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Frugal or Foolhardy? Why I Stayed in London's Cheapest Hotel

12/11/2014

12 Comments

 

We've never had a hotel quite like this one.

Inside a standard sized EasyHotel room.
Touching both walls with my arms - it really is a tiny room! And orange. It was definitely very, very orange.
As we stood basking in the neon glow of the electric orange paint, key card in hand, I shot Ryan a sharp look. “Promise me”, I said, “Promise me that whatever’s behind this door you’ll give me your usual, cheerful ‘Oh, now this isn’t so bad!’”.

With a whoosh, we slid the key card through the slot and stepped into our hotel room. Ryan’s face fell. “Oh”, he said flatly, “This isn’t so bad?” And with that dubious and doubtful start we began the first of four days inside an EasyHotel.

High maintenance travelers need not apply.

Showing how big a standard sized EasyHotel room really is. London Victoria.
The 'extra' space of the standard room meant we had just enough room to cram our carry-on sized pack at the foot of the bed.
Have you ever said to yourself that it doesn’t matter where you stay, so long as it’s clean and safe? Or that you’ll be so busy by day that you don’t care where you crash at night? We've uttered all of these promises and more over the years, all in the name of value travel. But until now, we've never called ourselves on it. Not until London's EasyHotel Victoria.

The premise behind the EasyHotel chain is simple. You get the door that locks. You get the clean bed. And absolutely nothing else! There is no artwork on the walls, there are no fancy throw cushions, and there is no coffee pot on the shelf – perhaps in part because there is no shelf. There is no closet, no bureau, no carpet, no nightstand, no lamps. There’s also no housekeeping, no Wi-Fi, no TV, and no window –not  unless you’re willing to pay extra.  This is as bare-bones as it gets.

So exactly what do you get in an EasyHotel room?

And as you may have guessed, there’s also no floor space. The ‘small’ rooms are so tiny that there is no space between the bed and the walls – it’s like the room was built around the bed.  If you chose the more expensive, upgraded ‘standard’ room like we did, you gain about an extra foot of space at the end of the bed and about two feet of space at the bedside. Even so, we had barely enough space to put our backpacks on the floor! EasyHotel rooms have been described as 'upscale submarine cabins' and I found this description highly accurate.

Tiny EasyHotel shower London Victoria Our tiny loo: shower on the left, sink in the middle, toilet on the right.
So with no space and no amenities, exactly what do you get? At EasyHotel, you get one double bed, made up with clean sheets, a duvet, and two pillows. You get two towels and a bath mat. You get two hooks on the wall. You get a wall mounted mirror and a TV – but no remote unless you pay! And you get the tiniest private bathroom imaginable. The bathroom comes with a toilet (and yes, toilet paper), a tiny sink, a mirror, and a shower. 

Surprisingly, the room did have several tiny touches that I grew to greatly appreciate. The towels were large, thick, and soft, better in fact than most other, fancier, hotels. There were wall mounted containers of Lux shampoo and Dove body wash in the washroom. The shower was hot and had great water pressure. The rooms had individual temperature control and, while there was no lamp, there was a second light switch by our bed so we could dim or turn off the light without getting up. And we always found the staff to be warm, friendly, welcoming, and helpful. 

Paying a pauper's price.

Dimmer switch and lights in EasyHotel Victoria
The dimmer light switch next to the bed and the hooks.
Dove body wash inside EasyHotel Victoria London
Brand name soap! Who knew?!?!
EasyHotel does include one other amenities that no traveler can ignore - a microscopic price tag. They are the least expensive form of hygienic accommodation in town, easily beating out all other hotels, hostel private rooms, and sometimes even hostel dorm rooms. We paid just 45GBP a night for London’s EasyHotel Victoria and, with a bit of luck and advanced booking, you can find London EasyHotel properties for around 30GBP a night.

Walking on Belgrave Road London EasyHotel Victoria
Walking towards the EasyHotel in the pretty London neighbourhood around Victoria Station.

Is EasyHotel right for you?

EasyHotel is a great change of pace for budget travelers who are craving a few nights of privacy and solitude and long for a break from hostels and couch surfing. It's also a good option for travelers of all backgrounds who just need a basic room for one short night, say, beside an airport prior to an early morning flight.  It would also be a good option for value focused travelers who need to cut back on costs in one area so they can afford to splurge in another. You won't mind EasyHotel's stark decor when you know the savings went towards your incredible theatre tickets!

But if you like hanging out and relaxing in your hotel room at night, if you and your spouse have different sleep schedules, if you get easily claustrophobic, you should probably take a pass on EasyHotel.  And if you know you are likely to purchase some of their many add-ons, you're likely better off financially to look at other forms of budget accommodations, such as private hotel rooms or humble bed & breakfasts. 
Standard hotel room EasyHotel Victoria
The room is so small I can almost touch both walls on the diagonal!

So are we glad we tried it? Would we do it again?

I always say that the most important thing about any accommodation is whether or not you sleep well and in the case of EasyHotel the answer is yes. The room was dark (duh! no windows!) and quiet. The temperature was comfortable, as was the bed - if barely. It was one of those curious mattresses that is more comfortable to sleep on than sit on but we still managed a good quality sleep each night. 

Working in our favor was the fact that we were spending all our daylight hours at a conference and still trying to sneak in some London sightseeing by night - we spent very little time in our room beyond sleeping. We also made a strong effort to be extra courteous to one another, with plenty of 'excuse me's', which went a long way towards making sure we didn't kill each other in the tiny space! 

Overall, the experience was better than I had anticipated and the price point was irresistible. I'm not sure I'll be craving a repeat visit anytime soon (those rooms really are small!) I would definitely consider staying in an EasyHotel again.


Looking for less extreme ways to save in London? Check out these articles!
Loving London for Less
$200 Challenge: London Edition 
The Tower of London for 55 Pence
12 Comments
Stacey link
15/11/2014 06:10:06 pm

I'd stay there! for 30-45 pounds your own room in London is alright.

I'm of the clean-bed-and-locking-door school though.

I appreciate also that you call it "value travel". That's an awesome way to put it!

Reply
Vanessa
16/11/2014 10:35:10 am

It really IS a fantastic deal! I think EasyHotel is one of those places that definitely divides travellers. Some people would say "No way!" and others would say "I'd give it a go!". There's no in between!

Reply
Jolanta aka Casual Travelers link
16/11/2014 01:23:00 am

45GBP IS a great price for a room in London, though that depends on where you eat your meals. For our family of four we'd need two rooms = 90GBP, plus breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four. That's why we chose a rental when we went to London.

Thanks for writing this review, though. It will be very helpful to childless travelers. I'm going to pin it to my London board.

Reply
Vanessa
16/11/2014 10:38:56 am

That's a great point - saving money on a cheap Easy Hotel room is no good if you are blowing your budget on eating out. We were lucky to have hearty breakfasts at a nearby cafe for 5-6GBP each, lunch at the conference center, and used dinner as a time to connect with friends. In our case, an apartment rental wouldn't have given us any savings as we would not have been there enough but I am dying to give this kind of accommodation a go and put it to the value test. I absolutely agree that a family (or a group of friends) would be much better off in one apartment rental than two EasyHotel rooms.

Reply
Monika link
16/11/2014 08:16:06 am

An excellent review. I think I would definitely try an EasyHotel based on your review, just as long as I could get it at the lower price. My only difficulty would be the windowless room. Did it not feel too claustrophobic?

Reply
Vanessa
16/11/2014 10:44:32 am

When we booked, the window-free room saved us 10GBP a day. We reasoned that if we felt claustrophobic we could have gone out for coffee and spent the money that way.

In the end, we didn't find it claustrophobic at all - the light in the room was bright and being window-free meant the room was nice and dark at night. But I did mind not being able to open the curtains in the morning to see what the weather was like. I think the best thing about having the window is that it would give you a much needed ledge = since there is no night table, this little ledge would actually be a huge asset!

We chose to 'upgrade' to the standard room in lieu of the small rooms and that was our splurge over the window and I think for us it was the right choice.

Reply
Jamie Greene link
17/11/2014 06:32:13 am

I'd stay here. This actually reminds me of the Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong. The door doesn't open all the way because it hits the bed. But at least you get a window there. And that bathroom reminds me of a bathroom we had in Japan. Thanks for sharing!

Reply
Vanessa
17/11/2014 09:54:52 am

Thanks Jamie - I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I've heard that "pod" style hotels in major Asian cities have been a bit of an inspiration behind the new trend towards tiny, minimalist hotel rooms like Easy Hotel. Except in the case of the pod you basically just get a glorified horizontal jail cell! But I'd be keen to try them - at least just once - just to see what it's like!

Reply
Deia @ Nomad Wallet link
17/11/2014 05:04:44 pm

That is seriously cheap! I'd stay there in a heartbeat. We spend most of our time exploring anyway. As long as it's clean, safe and bedbug-free, I'm happy!

Reply
Vanessa
18/11/2014 01:25:43 am

Bedbugs!!!! EWWW!!! I can indeed confirm our room was bed bug free - I have never encountered them while traveling and I hope I never will.

There are times when I do want to hang out more in my hotel room - sometimes it's just nice to relax, watch some silly TV, catch up on work, take a nice bath. And I don't mind paying for a nice room to do that in. But, like you, if I'm exploring all day than it makes no sense to pay for extra frills I'll never use

Reply
Katie link
2/12/2014 10:48:48 pm

Oooh so this is where you guys ended up staying! I'm glad it wasn't so bad in the end - exactly what you needed really the WTM was such a hectic week! I'm not sure about the bright orange decor thought!

Also... "We also made a strong effort to be extra courteous to one another" - this is why you guys are awesome! :D

Reply
Vanessa
3/12/2014 01:13:24 am

It was VERY orange! Not sure it's the most soothing color for a place that's designed for sleeping! And the only decorating is their name and their web address plastered everywhere. But, hey, I wasn't paying for pretty! For a conference like WTM is worked really well.

Reply



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