The chic London hotels under £300 a night: from The Laslett to Mama Shelter

The words ‘affordable’ and ‘London’ seldom look successful the aforesaid condemnation — particularly erstwhile it comes to hotels. They’re an elusive breed, often hiding successful plain show on a leafy residential road, offering a reception-less invited to the fistful of smug travellers savvy capable to way them down extracurricular of Google searches, which propulsion up eye-popping rates oregon drab fund spots. By virtuousness of the brief, a bully chunk of these hotels are located successful East London, wherever edifice bills are mercifully little and nutrient standards substantially higher, though a fewer person clawed into much cardinal spots.

From hip, Brick Lane bistros-with-rooms to luxe and light-on-the-wallet newcomers successful Soho, present are the chicest hotels successful London that won’t interruption the slope — each nether £300 a night.

It’s inconceivable that successful London successful 2024 a edifice this bully and this reasonably priced exists successful Belgravia. That pillared, stucco’d spot of the superior that tourists gawp astatine and diplomats driblet their briefcases successful for a due cupful of tea. But really, alongside the eye-wateringly costly spots is simply a small gem of a townhouse, whose plot is summer’s champion kept secret, and whose plan falls person to a polished farmhouse than Julian Fellow’s top-hatted instrumentality connected the area.

Rooms are ludicrously comfy and upholstered to the nines, with heavy curtains, pastel wallpaper and dense throws flung implicit the ends of generously-sized beds. It’s arsenic adjacent arsenic you tin get successful these stretches (and for this rate) to staying with a stylish, traditionally inclined relative. Come morning, The Buttery’s Shakshuka is drizzled successful heavy yoghurt and the dukkah is conscionable divine.

Those longing for a Notting Hill pied-a-terre tin telephone disconnected the search, delete the Right Move app and plaything by The Lost Poet connected Portobello. A benignant of hotel-rental hybrid, this cleanable sliver of a Notting Hill townhouse is carved into four, immaculately designed rooms and suites with a diddy cheque successful table (call ahead) and that’s astir it. Why vie with the warren of thrumming restaurants connected its doorstep – Oresay, Gold, Zephir, Mazi – oregon effort holding guests backmost from the bars and pubs? It’s futile, and The Lost Poet knows this. It besides knows however to formal a historical townhouse for the modern, design-fluent traveller, creating a practice hue canvas for modern creation and colourful chairs.

They’ve besides understood the slumber brief: that traveller’s request a calm spot of rest, with clever lighting, a subdued palate and thick, blackout blinds. Pine for the Muse – the Lost Poet’s showstopping suite whose bathtub, upper-floor prima country and beauteous terrace volition satiate each London pied-a-terre reverie. And don’t hide to tick disconnected the Ottolenghi pastry breakfast, which comes delivered to your door.

Glossing up an objectively un-glossy spot of London, and peculiarly the unkempt ‘green’ connected which it sits, The Hoxton touched down successful Shepherds Bush successful 2022. It was overmuch to the delight of ex-Notting Hillites, exiled by soaring prices, but besides to the reams of 20 and thirty-somethings. They’d agelong craved a chichi spot to brunch at, pat retired emails from and plaything past for a Picante en way home, amid the cloth and mobile telephone shops.It was besides a boon for those needing a well-designed metropolis clang pad, with the cardinal enactment zooming them into theatreland oregon Oxford Circus’ shops successful nary time.

Though the group’s hip, comfy (and reasonably affordable) rooms tin beryllium recovered successful their Shoreditch, Holborn and Southwark numbers, the Shepherd’s Bush sister edifice feels much successful interaction with multi-cultural location. Thai-Americana edifice Chet heaves with a trendy set, sharing kaleidoscopic platters of roti and curry sauce, coconut and lemongrass food and larb fritters. Cocktails hover astatine a civilised terms – £12 for a Holy Chet (Martini Ambrato and Ostara Hedgerow achromatic vermouth) – and the vino database oscillates betwixt classics and much experimental, including a solid of Litmus Wines’ Orange Bacchus from Kent. Those connected a choky fund tin forgo a model for the little crushed level (circa £100 per night) rooms. They are inactive dressed caput to toed successful the Hoxton’s signature mid period fittings, and are absurdly comfy for those rates.

Book it: Doubles from: £174 per night, crushed level rooms from £100 per night. thehoxton.com

Spanning 5 stucco-fronted townhouses connected prim-and-pillared Pembridge Gardens, the Laslett defies the neighbourhood’s moneyed monotony, tapping into Notting Hill’s bohemian heritage. Named aft Notting Hill Festival’s founder, Rhaune Laslett, the edifice takes the area’s creator and euphony pedigree seriously.

Local artworks adorn the walls of a monochrome room and edifice – wherever parquet floors, shelves of java array books and mid period furnishings springiness a Nordic feel. The hygge continues upstairs — conscionable done an English lens — with battered Penguin Classics lining shelves, section artworks and photography framed successful black, and heritage-style bathrooms you’d typically subordinate with a Georgian state hotel. Eggshell-crisp sheets formal tremendous beds, which are topped with reclaimed headboards.

Saunter downstairs for a haute instrumentality connected sausage patty brioche buns and Sally Clarke sourdough, and aft a greeting spent weaving done Portobello’s stalls, caput backmost to basal for an Oskia facial successful the Laslett’s small-but-mighty Recharge Spa.

If you request to driblet your bags successful the centre of the action, and wrong London’s buzziest labyrinth of restaurants and bars, Mimi’s Hotel successful Soho is the one. This caller summation to the metropolis has a Dickensian townhouse quality – plush velvet chairs, unfastened fires and rich, practice hues – though there’s thing stuffy oregon staid astir it. An angular slab of marble sitting alongside the reclaimed wood successful the brooding Henson’s barroom confirms this, arsenic does the tech alongside leather headboards and nostalgic sconces successful the cosy rooms. It’s the benignant of spot you’d privation to hunker down successful for a frosty winter’s night, with a whisky cocktail aft a piping blistery bath. Even the ‘tiny’ oregon ‘mini’ country categories travel with underfloor heating, Frette linen and ample TVs. Mimi’s offers a sliver of luxury for a palatable rate; it is simply a uncommon jewel amid its £600-a-snooze neighbours.

Smashing each fund edifice preconceptions, with maximalist panache, Mama Shelter delivers connected each the colourful, velvet-and-fringe kitsch the Instagen could anticipation for. On paper, it’s an aesthetic car clang – people overload, folksy, woolly cushions caught successful the glow of Churchilian table lamps. But it works, slotting successful splendidly to this cool, gritty spot of East London, wherever punters travel for Colombia Flower marketplace for bully java and a bully time.

Rooms are playful and bash what they accidental connected the tin: a furniture for sleeping, a ablution for washing, the unusual hanger for a overgarment and the unusual presumption crossed London. Think of it arsenic a haute hostel, wherever globally-inclined tiny plates are dispersed crossed sharing tables and meal (not included) dials up the accustomed suspects (yoghurt, pastries, eggs).

Understated and unbelievably stylish for its rates, the Pilgrim sits other Paddington station, wherever the conduit zooms into cardinal London, trains chug commuters successful from each over, and the Heathrow Express zips passengers to the airdrome successful 15 minutes. It’s winning successful the convenience stakes, but amazingly besides successful design. The building’s Victorian quality has been keenly preserved amid a colossal revamp, and astir of it, from the modish furnishings to the elegant parquet floor, has been upcycled. And scattered crossed its cavernous spaces and light-filled country is simply a smattering of ever-changing art, deftly curated for the chill assemblage that descends connected this hip, community-focused hub.

Conviviality successful the restaurant, java store and shared meal pantries is needed erstwhile you see the lack of quality enactment astatine cheque successful (completed online). And what the rooms deficiency successful size (tiny), they marque up for with amenities (hairdryers, chill magazines, speakers, brushed towels, TV and crisp sheets). Many presume Paddington’s main resistance offers up amended menus than the Lounge downstairs, but volition footwear themselves erstwhile they yet descend their chops into its charcuterie and tiny plates of assorted grilled and braised bounty.

Refreshingly forgoing the wonky, taxidermied Dickensian decor oregon Scandi (read: IKEA decked) minimalism of surrounding spots, this high-ceilinged, reasonably compact bistro-with-rooms sits proudly astatine the southbound extremity of Brick Lane. It blinks retired crossed a trendy, comfortingly dishevelled country from its red-framed windows. Much similar its better-known large brother, the Culpepper, the Buxton is resplendently restrained, with marble worktops, glossy walnut galore and bully looking Anglepoise lamps dotted successful industrial-esque, colour artifact rooms.

Be prepared; the rooms are cosy. Luckily, the plan squad were acutely alert of this and cleverly maximised the abstraction with an abundance of mirrors, lights and small nooks successful which to bent bags. And portion you’re slap-bang successful the centre of London’s wildly awesome nutrient scene, it’s good worthy docking yourself astatine the barroom oregon connected a bistro seat for produce-first plates, washed down with integrated vino oregon a Campari cocktail.