Hotel rooms for £1 in London and Brighton

Savvy sales shoppers seeking a bargain can book rooms with one hotel chain for just £1 in January this year – helping Brits to take wallet-friendly 'staycations' in 2009.

The online scramble for 'flights for £' from budget airlines has become a familiarity to consumers – and now budget hotel chain Umi is following in their footsteps.

Umi, with hotels in London’s Notting Hill and on Brighton’s famous seafront, is offering one room per day throughout January at both of its hotels for just £1 (plus VAT).

That’s sixty-two rooms for just £62 - and the price includes continental breakfast.

Should you miss out on this deal, Umi’s regular room rates start at a credit-crunch busting £49 in London - beating the average price of a London hotel (£127, according to recent Mintel research – November 2008).

Rooms in Brighton start from just £44.

Umi owner and founder Steve Lowy, recently named Business Person of the Year at the North & West London Business Awards, said: "Cost-conscious consumers can enjoy the January sales shopping experience without going into the red, and ease their way into 2009 with enjoy a short break in two of this country’s most popular cities for tourism."

Chris O'Toole