Tune Hotels has launched its third London site near Paddington Underground and Rail Station. Tune’s other hotels are at Liverpool Street and Westminster (with plans to open a dozen or so more over the next five years or so, including one at King’s Cross this July).
The budget hotel group’s new Paddington location features 137 double, twin and wheelchair accessible en-suite bedrooms as well as a small in-lobby cafe. Backpackers, business travellers who pay their own expenses and any other frugal bargain hunters planning a trip to London should welcome this new centrally located bare bones accommodation option.
Tune takes pride in offering guests “5-star beds at 1-star prices”. Double rooms at the new Paddington Tune start from £19 per night for a room without windows and £25 for one with windows. At Tune, you only pay for what you intend to use. Packed your own towel? Then you don’t need to pay £1.50 for a towel rental with complimentary toiletries. Other add-ons include in-room television viewing access (£3 for 24 hours, £7 for 72 hours and £10 for unlimited viewing), a safe, hairdryer and universal adaptor. Wifi (available for an hour, a full day or unlimited) costs from £1.50 to £10. A similar pay structure is in place for housekeeping and luggage storage. All rooms come with free air con.
If after reading the above paragraphs, the concept behind this popular budget hotel chain hasn’t completely put you off, a stay at this or any of the other London Tunes is well worth consideration. For on-the-go folks simply looking for somewhere safe to crash, the hotel offers a great base at a great price. Just a few minutes by foot from either Edgware Road or Paddington stations, the Zone 1 hotel is in a very walkable part of town. Hyde Park and Regent’s Park are nearby along with Oxford Street, Marylebone and tons of places to eat and drink. There’s an ATM and an 24 hour Tesco Express across the street.
The hotel officially opens to the public on June 25th, but I got in there last night as press for a soft launch overnighter. They may have a few minor kinks to work out over the next week, but overall I was really impressed with my stay. The double bed in my room was especially comfy. The shower had excellent water pressure; it hit the temperature I wanted quickly and stayed hot throughout my entire wash. It’s worth keeping in mind that this hotel is brand spanking new. So, at least for the time being it’s clean and everything seems to be working properly. The hotel’s very central Praed Street address meant a bit of street noise at night. But, I’ve stayed in much “nicer” hotels with considerably higher room rates than Tune and suffered far worse from noises (from outside and within the hotel) when I was trying to sleep.
Tune Hotel Paddington is located at 41-47 Praed Street, W2 1NR. Beyond London, the hotel group has locations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Find out more at tunehotels.com.
