alandavid

Friends are traveling to London this fall and hope to find inexpensive AirB&B out of city center, but with easy commute in.
Most of what they want to visit is near Waterloo/Embankment station.
What do you recommend for an attractive neighborhood with direct tube access to those stations?

janisj

How much do they want to spend? Being in outer London adds to transport expense and really adds to commute time so is often a false economy. How many days/when?

Inexpensive is a relative term when talking about London and if a property is 'cheap' there is probably a reason.

alandavid

Not sure of their budget. Guessing $250/night This September.
My preference is also to stay in the middle of things, but they asked about neighborhoods with a truly English vibe with some quieter nightlife.

rialtogrl

Chiswick is a really nice neighborhood with stations on the District line. I am staying there in June at a place way cheaper than that budget, but it is sort of a modern day boarding house with a shared kitchen. Janis is right, your friends would spend 45 minutes to get to Embankment from there, but it is a great neighborhood. I think for $250 they should be able to get something even closer in, though. They could look around Earl's Court, I bet there are options in that price range around there and it would be a bit closer. Just tell them not to expect luxury!

janisj

Oh heck, $250 is almost £205 -- there are Premier Inns all over central London where they can get rooms for that or less - two of them within a 2 minute walk of Waterloo Station (one of those - County Hall - is likely over budget though)

" . . . but they asked about neighborhoods with a truly English vibe with some quieter nightlife." They ain't going to get 'olde worlde' if that's what they think of as a 'truly English vibe' - what ever that is. As rialtogirl says Chiswick is a lovely neighborhood. - with links to Embankment but time consuming

jan47ete

Just was in London 2 weeks ago and stayed at the Troy Hotel through booking.com. Great location, bus lines, 2 tube lines, across from Kensington Park. Breakfast included, great staff. Great area for restaurants, shops, groceries, and transportation. Highly recommended.

janisj

The Troy ^^^ is just up from Bayswater Rd/Kensington Gardens. It is close to Queensway tube station and three useful bus routes on Bayswater Rd (#94 Oxford St/Regent St/Piccadilly Circus; # 148 Park Lane/St James's/Westminster; #70 Kensington High Street/V&A/South Kensington)

crellston

I would take a look at Citadines in Northumberland Ave, a short walk from Embankment tube , Trafalgar Sq., Covent Garden , Soho etc. Well located for tube and bus. Should be within their budget.

PatrickLondon

If they want to look at residential areas with easy public transport access to Waterloo, they could look along the suburban train (not tube) lines running out from Waterloo along the Thames Valley and south west to Wimbledon and beyond (Putney? Richmond? Wimbledon? Earlsfield? Clapham Junction?)

But what they might save in accommodation costs they might pay in extra fares and in time spent commuting.

janisj

Re Citadines - as at most London hotels - Citadines rates tend to be very date specific but when ever I've checked it has been well over the OP's friend's budget. We don't know when they are traveling so I just plugged in a random 4 night stay in mid July and the cheapest pre-paid, non-refundable rate at Trafalgar Sq is $382/£308 per night. Refundable is over $400. Citadines are great but at least in the last 5 or 6 years they aren't cheap. I stayed 2 nights at the Holborn Citadines back in Dec 2021 and my 1 bdrm was about what they are charging at Trafalgar Sq for a studio.

. . . Just to be clear I wasn't recommending the Troy but only explaining its location/transport options.

balthy

If most things that the OP wants to see is in and around Waterloo and wants to stay outside central London, then the suggestion of looking at places along in southwest London is a good one. Richmond in particular is a really nice area, but quiet it isn't. At least not by the river in the evenings esp if the weather is good. But it is close to Richmond Park, very picturesque riverside location and a few good places for eating. Nearby Kew is also nice. But it would take time to get to Waterloo on a daily basis.
Some areas in London are really busy but step back a few streets and it can be really quiet. For example, north of Goodge Street, towards the BT Tower, Fitzroy Square Gardens, around that area. Maybe look for somewhere like that.