Jessica Earnshaw

Hotel rooms are being snapped up fast with very few remaining in Ilford during the Olympics, despite it being six months away.

Prospective visitors to the London are booking places to stay months ahead of the summer Games – and Ilford’s proximity to Stratford is not being forgotten by travellers.

But people could have to pay up to �274.50 more a night for a bed during the fortnight of sport, says Which? Travel.

Dave Carter, the manager of the Cranbrook Hotel, Coventry Road, Ilford said: “All 50 of our rooms are booked up during the Games, which is brilliant.

“We have roughly added about 15-20 per cent on to the price which people have been happy to pay, including a group of French handball athletes who will stay throughout the two weeks.

“We are positive the Olympics will have a good effect on business after the summer, bringing more people to the area.”

Rooms at many of the popular chain hotels are booking up fast, and as the ticket resale is now on, finding reasonably-priced accommodation could be difficult.

A spokesman for Travelodge, which has a hotel in Clements Road, Ilford, said: “We are very encouraged by the demand for rooms at our Ilford hotel, but there are still some available.”

The chain is confident the Olympic legacy will have a positive effect and it has added 65 locations to its target list for new hotels after the Olympics, including in Hornchurch.

“We believe that this effect will be felt most strongly in the east, and Ilford is a key location for us due to the demand for good-quality, budget accommodation from visitors,” added the spokesman.

Jiulila Padule, the manager of the Britannia Inn Hotel, Mansfield Road, Ilford, said: “We are a small hotel with only 12 rooms, most of which are booked. We were hoping they would be reserved at this point, but we expect more bookings when people know what tickets they’ve got.”

A spokesman for the Best Western Hotel, Argyle Street, Ilford said it was “filling up fast, with the second week almost full. The remaining rooms are expected to be sold in the near future”.