Hotels Near London Waterloo Station: 3 Within Walking Distance
For a hotel you can reach from London Waterloo on foot with a suitcase, the three on this page sit on three different streets around the station. NOX Waterloo is on Lower Marsh, the market street behind the station, a six-minute walk from Waterloo according to booking platforms. The Wellington Hotel is a pub with rooms on Waterloo Road, directly opposite the station, and Point A Hotel is on Westminster Bridge Road, 0.6 km from Waterloo but only a minute from Lambeth North on the Bakerloo line. Between them they average 8.3 out of 10 across more than 6,400 guest reviews. The detail that decides most bookings is not the distance, it is the time you arrive: one of the three has no front desk and stops checking guests in at 11 pm.
Waterloo is a working station district on the south bank of the Thames. Lower Marsh, behind the concourse, is a street of market stalls, cafés and small shops; The Cut, with the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres, runs east from the station; and the London Eye and Southbank Centre are a few minutes north. Waterloo East, a separate station for Southeastern trains, sits on the viaduct over Waterloo Road.
Which Waterloo Hotel Suits Your Train
Waterloo is the London terminus of South Western Railway, with 24 platforms serving Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Windsor and Reading, and Waterloo East next door adds Southeastern trains to Kent. Network Rail closes the station overnight with no waiting area, so a late arrival or a dawn departure is exactly when a bed within a few minutes of the concourse pays off. The Jubilee, Northern, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines meet underneath, and the Jubilee and Northern run through the night on Fridays and Saturdays.
NOX Waterloo, at 25 Lower Marsh, is the one I would book for most rail trips. Booking platforms put it a six-minute walk from Waterloo Station. It has a lift, a left-luggage service and studios with a kitchenette, which matters if your train leaves before any café opens. It also scores highest of the three, 9.2 out of 10 from more than 2,200 reviews. One trap: NOX sells some studios with no windows and says so in the room name, so read it before booking. None of the three hotels publishes double glazing or a quiet side.
The Wellington Hotel at 81-83 Waterloo Road is a historic pub with rooms opposite the station, right next to Waterloo East; Exit 2, the lift down to Waterloo Road, is the side to use. Breakfast is included and the pub kitchen serves from midday to 9.30 pm. It has the most reviews here, more than 2,700, at 8 out of 10. It has no front desk: booking platforms list check-in from 3 pm to 11 pm, none after hours, and ask for your arrival time a day ahead. With a busy pub below and two stations outside, it is not the quiet pick.
Point A Hotel, at 118-120 Westminster Bridge Road, is a Lambeth North hotel more than a Waterloo one. The Underground entrance is 20 metres from the door, while Waterloo's concourse is 0.6 km away, further than the Wellington across the road. Arriving late on the Bakerloo line from Paddington or Marylebone, you come up 20 metres from your bed, with no night walk at all. Its continental breakfast starts at 6.30 am on weekdays and 7 am at weekends. It scores 7.6 from about 1,500 reviews, and recent reviews often mention street noise and thin walls.
The single fact that changes the choice is Network Rail's overnight closure. Waterloo shuts after the last trains and has no waiting room, so if your train is late or cancelled you cannot sit on the concourse until morning. The station's staff help service stops around 1 am on weekdays and starts again at 4.45 am. If you might arrive after 11 pm, when the Wellington stops checking guests in, I would book NOX, which booking platforms list with a 24-hour front desk, or Point A, which takes check-ins until midnight and asks later arrivals to contact it in advance.
Luggage is the other planning point. The station's left-luggage desk is run by Excess Baggage Company, and Network Rail lists its hours as 7 am to 11 pm, Monday to Friday only. NOX keeps bags through its own left-luggage service. Point A holds bags for a fee before check-in and after check-out, but not overnight, and they must be collected before midnight. Inside the station, lifts link platforms 20 to 24 with the lower concourse, which helps with a heavy case. For a last afternoon on the South Bank before an evening train, either of those two hotels solves the suitcase problem.
A traveler's perspectiveI would book NOX Waterloo for almost any train out of Waterloo: a six-minute walk from the station, a lift, a kitchenette for an early breakfast and the best reviews of the three. The Wellington makes sense for a traveller arriving in daylight who wants a proper pub downstairs and breakfast included, but I would not choose it with heavy bags or a late train, given the stairs and the 11 pm check-in limit. Point A is my pick only when the Bakerloo line is part of the journey, because Lambeth North is at its door and Waterloo is not.
4.6Guest scoreNear the stationNOX Waterloo
Modern four-star hotel with kitchens, steps from Waterloo East
View hotel →Why guests love itNox Waterloo is a four-star hotel with in-room kitchens, a feature I would put first for families wanting to manage meals around children's routines. It sits a short walk from Waterloo East station and close to the London Eye, so a family can reach the South Bank on foot. Wi-Fi is free, and plenty of dining options are nearby. With a 9.2 rating from more than 2,200 guests, it earns strong reviews for a stay near Waterloo.
4.0Guest scoreNear the stationThe Wellington Hotel, Waterloo
Pet-friendly rooms and pub grub, a short walk from Waterloo Station
View hotel →Why guests love itThe Wellington Hotel Waterloo has modern, London-themed rooms, and breakfast is included, which keeps mornings simple for families. The on-site restaurant and bar serve pub grub, Wi-Fi is free, and pets are accepted. It is a laid-back place rather than a full-service hotel, with no pool or children's facilities listed. Being a short walk from Waterloo Station, I would choose it for families who plan to spend their days out in central London.
3.8Guest scoreNear the stationPoint A Hotel London, Waterloo (formally Westminster)
Unpretentious rooms with pay-as-you-go services near Lambeth North station
View hotel →Why guests love itPoint A Hotel London Waterloo is a straightforward three-star hotel a minute's walk from Lambeth North station, with unpretentious rooms and pay-as-you-go services, so families only pay for the extras they use. Rooms are air-conditioned, smoke-free and accessible, and Wi-Fi is free. There is no restaurant or family facilities listed, so I would choose it for families who mostly need a clean room and plan to eat out around Waterloo and Lambeth. Rated 7.6 by guests.
Local tips
- 1Arriving after 11 pm? Avoid The Wellington Hotel unless you have arranged it: it has no front desk and booking platforms list no check-in after 11 pm.
- 2At NOX Waterloo, read the room name before booking: some studios are sold with no windows, which some travellers will not accept.
- 3For The Wellington, leave the station by Exit 2, the lift down to Waterloo Road: the pub is across the road and you avoid the steps.
- 4Coming from Paddington or Marylebone, stay on the Bakerloo line one stop past Waterloo to Lambeth North: Point A Hotel is 20 metres from the station entrance.
- 5Network Rail closes Waterloo overnight with no waiting area, so after a delayed late train you need a room booked, not a bench on the concourse.
- 6The station left-luggage desk run by Excess Baggage Company lists weekday hours only, 7 am to 11 pm, so plan weekend bags with your hotel instead.
- 7Point A keeps bags before check-in and after check-out for a fee but never overnight: collect them before midnight or they wait until the next day.
- 8Trains to Kent leave from Waterloo East, a separate station reached by the link bridge from Exit 3; allow extra minutes from the main concourse.