Meg42

We are arriving in London at the end of July. Our children are 14 and 16. We would like to spend around $200- 230 USD. I'm not sure even of the area, I could use that advice as well. We have stayed near West Minster Abbey before and would like to stay somewhere different.
Thank you for any input.

laurelt

What about an apartment? We traveled to London a few years ago with our two children and rented from www.londonconnection.com and it was great. We had a apartment with laundry, small kitchen and 2 bathrooms around the corner from Harrods for an affordable price. It think it was under $200.

Meg42

I'm going to look into it, thank you!

janis

laurelt is definitely right - far a family an apartment offers much better value for your money. From £800 to £900 per week you can get a 1 or 2 bedroom flat that would give you a LOT more room, a kitchen, WASHER/DRYER (important since you can pack much lighter if you can do laundry), and other advantages. Even if you don't plan on doing much cooking, having a kitchen lets you have late night snacks, breakfast anytime (instead of just when the B&B serves it, put together picnic lunches, etc. And if you do decide to cook some you will save a LOT of money.

Do a search and you wil find a lot more suggestions, but here are some to get you started:

Some Rental Agencies and Contacts:
E&E Apartments (no website) [email protected] phone 011-44-171-828-0453. Moderately priced studio, 1 and 2 bedroom flats in Pimlico and Victoria. Near the Thames, Tate Britain, Chelsea and Victoria Station. 3-night minimum. £360 - £700+ per week ($550-$1085)

Hamlet (UK) Ltd. www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hamlet_uk/
Phone 011-44-181-883-0024. 1 and 2 bedroom flats at St Katherine?s Dock next to the Tower of London. £500 - £675 per week ($775 - $1050)

London School of Economics www.lce.ac.uk/vacations Low cost B&B and self-catering accommodations in university residence halls from mid-June thru September.
Phone 011-44-171-955-7575 to request a brochure.

Scala House www.scala-house.co.uk Phone 011-44-171-580-6644. And Apartment bldg with 2-bedroom flats near Tottenham Court Rd and Oxford Street in central London. 2 night minimum £665 - £1225

Price Apartments www.priceapts.co.uk
Studios thru 4-bedroom flats throughout London. £360 - £3,300 ($550-$5,100)

Chelsea Cloisters www.chelsea-cloisters.co.uk Phone 011-44-171-403-7760. Full service studios near Harrods from £480 ($740) per week. Larger flats up to £1000 ($1500)

clairdesol

We (a family of 4) have stayed at Clearlake Hotel and University Apartments. Not luxurious but much better than a hotel because you get several rooms and kitchen facilities.

KidsToLondon

If a flat (apartment) is what you want, you might also check:

http://www.gtunlimited.com/londonapartmentsrentals.html

Most, but not all apartment rentals have a minimum period...if you are not staying for that minimum, then you will need to search for hotels with "quad" accomodations, someplace inexpensive where you can obtain two rooms for your budget, or an "American-style" hotel that allows 2 adults and 2 children in a room, however cramped that may be. Holiday Inn, Hilton, and Marriott all have central London properties worth checking.

Mayfair is another central area, but quite upscale, with many hotel prices to match. Chelsea is interesting, but not near many visitor's attractions, per se. Kensington has some advantages, including proximity to Science, Nat. History, V&A musuems, etc. More distant areas, like Earls Court, have lower cost accomodations, but are pretty far out from the center of town.

You can find postings detailing the pros and cons of each on this message board. There is no shortage of opinions on London accomodations here...

David White
http://www.KidsToLondon.com