easyHotel South Kensington

It is a relatively small hotel with only 34 compact rooms, with the smallest rooms starting at just 6m² (64 sq ft). The rooms are big enough for a double bed and a small en-suite bathroom but there’s no desk and no wardrobe (just a couple of coat hangers stuck to the wall). This hotel does not have tea and coffee making facilities but all rooms are air-conditioned.

Like many hotels in this part of London, it is converted from a Victorian terraced house, which means that it retains many of the features of this type of building including the original staircases, and importantly, there is no lift, meaning that this hotel mayn’t be suitable if you have mobility issues. Inside it has a bright modern decor, although not everyone is a fan of the bright easyJet orange.

The easyHotel chain is run by the same people who operate easyJet and it is run on much the same lines as a budget airline. Rooms are priced according to the same yield management pricing strategy where rooms are cheap if you book well in advance (starting at less than £40 per night) but more expensive (up to £180 per night) if you book in the peak season or leave things to the last minute. Initially, the hotel also priced extras like a budget airline, with additional charges for a lot of extras that would normally be free at other hotels; for instance, an additional charge to rent the remote control for the telly or for wireless internet access. However, most of those extras that were previously charged for are now included in your room rate.

This easyHotel is one of the cheapest places to stay in central London. However, the cheap beds sell out quickly and once they have sold out the remaining beds are considerably more expensive. If you book well in advance to get one of the cheap rooms then the easyHotel is probably the cheapest private room in Kensington and it is preferable to most other cheap hotels in central London. You often need to book several months in advance to snag the cheapest rooms but it is still worth checking if you’re travelling sooner, particularly if you’re travelling in the quieter season.

The hotel is on a quiet residential street in Kensington and it is within easy walking distance to most points of interest in Earls Court and Kensington. The South Kensington museums (the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and the V&A) are only a 15-minute walk from the hotel and the Design Museum is a 12-minute walk in the other direction, it is also a 15-minute walk to Kensington Palace and the Royal Albert Hall is not much farther away.

It is between Earls Court, Gloucester Road and High Street Kensington tube stations, although it is slightly closer to Earls Court, which is only a six-minute walk from the hotel. Earls Court tube station (on the District and Piccadilly lines) gives you excellent access to other areas of London and from here you can get to Piccadilly Circus in 12 minutes, Westminster in 13 minutes and Kings Cross St Pancras in 20 minutes. The Piccadilly line also serves as a direct link to Heathrow Airport with a journey time of around 35 minutes.

In short, this hotel is a great value accommodation option if your budget is tight and you don’t need anything too fancy. It provides the basics at a great price and the location is perfect. Just don’t come here expecting a spacious room with fancy amenities (like windows, for instance).