London easyHotel

_{easyHotel, latest thing to hit the Europe hotel scene, is a no frills accomodation option for student travelers. Cheap budget rooms with bathroom in London's West End.}

About easyHotel

easyJet and easyCruise owner Stelios Haji-Ioannou opened Europe's first budget capsule hotel, easyHotel, in London's hip West End August 2nd, 2005, with plans for more tiny European hotel rooms in the franchising future. easyHotel's cheapest rooms are mini (smallest easyHotel room is about 50 square feet with a 14 square foot bathroom) and offer no frills and a few windows. Similar concept as, but bigger than, a Japanese capsule hotel. Sterile, safe and either claustrophobic or cozy, easyHotel is a few steps up from a student hostel - is it worth it?

Motel Six Meets the West End?

Haji-Ioannou told the UK's "Guardian" that easyHotel guests would flock to the cheap rooms (rates start at $35) because of the hotel's consistency. "The benefit of this concept is you know what you are going to get. In B&Bs, you can open the door and get all sorts of surprises," Haji-Ioannou said.

Part of a student travel adventure, though, is the - well - adventure. Surprises can be pleasant. Student travelers who can afford a bed and breakfast (priced similarly to easyHotel) over a hostel (starting at about $15 for dorms or $25 for rooms) might also prefer a little local flavor rather than the seemingly homogenized, albeit possibly reassuring, sameness of easyHotel.

Perhaps you may want to think about booking an easyHotel pod for your first night in London and using it as a known-quantity base from which to scope out other digs if you can live with a little reservations uncertainty. London's West End is a well known backpacker's hang... you may want to check out its possibilities before committing to a long stay at its Euro version of what appears to be a modular motel.

The easyHotel Details

Book online well in advance. As easyHotel's 34 room inventory dwindles on a given date, prices rise accordingly.

• Upgrades:
  
  • Televisions exist in each room - pay $7.50 for 24 hours of activation with a remote control
    
  • Get a room with a window for about 60% more
    
  • housekeeping service available at $17 per day

Let's compare some of London's West End accommodations: easyHotel, the Meridiana Hotel and the Piccadilly backpacker hostel.

Where to Stay in London's West End?

Amenities and Price Comparison
easyHotel	Meridiana Hotel B&B	Piccadilly Hostel Dorm
Private Bath	Private Bath	Shared Bath
Double Bed	Double Bed	Single Bunk Beds
In Room Tv - $7.50 per day	In Room TV	Lounge With TV
No Breakfast	Breakfast Included	Breakfast Included
Cleaning: $18 per day, Clean Sheets on Arrival	Daily Cleaning	Clean Sheets on Arrival - Towels Available
No Restaurant	No Restaurant	Restaurant: Lunch and Dinner
Private	Private	Total Human Immersion
$35	$40	$17