Central London Apartments
 

Hi Forum

Has anyone ever booked with central-london-apartments (www.central-london-apartments.com)?

They appear to have been around for 10 years but I can't find many reviews on their safety or service and wondering if anyone has any experience with them. If not or someone knows they are bad, can anyone recommend a good agency to book an apartment for my wife and I visiting London form May 25 to June 1 - and also what area will be best to stay in?

I have heard to stay in the West End, but will it be better to be slightly out like Bayswater, South Wharf, Kensington etc

Thanks!

I do not know anything about the company to which you refer but my wife and I have used one called Coach House vacation rentals on two occasions and have been very satisfied with them. They have several properties around Victoria Station in London and for my money this is ths best area to stay in. It is relatively near everything. Look them up on the web and go from there. I don't think you will be disappointed.

"<i>I have heard to stay in the West End, but will it be better to be slightly out like Bayswater, South Wharf, Kensington etc</i>"

The west End isn't necessarily the best area to stay. It is very central, but so are other neighborhoods. Bayswater and 'South Wharf' (South Wharf Rd is next to Paddington Station) are worse for convenience.

Some other central areas which are good for tourist stays include Bloomsbury/Russell Square, South Kensington (which is more convenient then Kensington), Victoria, some parts of the South Bank, Covent Garden, etc. There are other good areas but these will get you started.

Central London Apts have been around for ages and I've never heard anything particularly bad about them. Before you book a place though, it is usually a good idea to post a link here - sometimes owners/agencies can be a bit misleading when describing property locations. We can help you figure out what the neighborhood is like.

Apartment rental sites for London are $.10/dozen. And the prices on the Central London Apts website are not particularly good (seriously, a Canary Wharf apt from 117+ GBP? That's a terrible location for a sightseer so why pay $175 per). Bayswater and Paddington areas have a lot of apartments for rent for tourists and they're mediocre and cruddy, respectively, as tourist locations - Janis gave you better areas. If you have the dough, Mayfair would be great.

"<i>That's a terrible location for a sightseer so why pay $175 per</i>" . . . But a fantastic location for a lot of business travelers, who also rent short term flats. So that isn't expensive (just MILES out of the way for sightseeing)

London is a large, spread out city and there are sights in many differnt areas - so no one place will be conveninet to everythng. But by stayin in the center you are assured to be near some things and within easy reach of others. I fyou stay at the end of hell and gone you are likely to be near not much and almost guaranteed to be 45 minutes or an hour from many major sights. Yes, stay as close to the center as you can afford.

And avoid places very far east - like Canary Wharf - at any cost.