Covent Garden Flat Rental Advice Please!
 

Hello,

I am a member of this forum from long ago, (BC) and have taken an 8 year hiatus from international travel, while I've stayed home with my two young children. I've recently been planning a trip for next spring to London, and have enjoyed lurking around.

A girlfriend of mine and I will be traveling to London next May to celebrate our 40th birthdays, leaving the husbands and children at home. We plan to do the things we have missed doing over the last decade- long leisurely meals, visits to museums, plays and concerts, seeing a few sights along the way. My friend has never been to London, though I've spent some time there.

We were about to book a beautiful place between Hight Street Kensington and Notting Hill Gate with A Place Like Home, an agency I've used before and been really happy with. We've had second thoughts, however, and feel that since most of our time will be spent in and around Covent Garden, perhaps that would be a better place to stay. I love the area, thought it's been more of a challenge finding the right flat within our budget, which is around 200 pounds per night, or roughly $2500 total.

May I have your opinions, please, on the following rentals? Would love feedback on specific location, as well as any other opinions. I've looked at so many flats I can't see straight anymore!

Thanks in advance for your time.

http://www.vrbo.com/403601#

http://www.vrbo.com/820474ha#

And finally, my favorite by far, but not sure about Holiday Lettings:

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ren...-zone-1/477890

The specific agency at the above has a website, http://www.ldg.co.uk/, and is a "verified property owner" with Holiday Lettings. I can book with a credit card, but full payment is required at booking. Is this common practice?

I would go with the first one.

A 1 BR will be much more comfy than a studio if you don;t want to sleep exactly the same hours and the 3rd option has no elevator and is 3 flights up (I assume they are using euro flights vs american).

We rented a flat in CV a couple years ago. As to the payments, in our case we did it all through PayPal which worked well for us.

As to location just be aware that sometimes these descriptions can be deceptive. "Walking distance to" is quite variable depending on just how fast one walks. The "two minutes to..." is the same way.

If at all possible try to get an exact address and then look that address "up" using Google Maps or something similar so you can see exactly where these places actually are.

We enjoyed being in Covent Garden due to our specific interests and that is what mainly guided our decision. IOW, we were not as interested in "quaint" or "cute" or "the movies" as opposed to near the theatres, places to shop for food, and the Tube, but to each their own.

The first one is at the corner of Drury Lane an Broad CT so VERY convenient. And it is large - 550 sq feet.

The 2nd one would be horrible IMO - cramped for sure.

The Holiday Lettings one would be my choice (they are reliable AFAIK - been around for ages). Chandos Place is a terrific location and it looks nicest to me. But it only has a shower if that makes a difference to you. The Drury Lane property has a bath/shower

Thank you for your replies.

I am okay with the stairs, nytraveler, but thanks for pointing it out. It means we can eat more cheese!

Dukey, thanks for sharing your experience and good advice. I love that you can find everything on google maps now or better yet, google earth. I've virtually walked down some of these streets!

Janisj, thanks for your feedback on HL. I had read this and was initially frightened off:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews186362.html

But I believe that Holiday Lettings is just a listing service similar to VRBO or Home Away, correct? So the more important factor is the managing agency or owner, and after more searching, they do seem legitimate.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/RentalP..._manager.63132

I really do love the apartment, it has nearly everything on our wish list. The price seems incredibly reasonable compared with the others,(around 1100 pounds)which hopefully has something to do with the lack of lift.

Thanks again for all of the feedback, it's so helpful.

Not to add to your options too much, but I've recently been shopping airbnb.com for London apartments, and found several nice ones well within your budget.

We've had good luck with that site, and you can specify # of beds, price range, etc to narrow it a little. I pay careful attention to the reviews, by people who've rented that space.