10 of the best ways to find bargain places to stay in the UK | Budget travel

Boutique bargains

Malmaison, the boutique chain with hotels in 16 UK cities, is offering a winter stay for two for £75 in 13 locations, including Edinburgh, Belfast and Brighton, provided they spend at least £50 in the restaurant. The Cheltenham one is a little more expensive at £85, Oxford is £125 and London £155. Rooms must be booked at least 10 days in advance for stays until 23 February (excluding Saturdays). Hotel du Vin, another upmarket chain, has a similar deal but with prices from £99, including hotels in York, Stratford-upon-Avon and Bristol.
malmaison.com, hotelduvin.com

Bothies and bunkhouses

The National Trust has bothies sleeping two to 10, and bunkhouses sleeping 10 to 44, from £6.75pp. The facilities may be basic but the locations are impressive. For example, Foreland bothy near Lynton in north Devon, is right on the South West Coast Path (from £27 a night for four) and Beudy’r Gelli Bothy is in a meadow by a river in Snowdonia (from £90 a night for 10 people). South Shore Lodge, a Victorian conversion with bunkbed accommodation on Brownsea Island, Dorset, has sea views, a garden and beach access (from £702 for three nights for 12 people).
nationaltrust.org.uk

Hostel hire

The YHA has more than 100 hostels, houses and cottages across England and Wales that are available as exclusive hires for selected dates in winter (often winter only). Prices start at £199 a night for the entire place, which means groups can stay for under £7 a head. For example, YHA Coverack, a Victorian country house in Cornwall, costs from £199 and sleeps 30. YHA Helmsley, a purpose-built property in the North Yorkshire market town, costs from £349 and sleeps 40. YHA Buttermere, a historic house in the heart of the Lake District, costs from £499 and sleeps 60.
yha.org.uk

Religious retreats

Scores of monasteries and religious centres across the UK provide a peaceful, pocket-friendly bed for the night, often in beautiful old buildings and usually open to all. The website Monasteries.com lists 36 in Britain (and many more across Europe, from €23 for an en suite single). Benburb Priory in County Tyrone, for example, has singles from £34.50 and doubles from £46. Other options include ancient abbeys (Nunraw, Caldey, Buckfast), retreat houses and theological colleges. One highlight is Clare Priory in Suffolk, established in 1248.
monasteries.com

Boozy breaks

Wetherspoon’s is known for its keenly priced pubs (and outspoken founder), but it also has 55 affordable hotels across the UK: 44 in England, seven in Scotland and four in Wales. All are attached to pubs and many are in historic buildings, such as the 18th-century Wyndham Arms in Bridgend, which has doubles from £50 room-only. Sundays are the generally the cheapest nights to stay, with doubles at all hotels about £50, including the Catherine Wheel in Henley-on-Thames, which also has family rooms for four from £65.
jdwetherspoon.com

Student digs