K West Hotel & Spa, West Kensington, London

A home away from home for those with a hard rock (but not necessarily hard-knock) life, the K West has supplanted the famously grubby-glam Columbia Hotel (of Oasis song fame) as the go-to for bands on tour. Located in West Kensington (get it?) in a former BBC office building just a skip from the Shepherd's Bush Tube station and numerous bus lines, the area itself is a bit bland, unless the nearby Westfield Shopping Centre's orgy of consumer plenty gets you going. Nonetheless, it's convenient to Notting Hill and Portobello Road at a price that's right (£109 for a double). Just watch for extras: £15 Wi-Fi versus free plug-ins and printing in the business center; a £17 breakfast better spent elsewhere; fitness center access for £10, plus £25 more for the well-equipped urban day spa. With 220 more-spacious-than-not (if somewhat generic) mod rooms and standard amenities (wide-screen TVs, CD players, hypoallergenic pillows), the hotel and its laid-back vibe and bumping bar scene keep folks coming back. That and the chance to pass Courtney Love in the lobby and take a Finnish-style schvitz with Dizzee Rascal.

K West Hotel & Spa
Richmond Way
Shepherd's Bush
London, England
Tel: 44 20 8008 6600

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