Hotel of the week: Tune Hotel Westminster, London

Budget-conscious travelers to London have a new alternative to the nearly ubiquitous “pod”-style hotels, said Stephen Heyman in The New York Times. Tune Hotels, a Malaysian chain that specializes in à la carte pricing and “spartan but cleverly appointed” rooms, has begun its westward expansion with this first London outpost. A typical room rate is $70, though you can pay as little as $14 if you book far in advance. Just about everything else costs extra: roughly $4.50 for cable, $2.50 for a towel, $12 for maid service. The payoffs? A private bath and a room “big enough to undress in without bruising an elbow.” tunehotels.com