Hotels and places to stay in London

FaceTraveler lists 572 places to stay in London, mostly 4 and 5-star hotels, although there are also guesthouses and hostels. The city is very large, so choosing the right area saves you a lot of travel time every day.

Where to stay in London

• West End. Soho, Covent Garden and Leicester Square, with the West End theatres and plenty of shops. A good fit if you want to go out in the evening and walk back to your hotel. It is a noisy area with crowds until late.
• Westminster. The Houses of Parliament, the abbey and Buckingham Palace are a short distance away. This is the choice if the monuments are your priority.
• South Kensington and Kensington. The Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science Museum are here, next to Hyde Park. It is a more residential area, practical if you travel with children or plan to spend days in the museums.
• King’s Cross and St Pancras. St Pancras is the Eurostar terminal for France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and together with King’s Cross and Euston it forms one of the busiest transport hubs in the country. A good fit if you arrive or leave by train.
• Paddington. This is the station for the Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth line to the airport. Practical if you have an early flight.
• The City and the South Bank. The City is the old core of London and is now its financial centre. Across the Thames, the South Bank has theatres, concert halls and a riverside walk.

Getting there and around

London has six international airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City and Southend. Check which one your flight arrives at before choosing an area.

Heathrow, the main one, is about 23 km west of the centre. There are three ways to get there by train:

• Heathrow Express: non-stop to Paddington, in about 15 minutes.
• Elizabeth line: reaches Paddington in about 28 minutes and continues without a change through Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon and Liverpool Street.
• Piccadilly line (Underground): the slowest, about 50 minutes to the centre, and also the one with the lowest fare.

To get around, the Underground and the Elizabeth line cover almost the whole city. Check on the listing which station is nearby and which line it is on.

When to go

London has a temperate oceanic climate. The January average is around 6 °C and the July average 19 °C. Rain is fairly evenly spread throughout the year, so bring an umbrella or a waterproof whatever the date.

Types of accommodation in London

• 309 4-star hotels, the largest group.
• 157 5-star hotels.
• 59 3-star hotels and one 2-star hotel.
• 22 guesthouses and 17 hostels, if you want to keep costs down or a bed in a shared room.
• And 5 more places to stay of other types.

London is in England. To compare with other destinations, see hotels in the United Kingdom.