Apartments in London
 

Can anyone recommend an agency in London for apartment rentals? My husband and I are considering taking our two daughters to London for a week at the end of September, and I'm trying to determine if it's more economical to rent a place rather than hotel it.

We'd like a central location, one bedroom and a pullout.

If you have any ideas on specific apartments, or a good reliable agency, it would be much appreciated.

I got great help last year on Fodors when renting in Rome - hopefully it will be just as easy to rent in London.

Many thanks.

"<i>We'd like a central location, one bedroom and a pullout.</i>"

All of central London is a 'central location' and you can get just about anywhere from anywhere else quite easily. So, more important than 'central' -- What is your budget?

We booked a wonderful ap right near Kensington Gdnt last yr with Londonconnections. After our great experience, they'd be the first place I'd look for a flat.
When you go on the site read Thomas Sr's Anglophile blog about London--wonderful!!!

that said, you could get a hotel room via Priceline; lthough booking that way won't guarantee two separate beds, I've never had a problem with it (knock wood). I just got the Hilton right across from the Tower of London for next June, $126/night

Priceline won't work. They only deal w/ doubles in London --no family rooms, quads. Just doubles, either one double bed or two twins.

But Hotwire is a possibility along the same lines. On HW one can specify the number of guests

Two summers ago we rented a lovely two-bedroom apt. in Mayfair, with our two teenagers. It was far, far preferable to a hotel and we loved the apartment. The agency was called "A Place Like Home". The cost at that time was about 1500 pounds for the week, which we figured was very close to what we would have spent for two hotel rooms. We loved having a kitchen, living room, etc. Good luck!

If you cannot do better than 1500 quid for a week, you're not looking hard enough. That's about $350 per night.

A Place Like Home has various properties and a range of prices - 1500 per week is on the high side and so is a flat in Mayfair. You can stay in Bloomsbury or South Kensington for far less.

Renting in London is easier -- there are plenty of agencies and their first language is English like yours. Determine where you want to be by looking at the map on Londontown.com (you should be able to switch off the hotel feature).

And don't think that there is one "central location." You need to realize that you are discussing a city akin to New York. London has 7.7 million people, is more than double size of Rome, Paris, Milan and Madrid, and is by far the largest city in western Europe. You are not going to be within walking distance of every site you want to visit.

Whatever you get, stay away from Citadines at Trafalgar Square. The rooms are small, the staff rude, the price is way beyond what you get and the AC probably won't work in the summer and nobody cares. Citadines corporate never answered me back on any emails or phone calls when I called to complain. So I do all I can to bash their little location. Oh, and they have gotten similar reviews on TA.

dave

We were looking for location and comfort, understanding that we would spend on the higher side. Markland didn't mention a particular budget. I think we saved money by having an apartment with a nice kitchen and eating area; most nights we stopped at Waitrose or Tescos, brought in dinner and rested after a long day, before heading out again for a drink at pub. Obviously everyone has different tastes and budgets.