The Most Budget-Friendly Hotels in Canary Wharf, London

With an awesome setting among the hulking skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, these compact but comfortable double and twin rooms focus on the essentials – ensuring good shut-eye with black-out blinds and handcrafted, heavenly Hypnos beds and power showers. The lobby-lounge juke box provides entertainment, but for culture head to the Museum of London Docklands, a one-minute stroll away.

With stylish curved walls and floor-to-ceiling windows, these one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments on the Isle of Dogs Riverside District really do cut a dash. Some have balconies for Thames views, tranquil and glinting on sunny mornings. Whip up your breakfast in the pristine white kitchen-diners – quite “designer”, with their honey-coloured floorboards. And if you’ve been out sightseeing, shower yourself back to freshness in pristine white bathrooms with French L’Occitane products, before nodding off in your pared back room.

Stay a night or two and you’ll feel like moving into these super-smoothly designed studios, with their gleaming monochrome metro tiles and their rain head showers. Entry-level spaces are cleverly done, with everything in one well-designed room, and all rooms have the luxury of en suites, lobbies, spa facilities and gym equipment. There’s even a rooftop city-view pool, as well as, for business travellers, library-like co-working spaces and a cinema room. All in all: a lifestyle lovely that’s a winner for creative types on a budget.

The merging of two 19th-century houses – said to have been frequented by that audacious engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel for a beer or two – has created a pub with just three rooms. One is called Isambard, the other Kingdom and lastly, Brunel. They’re colourfully styled with original iron fireplaces, cosy bathrobes and slippers. Breakfast can be whisked up to your room and, when hunger pangs next strike, there are the pub’s stone-baked pizzas to be devoured with real ales; or, quaff a cocktail before hopping on the DLR, a six-minute walk away, to explore East London further.

These Thames-side serviced apartments are very easy on the eye, their rooms bright and stylish, with funky oversized headboards. There are positively gleaming kitchens and bathrooms. Bag a three-bed duplex penthouse and you can eat out on your balcony, overlooking the yacht-filled marina. Or nip to the café below for your morning cuppa or breakfast croissant. If you fancy an amble and a little retail therapy, Canary Wharf’s shopping complex is a five-minute walk away.

This is a landmark Grade II-listed Docklands luxury pad with an ornate facade combining original fireplaces with plush fabrics, padded headboards and high ceilings hung with sparkling chandeliers. Bright and airy Sky View suites with skylights have loft-style slanting walls and open beams for that urban-hipster vibe. When you’ve done business in town, refresh with a steam and sauna at the Pure spa. If work is ongoing, go for the express massage for busy bees.

Lime-green throws and sky-blue cushions keep simply styled rooms fresh yet cosy in this yellow-brick Victorian pub with rooms, set on a corner close to leafy Greenwich. The welcoming bar downstairs is U-shaped and made for lone beer-sippers who like to socialise. There’s an outside terrace with upbeat-blue bench seating. Settle in for a pint or two before venturing forth to discover the untouristy delights of East London.

Flower baskets welcome you into this friendly local pub with rooms, set by the water in East Greenwich. Vintage bric-a-brac, original open fireplaces and period pieces give five rooms a homely charm. The colourful bar element goes beyond pub grub with an inventive daily menu including Mediterranean vegetable pie, vegan fish and chips and Sunday roasts. In colder weather sit back with a pint of real ale by the fireplace over a board game; in summer switch to the pretty plant-lined terrace outside.