Accommodation planning: hostels and house-sharing

[Nomad in Stasis]

Woah. Turns out Aer Lingus is rather cheaper than I expected for transatlantic flights. Just so y'all know. I found a US$858 round trip from Boston to London in June. (I'm sure prices will go up as the date approaches.)

Thanks for the info, that cuts my cost in half.

[Nomad in Stasis]

Does anyone know if one can camp out somewhere around London?

[ily]

So has anyone actually booked their accommodations yet, or found someone to stay with? Do tell! I'm looking at the University of London housing site now, and they apparently offer single rooms for £22.50, that's a great deal. However there's not a lot of info online.

[v0ltswitch]

Travelling from outside of Bristol I'll end up needing a place to sleep (drink and party), I'm willing to split costs with people if anyone fancies doing so c:

[JamesSharkk]

I am in Bristol :)

There is space on my floor, and the lounge is always empty x

[A Devil From Heaven]

Me and a friend might be coming from Sweden if we can afford it... and well, since my friend who lives in London cannot host us at that time we'd be happy if we could find some cheap or free accomodation in or near London. Any help is appreciated.

@JamesSharkk: How far from London is Bristol? And how much does it cost to take bus/train back and forth? If you'd want to host us we'd be glad.:)(we might not be coming be coming though, but if we will be coming).

[Trava u doma]

If you plan spending in London only a few nights I'd think about a hostel, actually. Except, do it in advance. The only drawback to this is that the conditions may not be very good and the prices seem to tend to go up during weekends.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I guess Bristol is far enough from London to make the cost of travel rather awful? Plus you have to book in advance...

[ily]

If you plan spending in London only a few nights I'd think about a hostel, actually. Except, do it in advance. The only drawback to this is that the conditions may not be very good and the prices seem to tend to go up during weekends.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I guess Bristol is far enough from London to make the cost of travel rather awful? Plus you have to book in advance...

When I was looking at hostels, a lot of them were already fully booked. So definitely book soon! There's a huge hostel at Piccadilly (I think it's called Piccadilly Backpackers) that probably still has space, and it got pretty good reviews from people.

[Electric Barbarella]

When I was looking at hostels, a lot of them were already fully booked. So definitely book soon! There's a huge hostel at Piccadilly (I think it's called Piccadilly Backpackers) that probably still has space, and it got pretty good reviews from people.

Ah, you also mentioned the University of London's single rooms... did you book there? I'm trying to find a place to stay, but I don't really like the idea of sharing a room with strangers. -__-

[michaeld]

Have a look here everyone!

http://www.hostelbookers.com/

http://www.hostelworld.com/

EDIT: see also here for more tips: it is where I got the above two links from.

I checked the second link - not the first yet. There are still rooms available at various places in London at pretty reasonable prices. If you want a single room, then after searching, click on property type on the left and check "single".

Let me know what you find!

As for location, London is pretty well connected by the Underground. Check to make sure whereever you stay has an Underground station nearby. For Sat 7 July we are meeting near Baker Street tube station 11am-12pm and on Sunday 8 July at Elephant and Castle tube station at 9-10am.

Link to tube map

[Electric Barbarella]

Have a look here everyone!

http://www.hostelbookers.com/

http://www.hostelworld.com/

EDIT: see also here for more tips: it is where I got the above two links from.

I checked the second link - not the first yet. There are still rooms available at various places in London at pretty reasonable prices. If you want a single room, then after searching, click on property type on the left and check "single".

Let me know what you find!

As for location, London is pretty well connected by the Underground. Check to make sure whereever you stay has an Underground station nearby. For Sat 7 July we are meeting near Baker Street tube station 11am-12pm and on Sunday 8 July at Elephant and Castle tube station at 9-10am.

Link to tube map

Aha! This last bit of info here is something I was wondering about. Having the name of the tube stations were we'll be meeting will be of great help! :D

Thanks, Michael!

[ily]

When I was looking at hostels, a lot of them were already fully booked. So definitely book soon! There's a huge hostel at Piccadilly (I think it's called Piccadilly Backpackers) that probably still has space, and it got pretty good reviews from people.

Ah, you also mentioned the University of London's single rooms... did you book there? I'm trying to find a place to stay, but I don't really like the idea of sharing a room with strangers. -__-

I hear you there! Most (all?) hostels have single rooms, but you might not want to pay that much. The dorm I found to stay in is called Beaumont Court...it was one of very few that still had space available. This one also had rooms, when I looked, but I judged it to be too inconvenient. Anyway, here's a page with links to all the residence departments of the schools. There are also some B&Bs that are pretty cheap (well, by London standards), that's where I'm staying for the second half of my time there.

[Trava u doma]

Hmm, that's the second time I'm staying in a hostel in London, so my experience isn't too extensive, I admit. Both of the hostels were the cheapest I found at the time, and apparently "shit" but, dunno, didn't seem that bad to me.

I myself don't mind staying with strangers, they can be nice people, really - it only makes a locked luggage room very important.

But then, I'm in London only for a few days it could be more tiring if you wanted to spend here two weeks or something.

Perhaps, you could rent a double room with someone from AVEN? That should be cheaper than a single?

[Electric Barbarella]

Ily & Trava, thank you very much for trying to help! :)

Ily, I checked the links and I managed to snag me a room in Goldsmid House!! Very much appreciated the help! ^_^

Trava u doma, I got a single room this time, but thanks for the suggestion. If any other AVENites still need a place to say, the place from where I rented a room probably still has some available! And it's very, very near a tube station!

[Trava u doma]

Aww, that's great you found yourself a place to stay =)

The idiot I am, I forgot to mention it before, but for future reference, in case anyone needs it, I booked through hostelbookers twice and they seem reliable ^_^

[*Moon*]

Every hostel I've stayed at has been through hostelbookers, only had an issue once when I messed up the dates, and they fixed it for me free and easy.

The only hostel I know of in London is the Generator Hostel very close to Kings Cross/St.Pancras, I don't think it does single rooms though. And it has its own night club built in, the walls are pretty well insulated, at least where I was at. But if you are a light sleeper I'd avoid it... Unless you plan on partying all night, then its great.

[ily]

Ily & Trava, thank you very much for trying to help! :)

Ily, I checked the links and I managed to snag me a room in Goldsmid House!! Very much appreciated the help! ^_^

Trava u doma, I got a single room this time, but thanks for the suggestion. If any other AVENites still need a place to say, the place from where I rented a room probably still has some available! And it's very, very near a tube station!

No problem, I'm glad you found a place!