If you want to be a few minutes away from London’s best train station, – and satisfied with a clean room, somewhere to hang your clothes and a pretty view – then head to any of the cheap hotels which line Argyle Square, near Kings Cross St. Pancras station and its sister, Kings Cross station.  If you’d rather spend your money on a Eurostar ticket to Paris than waste it on an expensive chain hotel, then Argyle Square is for you.

You’re five minutes away from Kings Cross St. Pancras with its wonderful cafes, restaurants, bars and shops. It’s the hub for Yo! Sushi, Marks and Spencer, Monsoon, Hatchards, Fortnum & Mason, Pret a Manger and many more. From there you can take the train to Paris, or across England. The sister station over the road will take you to Edinburgh and that’s where you’ll find the famous Harry Potter platform (complete with queue of people wanting photographs).

Argyle Square itself was originally named for the Duke of Argyle who had property nearby. It’s officially in literary Bloomsbury, but it was all about sex, drugs and rock’n’roll in the Eighties.

Since then the square been cleaned up, spruced up and offers you a huge selection of cheap hotels. The features of these hotels, generally include towel, soap, hooks on the wall for your clothes, private (tiny) bathroom with shower and loo – and usually no lift. Be prepared to carry your bags, all the way up tight and winding staircases. If you’re in luck, free wi-fi will be thrown in. And breakfast. This can add to the lowest-of-the-low price. As demand goes up in Spring and Summer, so do the prices of these Argyle Square hotels, so be aware.