underneath the bed’s platform. There was a small table towards the foot of the bed, and shelving around the head of the bed with sleek looking LED lights for easy phone charging.
The remainder of the room was a narrow strip of carpet that could probably use refreshing. Since I was basically living out of my bag, my luggage took up much of this space and I was hopping over it to get from one side of the room to the other.
The bathroom was clean and modern with decent water pressure, at least!
I’d only recommend this hotel if you’re traveling on your own- I felt like I was struggling enough with storage with just myself and I can’t imagine how cramped it would feel with two people trying to fit themselves and all of their luggage in the room.
This hotel is good for a quick visit or visitors looking for a (relatively) cheap stay in London, but it’s definitely more utilitarian than most. The combination of the location and the price, however, is pretty unbeatable in terms of London’s costly hotels. I may prefer other hotels in London, but I know my wallet is always going to be a fan of the hub by Premier Inn.
I agree! London is expensive, and it can be difficult to find an accommodation that meets your budget. The last time I was in town, I stayed part of the time with a friend at her flat (aka free) and then the other part at a hotel– while centrally-located, the hotel room was absolutely tiny and still quite on the pricey end (despite being one of the cheaper options), but it did the trick for a few nights. Premier Inn sounds decent, and I might have to look into it next time I return!
Couchsurfing is THE best way to save money in cities! How lucky to have a friend to stay with! I’ve stayed in a few different hotels in London over the last few years and this one was definitely the least expensive so far.
London hotels are just crazy expensive aren’t they. I always stay South of the river to try and control costs just a little bit, but a stay always ends up breaking my budget!!
Ohhh South is smart! I’m not a familiar with the area since I lived in Marylebone, but I know there are usually good deals.