Cheap Travelodge/Premier Inn type hotels in London

[Comefromaway]

When we go to London for the theatre we go down on the train into Euston and usually stay in a Premier Inn or Travelodge somewhere centralish, Euston, Kings Cross, Southwark, Kensington etc.

This year we are going to The Barbican which is an area I've not been to before. I'm debating whether it is easier to stay near to there so as to get back to the hotel quickly and easily after the show, or whether we should stay somewhere closer to Euston which is where we will be heading to the next morning.

Any thoughts?

We've stayed at Premier Inn Euston twice before and not had a problem. We've also stayed further up the road at the St Pancras one.

Premier Inn Farringdon, Smithfield. It's a five minute walk from the Barbican centre and on the tube to Euston sq

If you prefer Tube travel,I assume you want to be on the Circle/Hammersmith line for the convenience of it? If t was me, I'd be tempted to stay somewhere between Holborn and Euston as I recall there being a variety of cheap and cheerful places and it's an easy bus trip up to euston and from the Barbican you could also take a bus back towards Holborn quite easily.

If you do want to stick with tube though, if you're coming on a weekend, check out hotels around Liverpool Street. City hotels can be cheaper on weekends (although with Covid things could be different) and it's an easy central line trip from there into central london and then a quick trip round to Euston afterwards.

Either of them will be fine for the Barbican then OP as well as getting into town.

It will be midweek. A Tuesday night to be precise.

We have used the Crowne Plaza just around the corner from Kings Cross (rebadged from a Holiday Inn) many times when staying in London for theatre trips with the kids.

Nice quality rooms, plenty of big family rooms with 2 double beds and centrally located. Usually at a good price too, no more expensive than a Premier Inn for a better quality room & good breakfast.

@dontputitinyourmouth

We always use the premier inn at Putney Bridge, it’s right next to the tube and really cheap, easy enough to get to from Euston too

It's about an hour on the tube from Putney. DS lives there and it took him over 2 hours in traffic to get to central London this weekend.

It's probably easiest to stay near the station and travel to the show as you won't have luggage with you. Also, the area around the Barbican is a bit dead at weekends. If you stay between Euston and Kings Cross, the development at Coal Drops Yard has lots of bars, cafes and restaurants. Do you have plans before you travel or are you just catching the train?

The Barbican is pretty close to Euston. It's just 3 stops to Euston Square (5 mins walk to Euston station) or 2 stops to Kings Cross (lots of hotels in between Kings Cross and Euston) or you could get an Uber after the show. There are Premier Inns and a Travelodge there.

@ChequerBoard

We have used the Crowne Plaza just around the corner from Kings Cross (rebadged from a Holiday Inn) many times when staying in London for theatre trips with the kids.

Nice quality rooms, plenty of big family rooms with 2 double beds and centrally located. Usually at a good price too, no more expensive than a Premier Inn for a better quality room & good breakfast.

I haven't been there for a while but I've booked the Crowne Plaza for work colleagues before and it seems pretty good.

Stay near the train station!
Walk to the Barbican (about 30/40 mins) and get an Uber back (£10 -£15) - cheaper than tube travel for 4 people !

If you've got luggage to leave then I would also stay near Euston and just leave your bags there while you explore in the morning

My kids are all over 18 now and still talk about the premier inn breakfasts they got as kids

If you are going into central London, I always recommend this place in Marble Arch/Hyde Park/Oxford St as good but cheap and cheerfulIt might be worth considering.

www.griffinhousehotel.co.uk

It's on the right tube line for The Barbican (6 stops). An Uber to Euston is about £8 (I did the journey recently). They don't seem to be offering breakfast but there are nice cafes/restaurants in Connaught Village, away from the tourist bustle of Edgware Road/Oxford Street.

@TheFunBus

If you've got luggage to leave then I would also stay near Euston and just leave your bags there while you explore in the morning

My kids are all over 18 now and still talk about the premier inn breakfasts they got as kids

Yes, we took dd on her first theatre trip when she was 8 (she’s 19 now) and Premier breakfasts featured heavily over the years. We did stay at Travelodge twice due to an exceptionally good deal but their breakfasts are not as good.

Last October we got a very good deal at the Hampton by Hilton Angel but no restaurants were open.

Ds is autistic and always gets catered to there whereas some of the “nicer” higher quality artisan type breakfasts he won’t eat!

Do you have plans before you travel or are you just catching the train?

We will be getting the slow train from Crewe (no more friends & family railcard discount for the fast train) so will probably arrive in London early afternoon ish. A visit to a music shop is a must (preferably one like Yamaha where they still allow Ds to play one of the pianos). IF there is time I’d like to take Ds to the areas where a couple of potential universities are, just to give him a feel of the areas. We usually do the Charing Cross bookshops etc. Then something to eat before the show.

I got a bargain £89 two nights bed and breakfast weekend in July at best western
Meeting Welsh cousins there
They got a grupon and the hotel matched their deal for us
Worth checking with grupon and bw

@Comefromaway

Do you have plans before you travel or are you just catching the train?

We will be getting the slow train from Crewe (no more friends & family railcard discount for the fast train) so will probably arrive in London early afternoon ish. A visit to a music shop is a must (preferably one like Yamaha where they still allow Ds to play one of the pianos). IF there is time I’d like to take Ds to the areas where a couple of potential universities are, just to give him a feel of the areas. We usually do the Charing Cross bookshops etc. Then something to eat before the show.

Euston is the perfect in-the-middle base for the Barbican, Yamaha shop/Charing Cross/Denmark St, the Bloomsbury universities, RAM, Guildhall, Kings, Westminster, City, and the South Ken universities (Imperial, RCM, RCA). It's not too bad for QMUL, Southbank, London Metropolitan and some of the UAL locations either.

There's a good piano shop on Edgware Road too, near the Marble Arch hotel I posted.

I suggest downloading both the Uber and Bolt taxi apps. They're always throwing around discounts. My recent weekend in town I had 50% off Bolt which made it often cheaper than the tube for multiple passengers. I've put the link with my referral code below. Gets you £10 off your first ride at least

invite.bolt.eu/735PUC

He used to spend a little while on the public access pianos at Euston & Tottenham Court Road stations but they were and presumably locked up due to Covid now.