London trip - possibly on my own, possibly with friend - tell me where to stay

[rookiemere]

So I have a weekend booked in November to meet up with my cousin, possibly do a trip abroad on the Eurostar and/or go to some plays and exhibitions.

But I'm struggling to find the right place to stay.The popular Premier Inns that people recommend are booked out - County Hall - or very expensive and I've never stayed at a PI hub before so I'm a little unsure about them.
I've provisionally booked London Bank Tower PI as I stayed there with work and liked it but friend thinks it's a bit out of the way.
I've started looking at ibis and travellodge as they seem to have more in a better location. But what is a good location- I'm thinking safe, central and close to a good tube line? Is Shoreditch a good place to stay?
Any advice appreciated.

Thanks everyone, I've looked at some of the other hotels recommended and they're more expensive but i'll keep an eye on them.
I'll stick with Fleet Street for now - friend is happy with it and that's also an important factor, but may revisit if it ends up just being me.

These apparently v good according to a friend . www.bymansley.com

The PI hubs are ok if you're on your own. I wouldn't want to share a room with someone else (even a partner) though as they're very small; you can only access the bed from one side. I've stayed in the West Brompton one recently and it was nice and very easy to get to (almost next door to the Tube station). It's a little bit out of town (zone 2) but only 15-20 minutes or so from say Kensington by bus or Tube but the price reflects that (I paid £40/night and no way would I pay more than double or even triple to stay in the heart of the centre). I arrived at night (9pm - it was dark) and felt perfectly safe.

I looked at the PI hubs but we're there for 4 nights so I fancied a bit more room,we're not planning on sharing though.

@HundredMilesAnHour I live in London too. I don't think it's bizarre to say Shoreditch is further out than bank/tower... It is, assuming what you want to be near is tourist stuff like the West end/South Bank etc. I don't think Shoreditch is a bad place to stay - in fact you could happily stay anywhere in zone 1 really OP - it's just that if he friend thought bank was too far out she wasn't going to think Shoreditch was better in that regard. Oddly your tone has made me feel criticised and annoyed!

Anyway OP fleet Street should be all right if that's what you've chosen OP. I wrote liked the city at weekends, it's sort of interesting and quiet.

P Inn Borough High street is nice, short walk to London Bridge then themes link to St pancreas for Eurostar. Walk into town, Borough Market at night etc.

Recently stayed in PI hub kings cross and found it fine - great for transport, and a nice area in itself these days, with lots of good restaurants, etc at granary square.
Rooms are very small but cleverly designed, clean and comfortable, and the lounge/bar downstairs is nice.

I've used the kings x travel lodge, various independents around Russell Square, various around Kensington and the Waldorf if there's a good deal. When I last went the Waldorf was cheaper than premier inn!

@HundredMilesAnHour

I live in London and I find some of the advice on here a bit bizarre. There's much more going on at the weekend near the Bank/Tower PI than the Fleet St one. But there are within walking distance of each other so you really are quibbling over not much. Same as the people saying that Shoreditch is "too far out"...from what? Heathrow?!! And Shoreditch has no transport apparently. Well, except Liverpool St station with train lines and 4 tube lines, plus the overground at Shoreditch High St plus a million buses and pretty cheap Ubers because it's in zone 1. Yes, Zone 1...despite it apparently being "far out".

I was thinking the same. Shoreditch is fabulous. Very central with loads of bars and restaurants on the door step and easy to get around. Much livelier area than Fleet Street. But not as central, to be fair.

I didn't mean to stir up such controversy .
@gogohm yes I had a vague hope I could get a high end hotel cheaply but I think that ship has sailed. I'll keep looking though in case there's any last minute bargains.

I've stayed in the PI hub by Westminster abbey (totton st??) and found it excellent. The rooms are SMALL but plenty big enough for 1 person to crash in.

We are just back from a weekend at the blackfriars premier inn. Found it a good location for st Paul's and close to station. I wasn't keen on the side street element of it though and did find a lot of things shut around it. We thought we wouldn't stay there again however but we also thought that about Holborn Premier Inn last time. I still haven't found my perfect London premier inn!

@Stillgoings the Country Hall one is meant to be excellent in location, but it was expensive when I first looked and then sold out. Thanks for reporting back !