Why The Lancaster Hotel London is the perfect budget friendly hotel

Looking for a hotel in London that won’t break the bank? The Lancaster Hotel London is a no frills hotel in West London, perfect for the mid budget traveler.

Paddington station street intersection on a sunny day

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About The Lancaster Hotel London

The Lancaster Hotel is an 1800s townhouse converted into a hotel, located in the Bayswater neighborhood of London. Online, the hotel claims to be a 4 start hotel. There is no world in which I would ever characterize this hotel as 4 stars. 3 stars is more accurate. Being 3 stars doesn’t mean it’s a bad hotel, but there is nothing special to warrant anything higher than that.

Lancaster Hotel London Amenities

Amenities here are pretty much non-existent. There’s free wifi and a nice lobby if you’re looking for an area to work or hang out. Part of the reason you can get this hotel at a good rate is because there’s no amenities.

They do provide coffee, tea and bottled water in the room, however that is pretty much a standard.

Dining & Drinks

This hotel does not have an all day restaurant, but does offer breakfast service. Breakfast $25-35 (or more) per room depending on number of travelers and booking site. The hotel website even prices it at £45 extra (for a single person, 1 night) which is $60. I guarantee this breakfast is not worth that much money. Even at $30/day you can go out to a cute local cafe (like the Lancaster Deli Bar two blocks away) for much less than that. Unless your breakfast is built into the discounted price, I wouldn’t waste my money.

For food and drinks nearby, there is quite a bit within a 5-10 minutes walk. I ate just a couple of blocks east at Thai Square Bayswater and The Swan Hyde Park. The Swan is great if you’re looking to have a pint in a typical British Pub. They also have outdoor patio seating to enjoy year round.

Further west, there are a number of options along Queensway. Also, the Granier Bakery outside of Paddington Station is well worth the visit.

meat pie with mashed potatoes and gravy at a london pub

fresh croissants at granier bakery in london

The rooms

I booked a standard double room and was happy with it. It was much bigger than many other hotels offering single bed rooms, many of which were located in a windowless basement room. My room had a well sized bathroom, and closet for storage.

They offer double rooms, twin rooms (two twins), triple rooms (full bed and sofa bed) or a family room (two double beds).

The bathrooms are fairly recently updated. The furniture in the room is pretty generic. But all perfectly fine if you’re just using the room as a crashpad.

Comfort

One thing to note with my bed, is that it sank down once you got in it. And not in the “this is a soft pillow top” kind of way, more like “this bed probably needs a box spring” kind of way. It was fine for sleeping, but very much was a sleep in the middle or you’ll probably roll there kind of mattress.

view of double bed at lancaster hotel london

Service at The Lancaster Hotel London

The service at the hotel is fine. Outside of a single front desk staff member, and the cleaning crew, you really won’t interact with anyone, unless you pay for the breakfast.

The hotel does have a 24 hour reception to assist guests, if misplace your keycard, or have a late check in.

One thing that I did find odd was there was no “do not disturb” sign in my room. I typically prefer to skip the turn down service, especially during short stays (this was only 3 nights). I am the type to have my stuff explode all over the room, so I’d rather not have someone trying to navigate through that and moving my things.

The location

The Lancaster Hotel in Bayswater London is in the northwest area of the city. This is also one of the London hotels by Hyde Park. It is two blocks north of the Lancaster Gate at Kensington Gardens, and a short walk east to Hyde Park.

Other nearby neighborhoods include Paddington and Hyde Park Estate to the East, Notting Hill to the west, and Kensington to the south.

This area is perfect for anyone that wants to stay outside of the city center in a more local part of town. There are also many free museums located in Kensington.

Transportation to The Lancaster London Hotel

The London Lancaster Gate hotel is well situated between multiple tube (subway) stations and bus stops, including the Central, Circle and District Lines.

If you’re arriving from or heading to London Heathrow, you can take both the Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth line directly to Paddington station. From here, it is only a 10 minute walk to or from the hotel.

Review of The Lancaster Hotel

My experience at The Lancaster Hotel in London was overall, very positive. I was able to check in about an hour early with no extra fee. The front desk staff was friendly. There is plenty of public transportation nearby to get just about anywhere in the city.

I also really enjoyed being at a Hyde Park hotel. It’s such a treat to be just blocks away from a huge park and green space in a busy city.

My final review: I would definitely stay here again. And at the rate I paid, it’s a no brainer.

Where to book The Lancaster Hotel London

You can of course book directly through the Chapter Hotels website, but I guarantee you’ll get better prices through the sites below. For example, I stayed in January of 2026, booked 3 weeks in advance and paid around $105/night for 3 nights.

This hotel is also called the Signature Townhouse Hyde Park on certain booking sites. I believe that is the old name as it may have been recently acquired by the Chapter Hotels.