"Our budget is not big" That doesn't help very much. How big - what is your budget?

Agree you need to give specifics. And can the teens share a bed - or do you need 3 beds?

Aiming to stay under £140 per night - not a huge budget to work with so hopefully we can find someting

Teenagers would rather not share a bed but if the sacrifice of having to share a bed is worth it (i.e. a fantastic location etc) then I'm sure they would be willing.

Thanks.

Oh heck - £140 is a pretty generous budget for a large 1 bdrm or even a small 2 bdrm flat in the center of London.

One problem you may have is some of the more budget properties require a 7 night stay. But if you find one you like that says it only rents for 7 night or more -- contact them anyway. Many will rent for a shorter period if it fits between other bookings.

Start w/ vrbo and look in any neighborhoods basically w/i the Circle tube line. Some good neighborhoods for families that have more budget choices include: South Kensington, Victoria/Belgravia, Bloomsbury/Russell Square, Marylebone, Marble Arch and others.

There are also several good agencies -- but I's start w/ vrbo first.

Haven't stayed there myself, but Base2stay - http://www.base2stay.com/ - gets very good reviews -

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g186338-d189735-Reviews-Base2stay_Kensington-London_England.html

Check also on say Hotels, Venere and Booking dot com for more reviews and an indication of rates and possibly specials for your dates.

Others here may suggest to consider bidding for two four star hotel rooms on Priceline or Hotwire.

I personally wouldn't choose base2stay. It is in Earls Court (not particularly nice or central) and their rooms sleeping 4 usually run up towards £200+

Janis - if they won't or can't pick up say 2 x $85-100 rooms on Priceline, what's the solution? Too short a stay for an apartment presumably and other potential alternatives such as the better located of the Citadines aren't exactly cheap either. Last month when staying for a week in a double at The Royal Horseguards on a great deal I took the opportunity to have a look at a couple of rooms at the nearby Citadines for a family visit down the track and ended up a bit depressed - perhaps I'd been duchessed by the Horseguards which is quite a bit above my usual standard (previous accommodation on visits many years back included a rather shabby three or four star on Russell Square and YHs at Holland Park and Carters Lane), but it really got me thinking about value for money and that perhaps in an expensive city like London the Priceline route may be the best way to go at least for stays of less than a week.

BTW, we don't know the dates of the OP's intended visit.

I have highly recommend Hoseasons for cottage rentals in the country and they've recently added quite a few London flats. I hope to find something with them the next time we're in London.

Very good company to work with.

As expected, many are in the City but also a good selection close to or in the West End.

www.hoseasons.co.uk

Sorry, missed janis's 3.04 posting when I posted at 3.11 and therefore subsequently. But still, trying to negotiate an apartment stay is probably a bit more trouble than I'd be willing to go to for 4-5 days, even with a potential saving. (Same as accepting you're visiting an expensive city and deciding to take a bit of a hit for the convenience of a good location and a decent property and make it up elsewhere.)

A comment on janisj's view of Earl's Court - must be a while since you were there! It's now an expensive area. base2stay is in the Kensington side in a lovely garden sq, 2 mins walk from Earls Court tube, very convenient for Heathrow (direct) and the West End for theatres, shopping etc. and in walking distance of many other historic attractions. I agree it will be above budget, but you get free Wi-Fi and restaurant discounts plus other goodies, though kitchen is a mini (not for proper cooking).

Yes, with what I've seen in the reviews, if more central properties are out of my reach at the time I'd certainly consider staying at base2stay or for that matter the Hilton Olympia where a couple of family members happily spent a few days last year. We're big walkers anyway and the transport options are also pretty good by our standards. The Royal Horseguards on this last trip was a no brainer considering the deal and location.

Hi ellaviv,

I just stayed in a vrbo property and we had to put down a deposit via paypal and then wire the entire payment to the owner's Caribbean bank account. Everything was sorta fine (so far... security deposit not yet returned.)

Also, in my case, extra charges applied to leave your bags there before check-in or after check-out -- not something that happens at a hotel. And, if we happened to lose our keys (we didn't), there would have been a charge to change the locks. And an additional cleaning fee applied (over $200, which was in the small print.) Even though we had more room to move about, all this added a level of stress - I won't ever rent again.

As for base2stay, I stayed there last October and loved the hotel, the location and its proximity to Earl's Court station. The hotel is a block from the tube, a block from a grocery store, and a row of coffee shops and restaurants. Each room has a small kitchenette, the room I stayed in was spotless and offered bunk beds. You could probably arrange a bunk bed room for the kids and a double for you and your husband on the same floor. I tell everyone I know traveling to London to consider it.

Also, just stayed at the Darlington Hyde Park - which was a really nice place to stay. This hotel is near Paddington.

If I had to choose for general neighborhood pleasantness between these two hotels, I'd choose the base2stay.

Really give thought to how comfortable you'll be renting an apartment. It requires more patience and more faith in humanity than you think.

Look at www.slowtrav.com for reviews of apartment rentals and rental agencies. If you rent through a well-regarded agency, you're not taking such a chance (as renting from an individual owner).

London covers quite an area, so being close to public transportation is important. I'd stay as central as possible to avoid long rides on the tube.

I agree re www.base2stay.com
It's actually *in* Kensington, with the 2 nearest tube stations being Earls Court and Gloucester Road.
Earls Court station is great as there's no steps at all from the platforms (direct from Heathrow, no changes) and the area has lots of good value restaurants - and the hotel will give you vouchers for many of them! You can also have food delivered to your room or buy at local supermarkets.
The 2 underground lines allow you to reach all of London in a few minutes - frankly, wherever you stay in London, you need the underground to see the sights anyway, as it's a huge city!

Enjoy your stay in London - and come back if I can help further, please!