So I quickly review my brief contracting stay around the Paddington area (my work right near Marylebone station) for this is a great easy single bus to Marylebone station also walkable somewhat in extremis. But the single bus 27 opposite mc donalds direction chalk farm is great.
I ended up trying to find the cheapest or best value hotel in the Paddington and Hyde Park area. I would like to share my findings as it may help you decide where to start your explorations in the area. Every week end I had to do this online searching and so you should save yourself some time and some hotels best avoided unless you get deals on them.
The Strategy
First try to get a good deal with ALL hotels and try not to leave the booking too late as this is always hard to find a deal unless for some reason demand is down then late can be good – don’t aim for this strategy however is my advice.
Check laterooms hotels.landed.at and booking.com for your region and specific hotels – also try TRIVAGO. Please comment and add your findings below and I will add them here.
I don’t like to save my card details online but you will get fed up inputting them each time – and indeed I found that I was not getting the best deal with any single site so you will find shopping around best.
Some Hotel Reviews Hyde Park and Paddington
The first week I stayed in the Indigo Paddington (by luck) and this was my original booking for 3 nights in the sister hotel the Quality Crown Hotel around the corner. But for some reason they took me to the indigo. I liked this hotel very much but normally it is outside my price bracket.
Review Indigo Hotel Paddington
The hotel indigo Paddington is a boutique hotel and though the rooms might be a little small (but ok) the bathroom was comfortably sized and I had an outside patio area (hence the room is not small if you add bathroom and patio) – and for this reason I think it is a good compromise – its not so small that it was an issue unless you intended to spend all day in it. Well located next to the Paddington tube and mainline station the 27 bus is close buy to get you to Marylebone station as well. It has its own bistro and a well appointed gym. You get free soft drinks from the mini bar and a newspaper on your door handle in the morning – the breakfast is excellent. It is ideally located. Its décor is especially welcoming as it is contemporary. The bathroom and shower are spacious and luxuriating. Other treats include a good array of TV channels to choose from. This extends into the gym where I found myself watching storage hunters that I had never ever watched before while in the middle of my sets. I did have headphones on to keep the intensity somewhere reasonable. Towels and water in the gym provided. I wish they didn’t polish the floor mats you will know why this irritates me perhaps!
It goes without saying that the staff are all excellent but I will. You can smoke in the designated outside spaces if you like that sort of thing !
Review of the Connaught Hotel Hyde Park
The next hotel was the Connaught the following week and as I was too late to book I ended up booking just one night. And I was glad. It’s a 4 star rated hotel and was quite roomy the biggest room so far but it lacked some kind of charm. It also felt a bit of a cold neighbourhood as close by are other just as big hotels. I paid 80 pounds for my single night and used the ok gym. Indigo has a better gym by the way.
I was offered the room again for 100 pounds then they had some bookings and this went up to 159 or so…I decided to get online (their wifi was very dodgy) and find another. I lucked out with the linden house hotel this was 55 but I again could only stay one night. I couldn’t fault the staff and the room was a twin and more spacious than some but didn’t seem to be especially 4 star for me looking a bit tired in places though all clean of course. I think if I could have this room for 80 per night I would have thought ok – not bad. At least it does have a decent enough gym. The bedding and mares gave me a good nights sleep. I also think you will get more peaceful sleep in this part of London as its not near a major street where people are likely to shout which sometimes happens in more central Paddington.
Review of the Linden House Hotel Paddington (55 pounds paid per night)
Again based on a one night stay – wanted the rest of the week it was fully booked.
The breakfast room was the only real downside as this is a value place however if I had paid full price might be thinking it was not great value. Clean not too small room – just you know that when furnishing and fitting ot out they found the best deals on tiles not the best colours for example. They are not so bad style wise and everything worked well and the shower was every bit as powerful and warm as the Indigo’s.
Review of the Alexandra (55 pounds per night deal 2 nights stayed)
Similarly across the road I finally stayed in the Alexandra. All these hotels are good location for the tube and busses and hyde park let me say – the Connaught a little less handy for Marylebone but not at all far by normal standards. The con was closer to Bayswater and next to Lancaster gate.
The Indigo and Connaguht did have a good hotel safe (big enough for laptop) and the Alexandria and linden house didn’t have a safe at all. But I felt things were secure and took my laptop to work anyway. I am sure these hotels would be normally ok as they have reputations to keep and any theft would render very bad. I have not heard nor felt problems in any of these hotels.
There really isn’t much to pick for the Linden vs the Alexandra…and it may come down to which you can get a deal for and for this I share my own best ways to find your cheap Paddington indeed London or other area hotel. Ah yes forgot the main drawback of the Alexandria to date is the lack of free wifi and the paid one was not even recommended to me by the reception ! So the Linden is better for that reason as well. The Alexandra does have more seating for breakfast and I found the Linden to be too busy to enjoy breakfast – but functional.
For the Connaught you can get the 274 for baker street station and walk the rest if like me you are working in Marylebone.
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