Grand Plaza Apartments London
 

Has anybody any direct experience with these apartments?

http://www.central-london-apartments...apartments.php

They are listed on several of the short let agencies' web sites for London. Bayswater/Westminster address, closest tube Bayswater. Looks like a reasonably quiet neighborhood.

This is a (sort of) last minute trip--spring break in early April with my two teenage children (but not their father this time), and properties at VRBO are generally already booked.

Other suggestions welcome.

How many nights? I don't have any experience with that apartment but I think you can do better pricewise than that & get a better location. I'm assuming you were looking at 2 bedrooms? Before you book that, check out

www.aplacelikehome.co.uk/home.aspx or www.londonguestsuites.com or google Farnum & Christ. Many posters here really like F&C.

With 2 teens you might like the S. Kensington area or Knightsbridge.

I don't know how early in April you mean, but take a look at the calendar for VRBo 118200. I just stayed there and really liked the apartment and the location.

I personally wouldn't stay there unless it was such a huge bargain it would make up for the location, between the Bayswater tube Station and Westbourne Grove. It is walking distance from Kensington Gardens -- but nothing else.

Not quite sure what you mean by &quot;<i>Bayswater/Westminster address,</i>&quot; Westminster is a loooong way from Bayswater - they are not anywhere near each other.

I don't find the area around Bayswater to be very convenient even though I visit Holland Park/Notting Hill each time I go to London. I also don't find it too pleasant. There are much better areas to stay - I'll second Carrybean's recommendation of S. Kensington.

We stayed at a hostel on Princes Square in 2007. You'd be about a 10-minute walk from the Queensway and Bayswater tube stations. It worked OK for us, but you may want to find something closer in.

Janisj, we saw several &quot;borough of Westminster&quot; signs in that area as we walked to the tube or bus stations. But it's certainly not Westminster as in &quot;close to Westminster Abbey&quot; or anything like that.

Lee Ann

&quot;Borough of Westminster&quot; is a political boundary. But no one would consider Bayswater/Queensway, &quot;Westminster&quot;

The Borough of Westminster covers everything between the City and Kensington, and from Camden to the River. Most of Central London . . . . .

Thanks everybody for such prompt and detailed info. I'll answer the questions that have been raised:

1. Bayswater/Westminster: this is what comes of posting queries when I'm supposed to be working. I'd plugged the address into google maps and it actually popped out &quot;Westminster&quot; and then in parentheses below it said near Bayswater. And I didn't cross check that against my sketchy recall of London neighborhoods. So, Bayswater it is.

2. Our stay is 8 nights, beginning Sat, April 4 and ending Sun, April 12. Marty's suggestion of vrbo 118200 is booked, as are all of the reasonable properties at vrbo that I've checked so far that have calendars. The only ones that aren't booked for those days are units that clearly don't update the calendars at all, so they might be booked or they might not.

3. South Kensington is indeed a very nice area, and one where I've stayed twice before (once with my children, who were 10 and 13 at the time, I think). So I'm actually looking to stay someplace else for a change. I found that I heard more French and Italian in the streets there than English, which is fine but a change is always nice.

4. I've got a good friend who lives just north of Notting Hill Gate station, so that part of town is appealing for that reason. Her flat is lovely, and on a lovely quiet street as well.

5. I'd already sent an inquiry to aplacelikehome and will check out the properties at the other agencies listed here as well.

6. Two bedrooms not absolutely necessary, as my daughter and I can sleep together (with twin beds or a queen/king) and my son can sleep on a sofabed. The Grand Plaza specifically offers the possibility of twin beds in the bedroom and a sofabed, making a one bedroom apartment feasible.

So, there's some clarification about our plans and needs/wants. Keep the suggestions coming, and I'll send off some more inquiries.

A busy 24 hours while the forums were down, during which I've been in communication with several agencies (including all those listed upthread). So far the property that I like best is offered by A Place Like Home. Here's a link to the property:

http://www.aplacelikehome.co.uk/prop...t=propertylist

Advantages include the overall large size and layout, nice quality of the furnishings and fittings, two beds (the blue sofas in the lower sitting room) for the kids that aren't right on top of each other (and the possibility that one of the kids might elect to sleep on the sofa in the upstairs sitting room).

Disadvantages include a relatively long walk to nearest tube station (though it's close to Fulham Rd, so a bus stop there) and the fact that it's "semi lower ground floor" (so more or less half subterranean). Still, the apartment looks to have good natural light in the photos, and the agency says there's no commercial development nearby. No internet at the moment, but the agency says the owner has agreed to install it. This last point isn't a showstopper, as the convenience of having it is offset by my children's spending way too much time using it (says the pot to the kettle).

Any and all opinions welcome.

And the weekly rate for this property is £975.

Topping for one last fishing attempt...

Anything obvious I've overlooked?

It looks very nice indeed & the price is good. I don't know how much of a difference it will make or what constitutes a "relatively long walk" to the tube for you.