I stayed in London’s award-winning £42 per night hotel that’s cheaper than my commute

Who needs a desk, double bed, bedside cabinets and a sofa anyway? (Picture: Rachel Moss)

What’s cosy, convenient and cheaper than my daily commute? A stay in an award-winning London hotel, apparently. 

Hub by Preminer Inn, a little-known offshoot to the superbrand, was recently crowned the UK’s best hotel chain, with rooms in the capital starting at just £42 per night.

Intrigued by the hype, an easy commute and that unbelievably low price tag, I decided to check into the West Brompton branch for a night, just 12 minutes from Metro’s High Street Kensington office.

Considering my usual commute from Buckinghamshire takes 1hr 35 minutes, at a cost of £43 per day (£38 courtesy of Chiltern Railway plus £5 tapping in on the Tube), or £46 if I splash out on a travelcard for external meetings, this place is ticking a lot of boxes before I even walk through the door.

The room, when I step inside after a long day, is spotlessly clean, inviting, and honestly not as basic as I’d expected.

A clever layout means the essentials are all present. Instead of a wardrobe you’ll find hanging space hidden behind a slim, full-length mirror. Below the bed, there’s storage space for your suitcase. A hairdryer is tucked neatly behind the bathroom door and the lights and heating are controlled via a sleek, touchscreen panel on the headboard.

The bed itself is a comfortable double with – to my surprise – a sumptuously soft warm duvet, crisp white bedding and fluffy white towels.

The bed was inviting to say the least (Picture: Rachel Moss)

Spotless and pretty sleek (Picture: Rachel Moss)

There’s shower gel/shampoo in the bathroom and plenty of hot water. I’m starting to question whether I’ve really checked into the budget version of the franchise at all.

Though the paired back interiors take inspiration from Japanese capsule hotels, my ‘hub’ for the evening is most definitely a room, not a pod, and isn’t remotely claustrophobic. It’s around half the size of a standard Premier Inn room, but I always think those are unnecessarily large anyway. Who needs a desk, double bed, bedside cabinets and a sofa when you’re at a motorway services drunk after a wedding?

The room set-up with clever compact features (Picture: Rachel Moss)

There’s no tea and coffee making facilities in the room, but complimentary hot drinks are available in the reception-cum-bar area downstairs. If anything a brew from a coffee machine is an upgrade to the Nescafe sachets and tubs of long-life milk usually on offer.

I wish I could tell you I made the most of my evening in the capital with some chic, cosmopolitan activity like a spontaneous dinner with friends or last-minute tickets to an off West End show. In reality I’m pregnant, tired, rundown and really in need of some rest. Wagamamas Deliveroo and back-to-back Selling Sunset was just the ticket.

Deliveroo was calling (Picture: Rachel Moss)

My evening in a picture (Picture: Rachel Moss)

By 10pm I was dead to the world and woke up the next day feeling a little more human, if not totally refreshed. Knowing I was only two stops on the District line from my desk definitely helped. I decided to skip the breakfast buffet (which costs an additional £7) and grab a croissant on the go instead to enjoy every last second of that lie-in.

Considering my usual hellish commute, colleagues have asked me if I’ll be using this trick again and genuinely, I think I might. But if you’re thinking of doing the same, you’ll need to get organised.

Though hub rooms start at £42 per night, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one available this side of Christmas for less than £100. Play around with the dates online though, and the bargain rate reappears for midweek stays in January and beyond.

This really could be the answer for hybrid city workers (Picture: Rachel Moss)

It truly boggles my mind that a night of luxury has cost less than my train fare, though to make this a regular habit I’ll have to rethink the takeaways. I did of course still need to buy two singles the day before and day after, at a cost of £19.10 each.

Still, these small but mighty budget rooms are a game-changer for hybrid workers who want the convenience of the city in the week but an escape to the countryside at the weekend.

I almost wish there was a fault to mention, so Premier Inn doesn’t put the price up.

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‘Spotlessly clean, inviting, and honestly not as basic as I’d expected.’