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 townhouse. 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 £35 per night) but more expensive (up to £85 per night) if you leave things to the last minute. Also like budget airlines, all those little extras that would normally be free at other hotels come at an additional charge. Do you want to watch the telly? That will be an extra £5 to rent the remote control. Need wireless internet access? That’s an extra £5 per stay. Want an early check-in or late checkout? That will be an extra £15. Want a room with a window? In most cases that will cost you an extra £10.

As long as you don’t add on all these optional extras, 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).