Where to Stay in East London: A Complete Guide to Upton Park and Green Street

Why East London deserves a place on your shortlist

Most first-time visitors start their search for a London base in Zone 1, see the nightly rates, and quietly reduce the length of their trip. It is an understandable reaction, and it is also a mistake. London is a city built around its railways, and the neighbourhoods that sit a few stops out on a fast line often give you a better stay for noticeably less money.

Upton Park, in the London Borough of Newham, is one of the clearest examples. You are roughly twenty-five minutes from the West End on the District line, fifteen from Canary Wharf, and a short hop from Stratford, the ExCeL exhibition centre and London City Airport. What you get in return for those extra few minutes on the Tube is space: a separate bedroom, a proper kitchen, a sofa you can actually sit on after a long day, and a price that leaves room in the budget for the things you came to London for.

This guide covers what the neighbourhood is really like, how to get around, what to do nearby and how to choose between a hotel room and a serviced apartment.

Getting to know Upton Park

Upton Park sits in the E6 and E13 postcodes, between East Ham and Plaistow, with Barking Road running through it and Green Street crossing north to south. It is residential, busy in the daytime, genuinely multicultural, and much more of a working London neighbourhood than a tourist district. That is exactly what makes it interesting.

Green Street: one of London's great high streets

Green Street is the heart of the area and one of the most distinctive shopping streets in the capital. It runs for the best part of a mile and is lined with South Asian jewellers, sari and fabric shops, spice merchants, sweet shops and family-run restaurants. In the run-up to Eid and Diwali the street is packed until late and strung with lights. Even if you buy nothing, it is worth an hour of your time.

Practical tip: many of the independent shops are cash-friendly but not all take cards for small purchases, and the busiest hours are late afternoon into the evening. Mornings are calmer if you want to browse properly.

Barking Road and the E6 side

Barking Road is the main artery, with supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, bus routes and everyday essentials strung along it. If you are staying for more than a couple of nights, this is where you will do your shopping. A Tesco and a Londis sit within a minute or two of our apartments, with a Lidl a short walk further on, so restocking the fridge never turns into an expedition.

Getting around from Upton Park

Transport is the strongest argument for the neighbourhood. Upton Park Underground station is served by the District and Hammersmith & City lines, and East Ham is a short walk in the other direction.

• Upton Park Underground — around a 0.4 mile walk. District and Hammersmith & City lines.
• East Ham Underground — around 0.8 miles, useful when one line is disrupted.
• Barking station — c2c, Overground and District line services, plus fast trains towards Fenchurch Street.
• West Ham — around 3.5 miles, and your interchange for the Jubilee line and DLR.
• Stratford — the Elizabeth line, Jubilee line, Overground and national rail all meet here.

Contactless payment works on every one of these services. Tap in and out with the same card or phone for the whole trip and the daily cap applies automatically, which is almost always cheaper than buying paper tickets and simpler than a Travelcard for a short stay.

Rough journey times from Upton Park: Tower Hill about 20 minutes, Westminster about 27, King's Cross St Pancras about 30, Canary Wharf about 15 via West Ham, and London City Airport about 20 minutes.

What to do nearby

Football and the Olympic Park

Upton Park is football territory. West Ham United played at the Boleyn Ground here for over a century before moving to the London Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is now under four miles away and easy to reach on a match day. The Olympic Park itself is worth a visit in its own right for the aquatics centre, the ArcelorMittal Orbit slide and the walking routes along the waterways.

Parks and green space

Newham is greener than its reputation suggests. Barking Road Recreation Ground, Central Park, Plashet Park and West Ham Park are all close, and East Ham Nature Reserve — set around a Victorian churchyard — is a genuinely peaceful hour. Thames Barrier Park, with its sunken garden and views of the barrier itself, is around 3.5 miles away.

Shopping, events and days out

Westfield Stratford City, one of Europe's largest urban shopping centres, is about three miles away. The ExCeL exhibition centre is a similar distance, the O2 Arena is around six and a half miles, and the East Shopping Centre on Green Street covers everything closer to home.

Where to eat

The food here is the reason a lot of Londoners travel east. Green Street and Barking Road between them cover South Asian, Caribbean, West African, Turkish and Eastern European cooking, most of it independent and most of it inexpensive. Pizza Pazzi, Eastern Paradise and Poppins are all within a short walk of our Barking Road apartments. For the full experience, follow the queue rather than the reviews.

If you are self-catering, the same diversity shows up in the shops. The grocers along Green Street stock produce, spices and cuts of meat that the big supermarkets simply do not carry, which makes cooking in your apartment part of the trip rather than a compromise.

Hotel room or serviced apartment?

For one or two nights, a hotel is fine. From the third night onwards the maths changes quickly.

• Space. A serviced apartment gives you a separate bedroom and living area rather than a room with a bed in it. If you are travelling as a couple, a family or a pair of colleagues, that separation is worth a great deal.
• A real kitchen. Breakfast for four in a London hotel costs more than most people expect. A hob, oven, fridge and dishwasher turn that into a non-issue.
• Laundry. A washing machine means packing less and staying longer.
• Value over time. Nightly rates in serviced apartments typically fall as the stay lengthens, and weekly or monthly rates are common.
• Somewhere to work. A dining table and reliable Wi-Fi beat a hotel desk wedged between the bed and the wall.

We have written about this in more detail in our comparison of serviced apartments and hotels, and you can see what is included in every United Stay apartment on our Your Stay page.

Practical tips before you book

• Check the walk from the station. Anything within half a mile of Upton Park or East Ham is comfortable with luggage.
• Travel off-peak where you can. Fares drop outside 06:30–09:30 and 16:00–19:00 on weekdays.
• Plan around match days. The area is livelier and the Tube is busier when West Ham are at home.
• Book direct. Reserving through us rather than a third-party site avoids booking fees and means you are dealing with the team who actually manage the apartment.

Staying with United Stay in Upton Park

Our apartments on Barking Road are fully furnished and serviced, with a separate bedroom, an open-plan living and dining area, a fitted kitchen, a modern bathroom and, in several apartments, a private balcony. Check-in details and directions are sent before you arrive, and the team is contactable around the clock if anything comes up.

Upton Park is not where London puts its postcards. It is where London actually lives — and that is the point.

Ready to look at dates? Browse our available apartments, read more about the area on our neighbourhood page, or get in touch and we will help you pick the right one.