Creative Commons licensePhoto by flickr user The Wolf

Looking for a London hotel that's slick, modern, well-equipped - or cosy and characterful - and cheap? Until now London has lagged behind European cities, where for some years inexpensive hotels have offered vibrant colours, stylish design, cutting-edge technology and buzzing public spaces. While in London, the choice for economisers has been limited to musty odours, candlewick bedspreads and swirly carpets in Bayswater, Pimlico and Earls Court, but change, at last, is afoot. What the most successful modern budget hotels offer is not a 'new concept' (it's an old concept, really: decent rooms at decent prices) but 'edited luxury': top-quality beds, comfortable bathrooms, plasma TVs and free internet but no unwanted extras to push up the price. Here is the pick of the new breed. The order bears no reflection on our preference.

Written by Fiona Duncan