Great Budget Hotel

I stayed at the Airways Hotel for 7 nights from September 15th to September 22nd and I truly believe it is a great option for budget travellers. When I was planning my trip, I wanted a clean room in a central location. The Airways exceeded my expectations. The staff is super friendly and helpful, the hotel is a few minutes walk from the Victoria tube station, grocery stores and shops. I easily walked from the Airways to Buckingham Palace. The only downside is the size of the room and the bathroom (I had a single room). But, the room was cleaned everyday and the bathroom was spotless. Also, the breakfast is included and there is free internet access downstairs. (And there's also an Internet Cafe close to Victoria Tube.) I have heard so many horror stories about Europeen hotel rooms so I wasn't expecting much. The Airways turned out to be a very nice surprise. I fell in love with London, so if I go back (no wait...WHEN I go back) I'll be sure to stay at the Airways again. Cheers!

Great Staff, Good Value, and Internet Access

With the value of the US dollar dropping like a lead weight vis a vis the UK pound, its hard to find a convenient, pleasant stay in London for under $100 per night. The Airways met this goal: $80 for a single room, including a very comfortable bed, free DSL access to the Internet in the breakfast room, and in-room coffee and tea and minifridge. Its all within a 10 minute walk of Victoria Station (and the Gatwick Airport Express), and easy walking distance to Chelsea, Pimlico, and Westminster. The Airways clientele is a mix of European youth and older middle-income US and UK travellers. The staff is personable, friendly, and very helpful (they located a moving van service before I checked in). Between the included English breakfast and a very good nearby Sainsbury's market with lots of ready-to-eat takeaway meals, you can eat on less than $8 per day or splurge on good local restaurants.

One downside of the hotel is the small room size, made worse by the decision to install compact prefab shower-and-commode units in each room. It may be too cramped for young children, who also may complain about the small TV. Lack of an elevator may be an issue for some people assigned to the 3rd floor. Such concerns, however, apply to many UK B&Bs. If you want to experience travel as most British do, the Airways is a good choice.

Good For Budget

This hotel was better than I expected. I had a bad experience at a budget hotel last year, and the Airways was 100% better, and cheaper, than that hotel. They arranged a discount fare to Heathrow for us, 30GBP. The breakfast was good, real orange juice, not that orange colored watery stuff, which is a bonus. Room was warm, but had a fan and a large window, but weather was unseasonably warm the first week of September. Easy walking distance to my favorite Turkish Kabob stand and Victoria Station.

Yes, the rooms are small. The stairways are small. The bathroom is cramped. But for the money, location, and very friendly, helpful staff, you cannot go wrong. Remember, these are old buildings in old neighborhoods, not the "just popped up new on the freeway" American hotels. This is part of the charm of Europe. That is it not AMERICA. If you want an American style room, pay for it, don't expect to find it at a budget hotel. I would stay at the Airways again.

It's all about money

After reading all the reviews about the hotels in London, our conclusion is that, if you visit London on a budget, the room will be small and no A/C. If you are lucky, the room will be clean and tidy with no smelly mould.

These are the reasons why my husband and I chose this hotel while we visited London in mid-July. To further cut down the budget, we requested a smaller double room (GBP 55) and we haven't been to a hotel room so small in our life! My husband was very unhappy about that. He's big and couldn't move without bumping into something when using the so call bath room. The space only allows you to turn, not move while taking shower. When one of us opened the suitcase, the other had to stay at bed!

If it's not because of the good price at the good location, the nice breakfast and the clean sheet and the fact that we were in London for 3 nights only, we would be moving the next day. The window made our stay nicer (we had requested a room on the top floor as recommended by tripadvisor user). The downside is that we had to walk the narrow and high staircases everyday.

Our friends visited London at the same time and we agreed to stay at different budget hotels (one in Kensington and the other in King's Cross) and compared notes. It seems that although our hotel was the smallest, it's also the cheapest with nice breakfast, clean sheet and no smell.

Small but clean and convenient

The hotel is very easy to get to from Gatwick, but not so easy from Heathrow. However, they did have a deal with a cab company to take us back to Heathrow for 30 pounds (for the car, not per person) which was a great deal. The breakfast came with the room. It was a full english breakfast with an egg, beans, toast, sausage, bacon, OJ, and coffee or tea. All in all, it was great. There are a lot of buses and tubes that go to Victoria station and it was about a 10 minute walk from there. The only problem with it was the bathroom, which was tiny. You almost had to walk in backwards and your knees would hit the door. But it was clean and I think the location and the breakfast was worth the price.

Keyword: BUGDGET

Okay, I have no idea how this place got good reviews. We chose this hotel after reading the reviews on tripadvisor, but i'm telling you, don't stay here unless you're really really flexible. The bed was sooooo old and the springs dug into your back, and the bathroom was the size of a closet. literally. the toilet was in the shower compartment, and you banged your elbows everytime you bent them cause it was so tight. it was musty, and unpleasant. we moved to another hotel the next morning.

Great hotel at a reasonable price

I stayed at the Airways in late March. It was all that I had hoped for. The price was right, it is in a great location for getting around London(a few minutes walk to Victoria Train Station) and the surrounding neighborhood had everything I needed for my stay(grocery stores, Pubs, good places to eat, and it was quiet at night). The room I had was a little on the small side, but was clean and comfortable. The breakfast included with the room was filling and a great start to the day. The staff was very helpful and it was a relief knowing that when I got back to the hotel they would be someone at the front desk in case I had any questions. I am already planning to stay there for my return trip next year. I believe that for the value, the Airways Hotel cannot be beat.

Great Bargain Hotel

Airways was reasonably priced, clean, well located. It offered a good breakfast, free internet access in the basement, close to Sainsbury's (4 blocks away) Victoria Station, Cafe Nero, Boots and several pubs with pretty good food. We had a family room with three beds and an ensuite bath for 90 pounds per day bed and breakfast. They put us on the first floor at my request because we had a person who was mobility impaired. On the down side, no parking, no lift.

Airways is Super Charming!

The Airways hotel is a great value for many reasons being on the same block as dozens of other choices. It is located within very easy walking distance of Victoria train and coach stations( we easily rolled our luggage down the street from the tube) and several other major attractions like Westminster, and the Palace were about a nice 20-30 minute walk. Within 5 min walking distance is a Tesco grocery store which was handy since we had a fridge in the room. Our room was on the 2nd floor in the back of the building. (very quiet) . The room was clean and comfortable but nothing looked too new. We had a tv, hair dryer, coffeemaker, large fridge, nice bathroom with a opening window, wonderful shower pressure, and it was pretty large by london standards.

The hotel generously offers free internet access in the breakfast room.

Th full English Breakfasts are not too creative or interesting but hey they are included. The best thing about the place had to be the staff.

The guys at the front desk are very helpful with suggesting local pubs,clubs, interesting walks and dishing on the local gossip. They really made us feel welcome and we will be happy to go back.