Express by Holiday Inn Southwark

I booked this hotel for the last week in August-- the height of tourist season in Europe-- for I believe six nights for under $500 USD. That's amazing. I did it through Hotwire, booking the nights separately, which worked fine, and they didn't make me change rooms every day. The one snag was-- I wanted two double beds. My first London hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Limehouse, gave me two double beds plus a sofa bed without my even asking, but despite the fact that I had called ahead of time to the Southwark hotel to book two double beds, they said they could only accommodate us for certain nights of the stay. To compensate, for a few nights they gave us another room, until they were booked for the last night or so and we were back to one room with only one double bed.

Two of us in our party of four loved the breakfast, two hated it and wouldn't eat it after the first day. It's mostly bread and cereal, nothing gourmet. We also had a bit of a row with one of the travelers in our group, who proceeded to book her own separate room at the rate of 199 pounds a night! It shows how crazy she is, because we got this hotel for the entire rest of the time for a little over that price. In other words, don't just call up and book their rack rate, do it through Hotwire ahead of time.

Finally, the location is wonderful. It's a few minutes to the nearest tube station, Southwark, and the Jubilee line is close to everything and not crowded at all. Many times, we were the only people in the Southwark tube station. It's right next to the Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe and all the attractions of the South Bank. It's not the most happening area after 11 or so, but that's true for London in general.

Taxis from Buckingham Palace are only about 15 pounds, so it's also good as far as taxi fare if it's too late for the tube.

You won't mistake the rooms for the Ritz, but the hotel is wonderful for the price, a real bargain, and perfectly passable. I found the workers to be very amenable and pleasing,with one exception-- we did our best to avoid her. It's a great hotel to stay with friends for a trip in London. It's a bargain considering the location and being minutes away from every attraction. That is rare in London! I highly recommend it.

The one drawback is that they charged for the Internet, something like $4 a minute (two pounds). We spent a small fortune on the internet downstairs.

I stayed at the Holiday inn in Southwark as a cheap overnight before catching the Eurostar to Paris.

The hotel is OK, a little small but the free breakfast is a nice touch.

Its a fair walk from the nearest tube station and there is nothing close by if you are visiting at the weekend everything is closed.

Taxi to Waterloo is about L10 and takes only a few minutes.

If you are visiting the west end then a hotel closer will be a better option.

Phil Cambs.