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Review: easyHotel Paddington

Last year when I traveled to London and Paris I found the hotels to be very expensive. They ate away a large chunk of the vacation money along with the plane tickets. This year with the cheap British Airways tickets there was a good chance the hotel budget would even exceed the cost of the plane tickets so I started searching for a solution. I needed an affordable hotel that had the following:

- Internet Access
- Location close to Oxford Street
- Location close to underground
- Cleanliness
- Security
- Modern looking

I found a ton of cheap hotels in London but none fit all my criteria and majority had gotten negative reviews on TripAdvisor.com. By chance I found out about a new easyHotel branch that had opened up in Paddington late last year and most if not all the reviews online were positive.

easyHotel is a no frills super budget hotel. To keep its prices down the rooms contain only two very essential things.. a bed and a bathroom. Thats it. No closet, side table, shelves, carpet, phone, mini bar, or anything else non essential. There is a flat screen TV but you have to pay for the remote control and thats the only amenity. According to the reviews online the hotel was very clean and in an excellent location so I decided to give it a shot. Four nights cost me only KD79 which is around KD20 a night. Compared to KD60 a night I paid for a normal room in an average 3 star hotel last year, this was a steal.

I took the regular subway from the airport to the hotel. It was around a 45 minute journey. I had an Oyster card which I recharged to use for a whole week (zone 1 & 2) so I paid only 1.5 pounds to take me from Heathrow to Paddington station which is a 2 minute walk from the hotel. If you don’t have an Oyster card the cost is around 4 pounds for a ticket.

When I arrived to the hotel I was given a choice of either a room on the 3rd floor or one in the basement. Since I wanted a bit of sun light I opted for the 3rd floor room. This meant I had to carry two bags (mine and Nat’s) up 3 flights of stairs since the hotel doesn’t have a lift. The bags were light on arrival so that wasn’t a problem but after all the shopping the bags more than doubled in weight so carrying them back down was exhausting and I nearly busted my knee. Once we got to the room I was actually impressed. Yes, the room is very tiny but it was spotless and bright. There was barely enough room to fit two bags side by side on the floor at the foot of the bed but even without any bags two people can’t move around the room very freely.

I liked the room and I really liked the hotel. I don’t think I can stay in the room for more than five days and with all the shopping we practically filled up all the floor space with bags but it was actually fun. We would get to the room late, watch a bit of TV, sleep, wake up early, leave the room and not come back until it was very late again. So really the room was serving its purpose. They had a special offer and gave us the TV remote control for free, there was also cheap wifi at 20pounds for a weeks use, AC/Heating was available surprisingly and best of all the hotel is a 2 minute walk from Paddington station and around 6 buses from Oxford Street stop right in front of the hotel. The hotel staff were also very friendly and helpful. Last day we were planning to take the Heathrow Express to the airport (16 pounds for a one way ticket) when the hotel employee advised us to take the Heathrow Connect (approx 6 pounds for a one way ticket). Turns out the Heathrow Connect is around 15 minutes slower but less than half the price so even more savings!

The final score I would give the hotel is a 4 out of 5. Its a very very excellent value hotel, just be prepared not to expect much from it in terms of size and amenities. I highly recommend it and will definitely be staying there again myself.



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Feb 1, 2009

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27 Comments, add your own...

  1. 1. Patrick | February 1st, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    first!
    Sounds like a great place, how’d you nearly bust your knee? :P

  2. 2. 7ussien | February 1st, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    every summer i travel somewhere in europe and every years problem is where would i stay, i want something cheap since im a student and have a very tight budget i think this hotel for someone like me is a great thing, i never went to london though,is there a hotel like this in germany? because im goin to an internship to germany next summer

  3. 3. Mark | February 1st, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    the stairs are really tight so you cant have the bag to your side when you come down or go up, it has to be either in front of your or behind you..

    heavy bag + unfit guy + tight stairs = recipe for disaster

  4. 4. Mark | February 1st, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    7ussien check easyhotel.com for a branch in germany.

  5. 5. wi-fi | February 1st, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    Welcome back Mark ..

    I dont know about you but the hotel seems really tiny .. havn`t you spotted some hotels near you and affordable ? and what kind of shopping you have seen in terms of price ? Any new electonics stuff ?

    first commentor .. :)

  6. 6. wi-fi | February 1st, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    lol .. I guess I was 5th :) .

  7. 7. Niam | February 1st, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    hhhhhhhhhhh!! Never claustrophobic in my life! after reading this post, I am one now!!

  8. 8. weeknds | February 1st, 2009 at 7:27 pm

    wow
    that was interesting!
    but I think it suites only youths not families
    anyway, thanks 4 all those details

  9. 9. TanGo | February 1st, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    unfortunately not in Dubai

  10. 10. Talloush | February 1st, 2009 at 10:08 pm

    Actually, TanGo, they’re planning on opening an easyHotel in Dubai sometime this year or next year, I can’t remember when exactly. Should be interesting to see how it does. I’m fairly certain exactly 3 Arabs will stay there in its first year of business.

    Welcome back, Mark. Yalla, SHOW US THE SHOPPING.

  11. 11. fasoly | February 1st, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    hi mark
    im actually considering it …
    what kind of room did u get small, standard or regular??

    Big thanks for sharing bro ….

  12. 12. Mark | February 1st, 2009 at 10:38 pm

    standard with a window

  13. 13. fasoly | February 1st, 2009 at 10:46 pm

    thanks

  14. 14. Amu | February 1st, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    nice review!

  15. 15. Ali | February 1st, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    lash emja3e9 wayd 3ala ro7ik !!
    mashalah kafy m3ashek o e3lanat el blog !!

  16. 16. Mark | February 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 am

    Ali: It has nothing to do with being able to afford a more expensive hotel or not. Its a choice and I chose not to spend on the hotel.

  17. 17. 1337q8 | February 2nd, 2009 at 3:03 am

    well i think it’’s not that good if you”re going with friends, let’’s say 3-4.
    that means each one of them must take 1 room

  18. 18. diesel | February 2nd, 2009 at 6:30 am

    Your room actually had a window? Now that’s luxury for ya!
    BTW, Mark, do they have interconnecting rooms? At those prices, I wouldn’t mind taking 3 connecting rooms and taking out 2 of the beds.

  19. 19. Kuwait | February 2nd, 2009 at 7:54 am

    Mabrook but sorry mate… “When I arrived to the hotel” should be “When I arrived at the hotel”

    :|

  20. 20. Sid | February 2nd, 2009 at 9:55 am

    Mark,

    I read it all, and saw that you gave 4 out of 5 stars to the hotel, may i know how long you stayed there? is there any resturant with in hotel? dont mind but, such a small room, i mean if you are staying most of yur time out then its fine, but staying in that small room for hours !!??
    business stay is best, coz you dont stay at hotel, only come there to sleep.

  21. 21. Mark | February 2nd, 2009 at 10:38 am

    Stayed for 5 days, no restaurant but they have a vending machine in the lobby and there are a ton of restaurants and fast food joints all around the hotel.

  22. 22. pearls | February 2nd, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    glad you had fun

  23. 23. george | February 2nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    Welcome back M.
    Please tell me you didn’t buy those red Nikes.
    Lol…good to have u back.

  24. 24. Armani Exchanger | February 2nd, 2009 at 10:05 pm

    poor Nat … its like going to the jail with your husband … the room is so tiny …

  25. 25. FoRZa_iTaLia | February 6th, 2009 at 1:24 am

    You’re right Armani Exchanger, it’s like a prison cell :)
    cleaner though, MUCH cleaner, i’ll give it that !!
    Still, with all the sugar-coating, as they say, cheap is will always be cheap

  26. 26. tanya | February 11th, 2009 at 1:41 am

    hi again
    Gr8 review

    But I was wondering if it is gonna be good enough place for me and my sis
    we are planning a quick shopping trip to Paris and London
    what do u think!!!!

  27. 27. Alba | May 4th, 2009 at 2:28 am

    Thank you very much for your review Mark. I’m going this september with my couple during seven days, and it would be a disaster… but it seems funny, so i’m expecting to try this new claustrophobic experience! :)



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