Jane E. Fraser

A cheap London hotel you could actually stay in September 1, 2010

An affordable, clean hotel in the centre of London? It’s true.

 No-frills hotel chain Tune Hotels has moved into London, opening a 75-room property in Westminster. The chain, which has attracted attention for selling rooms in Asia from only a few cents a night, is offering rooms from £35 ($60.70) a night, a short walk from Big Ben, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.

The hotel will not be for everyone, with its small rooms and lack of frills, but it promises quality beds, clean rooms and hot showers for less than you might expect to pay for a backpackers’ hostel (based on two people sharing). On top of the room rate, guests in the Tune hotel will pay for ‘extras’ such as room cleaning, towels, television and hair dryers – even a window, with the lowest rates applying to rooms without windows.

Tune Hotels, which was co-founded by the head of the low cost airline AirAsia, says the Westminster property is the first of 15 hotels it plans to open across London over the next seven years. The company is also planning to move into the Australian market, with a hotel in Melbourne.