Thoughts on this area of London
 

I found this cute, affordable flat, but not sure it's the best area for first timers to London.

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/greenwich/9983

Would love to hear from London experts on what the area is like and does this rental look legit, so to speak...

Thanks in advance.

While others may have a different opinion, why would you want to stay way out in Greenwich? You will spend alot of time going back and forth into London. I'd try to find something that is actually IN London.

Suggest you get a good map of London.

http://tinyurl.com/5ub45d

We wouldn't "want" to stay there, but with budget considerations would not rule out a spot farther from the city's "center".

It's not the best area for first timers to London. Look for something more central.

Bear in mind that trains might take 15mins to get to central London but then you have to factor in the wait for the train, you won't easily be able to return to your accommodation during the day for a rest or change of clothes and there's the cost of train fares.

If there's 2 of you could try Priceline for a hotel room for less per night without the trek.

1) I do not find the photos "cute"
2) How many of you will be staying there? 2 or 4?
3) For 4 people, 2 will sleep on a sofa bed, and there's only 1 bathroom.

But most importantly, there's NO WAY I'd recommend a first timer to stay there. Not even a second timer or third timer.

Per the website, the closest station is Maze Hill. It is not even part of the tube system. It is a station part of the Southeastern Railway. Even though it says it's 15 minutes to London - it is 15 minutes to London Bridge Station, where you can easily spend another 30 minutes just to get to other sights.

Staying that far will prevent you from the luxury of returning to the flat during the day if you're tired, or if you want to drop off shopping bags, or if you want to change clothes before dinner.

Lastly, the train fare r/t to Maze Hill is £3.80 each day, and that's in addition to any tube/bus/DLR that you will take.

If one had been to London several times - there really would be nothing wrong w/ this place since Greenwich is an interesting and scenic area.

But being so far from the center, for a short and/or first visit I think you can do better. Also, being a lower ground (basement) flat, it would not be my choice.

Agree with everyone about distance from center of London. But you also asked about the company--holidaylettings--I've used them in the past and they are very reliable. It appears they've accurately described the flat and the reasonable rent rate reflects the location, nice as it is. While no getting around the distance to center of London, if you're into history a day in Greenwich itself is worthwhile and one sunny day (preferably) you could take the sightseeing boat either from Greenwich up to central London or the reverse, which would give you a great perspective of London from the Thames.

We haven't stayed here, but this flat looked nice & is just behine Marble Arch, much closed in the Greenwich.

http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/Eng...ndon/p1904.htm

I did have an e-mail dialog with the owner and he seemed very nice.

highflyer - good point about the waiting and such for the train.

yk - you know what they say, 'cute is in the eye of the beholder.' ;-) there'll be two of us, me and DH. hmmm. okay, then. i did think Maze Hill was the nearest 'tube' stop. thank you so much for educating me on this crucial point. that makes a big difference.

cathinjoetown - how long ago did you book with holidaylettings? was it a place in London?

janis - thanks for your kind perspective, and after reading everyone's remarks think, as you said, we can do better.

dcjones - i will check out the link now. thank you so much.

thanks everyone for your truly helpful comments!

Hi ChicagoDallasGirl-

If it's just the 2 of you, you should be able to find something closer.

cmcfong stayed at a pretty nice place recently:

<< Author: cmcfong
Date: 04/20/2008, 09:49 pm
The flat was 950 pounds per week, yk. They have some good pictures on the website.http://www.farnum-christ.com/1bedroomsloanegardens.htm >>

Her full trip report is here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35125141

That Farnum & Christ flat is very nice -- but it also costs nearly twice as much as the Greenwich one.

The Marble Arch one DCJones linked is smaller than Greenwich, but much more central and costs just £95 more.

doh! Janis- thanks for pointing that out. I knew something wasn't quite right when I posted cmcfong's flat. for some reason, I thought it was similar in price as the Greenwich one. :">

ChicagoDallasGirl- What is your budget for lodging? ARe you staying 6 nights total (or is it 7?) Assuming you want to keep your budget at $1000 for 6-7 nights, you are looking at ~$150/n.

I know you'll get more space with a flat, but you can get a reasonable hotel for that price as well by using Hotwire or Priceline.

Travelodge.co.uk also have several properties in central London. Granted they are very basic, they have some decent deals if you book in advance.

Hey yk - I've seen this darling apartment and drool over it each time. Only problem is our budget is about 300 pounds less. I'm trying to stay at around $1,000 for the week, but I'm finding it virtually impossible to book a cute, (there's that word again)centrally located flat, smack in the middle of high season in this price range.

I did find these, however:

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ren...ing-hill/53635

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ren...n-zone-1/16652

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ren...n-zone-1/31834

Hmm. Janis and yk I totally missed your last posts. I think I was writing responses to earlier comments...

Anywho, yes, the flat DCJones found sounds perfect price and location-wise. I'll have to put it on my spreadsheet.

Yes, a total of 7 nights preferably. I began my lodging research with apartments, and may need to begin checking out hotels. We'll see... Wonder if I might find a B&B in that range... I'll have a look-see.

HolidayLettings is a site that allows owners to advertise, so it's not really an agency per se. Your dealings are all with the owner. So the website advertises listings, but it will have nothing to do with any issues that might arise when you try to rent the apartment or get your deposit back or whatever.

I won't say it's impossible, but in all the postings here, I've yet to see a B&B in the $150 USD price range that looked better to me than a hotel won on Priceline (typically in the $75-120 range).

London B&Bs are mostly older, small hotels in varying states of repair. In my experience, London Priceline hotels at the 3* and 4* level are pleasant, modern facilities and the worst I could say about the hotels I've had so far is that the decor is bland in some cases. (This is not to say others might have less positive experiences, but you can read the reviews and decide for yourself.)

What's the address of the place in Greenwich (it's firewalled on my work computer which thinks it's a dating site).

There's nowt wrong with Greenwich (well I would say that as I work for 'em) but there are some iffy parts.

Park Vista, CW, which if I recall correctly is the eastern side of the park rather than the King William Walk/Greenwich Theatre side:
http://tinyurl.com/68tete

Not a "bad" area, but a good few minutes' walk from the posher bits of Greenwich (the immediately nearest main street tends to the dustier sort of hardware/household cheapo shop and takewaway food) and from connections for central London. Half an hour to get anywhere you're likely to want to go to (though Greenwich Park is indeed lovely).

And "garden apartment" clearly means (as the photos show) a semi-basement.

Hi ChicagoDallasGirl-

The first apt is just next to Notting Hill Gate tube station; which is to the west of the city.

The 2nd & 3rd apts seem to be in the same neighborhood near St Paul's Cathedral.

I'm not 100% sure about the area of the 1st apt, but I think it's a fine area.

The 2nd apt is only a studio, so I wouldn't choose that since the other 2 are 1 bedroom and cost about the same.

It's a tough choice btw 1 & 3 - depends on what neighborhood you'd like to be in.

The Greenwich Flat is on the edge of nice Greenwich and scratter's area.

If you keep going on the Romney rd you soon get into the less salubrious bits (marked by the King William pub which has the worlds ugliest strippers in). Go the other way past the Queens House and you are soon in the toursit bits (and the DLR).

A weekly travel card including the DLR into town is about £25.

Will - I am a bit more hesitant in general with by-owner rentals and would prefer to use one of the great agencies managing lets. However, so far the holidaylettings flats offer better price, fewer nights minimum (which would really help should we firm up our plans to stay a night or two in Derby), and some very good locations, too. (sigh)

CW and Patrick - Thanks so much! I did hear back from the owner that the Greenwich flat is available during our targeted week. I've not ruled it out completely, but will shoot for something a bit 'closer' in.

<<If you keep going on the Romney rd you soon get into the less salubrious bits>>

CW - looking at Google satellite... do you mean the part where Romney changes to Trafalgar?


Meanwhile, yk, the first (on Palace Gardens Terrace) is actually my number one, right now, in terms of quality of accommodation and service. They require a two-night minimum and the owner has been very prompt and thorough in response to my inquiries. This is followed closely by the third, which requires only a one night minimum. I've learned it's on Queenhithe and Upper Thames: http://tinyurl.com/5cdp58

It's very close to the London Millennium Footbridge and perhaps should edge up to number one based on location. The photos are a bit dark, so can't get quite as good a feel for the quality of the interior.

Also, aplacelikehome.co.uk has a 1 br on Alderney and Clarendon for 565 pounds, minimum one week rental.

CW - looking at Google satellite... do you mean the part where Romney changes to Trafalgar?>>>

Yup. There are some dodgy housing estates there and you wouldn't think you were close to a World Heritage site.

Just to make myself clear; I'd be happy to stay there and Greenwich is lovely.

FYI - Alderney and Clarendon is in Pimlico and a very convenient area. Close to Victoria for tube/trains/coaches, walking distance to the river, Buckingham Palace and Tate Britain.

CDG-

Since you'll be in London for a whole week, you'll end up going to sights all over town, so I won't necessarily think being close to the Millennium bridge has any advantage unless you want to go to Tate Modern and/or Globe every day!

The Nottinghill one has a slight advantage as the tube station has 3 lines.

I have never stayed in either neighborhood, but one time I found myself near St Paul's in the evening, and the area is quite dead.

Will you be doing any day trips? If yes, have you looked into which rail station you will be needing?

Lastly, is the 1-bedroom on A Place Like Home the L43 Clarendon? I wouldn't pick that as it is not that close to the tube station compared to the other ones. It looks like at least a 1/2 mile.

janis - Yes. I think I read a post or two of yours in which you favor Pimlico. If we can foot it to those places you mentioned, that's pretty ideal.

The negatives to that flat are it's not an explicitly non-smoking unit and there's no Internet access. I would imagine there's a cafe close by in the event we need to access the web... Doubt we'll really need to, but could be helpful to at least have the option in the evenings after we return. Ok. I'm belaboring the point here. sorry...

yk - You're right. We won't be visiting those sites every day. LOL.

Not sure about day trips. With the Nottinghill flat there's no week-long minimum so we could stay five nights and book something else in Derby. Or, if we decide to book a full seven, and based on a quick mapping and provided we rent a car, looks like we could easily access the M1 by taking Bayswater, to Edgeware to the M1? Would that be ridiculous to head out early one morning, say 6 a.m.-ish and spend the day in Derby by car? Or, would you suggest training to Derby and spending a couple nights there? Haven't researched train line. Will do that now...

We do want to visit the Jaguar museum in Coventry and would like to drive there, peruse the vehicles/exhibits and then maybe on our way back, stop in Oxford. I guess that's another day trip there.

Originally, I thought we'd drive to Oxford spend the morning there, have lunch, drive to Coventry spend a couple hours at the museum and then head on to Derby for two days. Still trying to figure that one out and how lodging plays into the itinerary. Hope I haven't confused you.

Ok. Reeling myself back in from the rabbit trail...

The Pimlico flat isn't listed on their site. The agency sent me several pics. I do like the fact that the Notting Hill Gate stop accesses three lines. That's a plus.

Reading the replies sure brought back memories. Many years ago, we rented our first apartment in the Plimico area through E&E a rental agency. What a great time we had walking Warwick Street/Avenue and from our apartment to the tube station at Victoria. Does anyone know id E&E is still around?

Oh. I forgot to mention that my preference would be to stay in one location as far as lodging goes. We did Venice, Rome, and Florence in 2005 and while we're happy we saw so much, it was a lot of moving around. I don't want to spend quite as much time, packing up and checking into places...

roger - I did see something on the forum the other day about eande, but not sure if it was a current thread...

re yk's post -- The Pimlico flat is definitely less than 1/2 a mile from Victoria. Maybe a bit over 4 blocks (though you can't use "blocks" to describe distances in London - it would be about the same a 4-5 city blocks). About a 6 minute walk or so.

rogeruktum: Unfortunately, no. e&e have shut down. One of the "e" ladies was to retire and their office rent was too high for a down-sized operation. It is hard to find another agency that fills that niche -- really well priced flats in a specific close-in neighborhood.

Pimlico is a really nice area to stay - convenient to everywhere but a bit out of the touristy main stream.

CDG, when is your stay?

ChicagoDallas:

First, the Pimlico area is worth considering (ala JanisJ)..stayed in a B and B there many years ago and found the area to be within walking range (or short tube rides from Pimlico station) of many sites you'll be visiting. The Pimlico Pub was, and probably still is, a friendly place, with good pub meals.

As an alternative to apts., you seem to be open to b and b's...we just stayed in one in a comfortable Bloomsbury neighborhood with many cafes, inviting pubs, a new shopping center, etc. ( five minutes to Rusell Square tube and bus).
On a crescent street...George Hotel..rates for double ensuite...£79 for four or more nights... full English breakfast included, and free internet.

A pleasant place with a seemingly very nice clientele. We felt very comfortable there...clean and bright, very helpful young staff.

Stu T.

http://www.georgehotel.com/english/index.html

As someone pointed out, holidaylettings isn't a management site but I've had one nasty flat that was locally managed so you take your chances. I used them 18 months ago but it was outside London, as said, a good experience. Notting Hill is obviously much closer in and a fun area. Poster is right about St. Paul's area being dead at night--they would be great rentals if you were working short-term in that area. You mentioned Derby, an area I love. We think we have found a good place to stay when we're there in Sept.--Dannah Farm Country House, a B&B. Web site is www.dannah.co.uk Double room is 100 quid includes breakfast. You can book on line, I think. If not, the number is on the web site. With our confirmation they sent a personal letter and a lovely flyer about the place.

WillTravel - Not until next summer.

tower - Yes, we are. When traveling here in the states, we try to book B&B's. Thanks for the link and feedback! That looks like a good deal.

cathi - Wow. That appears to be an excellent choice. I've saved it in my favorites. Romantic enough to make me truly contemplate a night there. Thanks for the link. I can't wait to hear about your stay in the fall when you return.