Coming to visit London can be an expensive business. Tourists from all over the world are astonished by how expensive the city is for everything from food and drink to travelling on public transport. Hotels in London are also notoriously expensive - in fact they are often called the most expensive in the world. This means that you have to work particularly hard to find real bargains when hunting for accommodation in the city.

The Rathbone Hotel Oxford Circus is in the heart of the West End, just a few minutes' walk from the delights of Regent Street, Bond Street, Soho and Theatreland. It is surrounded by a buzzing restaurants, some of which offer a 10% discount to guests at the hotel (which itself offers a 24-hour room service menu). High-speed wireless broadband is provided in all guest bedrooms and public areas.

Just around the corner from the Rathbone, The Shaftesbury Piccadilly is a fully air-conditioned hotel that contains cosy but modern rooms equipped with baths, showers, phone lines with voicemail and data ports, satellite TV and internet access. The hotel provides a lounge and bar - The Premier - which offers American diner style snacks and full meals. A separate restaurant offers Indian cuisine. Conference facilities are available.

The Shaftesbury Hyde Park Paddington Hotel is situated within minutes of Paddington Station, which serves London, Heathrow, and beyond. The hotel is ideally located for both the traveller and business visitor and is the perfect location from which to see the city. The Shaftesbury Hyde Park Paddington offers spacious public areas including a Premier bar and restaurant.

Another popular option is the Saint Gregory Hotel in trendy Shoreditch, East London. This brand new hotel offers great value in a stylish package. While being in the heart of Shoreditch's creative haven, you are still in close proximity to the financial centre of the capital. It has 200 rooms of contemporary luxury, with comfy beds and relaxing leather armchairs in each of the air conditioned rooms. An impressive rooftop restaurant offers great views of London.

The best place to find cheap hotels in London is undoubtedly on the internet, where a number of websites compete to bring you the best available deals on the huge number of establishments in and around Central London. Most people are now comfortable with purchasing online and the search engines (such as Google, MSN and Yahoo!) are the first port of call when looking for a place to stay in town. It is always worth shopping around as not all sites are certain to have the hotel you want and there can be a difference in price. Unlike shopping around on the High Street, you can browse various sites simultaneously using your computer.