The lowdown on stripped-down alternatives

MANY universities in London open their student housing to travelers during holiday recesses and summer.

One of the most attractive is Beit Hall at Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington; 011-44-207-594-9507, www.imperialaccommodationlink.com.

Beit has 107 doubles set around a quadrangle, all with private bath, priced at $150, including breakfast and access to campus tours, shops and cafes. Overlooking the Royal Albert Hall, it’s a prime place to stay during the late-summer promenade concerts.

If you’re seeking something a tad more orange, there’s EasyHotel, 14 Lexham Gardens, www.easyhotel.com, another inspiration of EasyJet, EasyCruise and EasyWatch mogul Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

You can book rooms at this “Brave New World” hotel in Earl’s Court only on the Internet, which helps keep prices down. They range from $69 to $89, double occupancy.

So too do the stripped-down, easy-to-maintain, capsule-style rooms. All 34 of them come painted in Stelios’ signature bright orange, without any furniture besides a bed. There are no phones (these days everyone has a cellphone, the reasoning goes), and daily maid service and TV are extra ($17 and $8.50 per day, respectively). The baths are tight, glass-lined cubicles, and you can’t take a shower without getting everything wet. If you want takeout or Internet access, there’s a Sainsbury’s grocery store around the corner.

-- Susan Spano