In the Once in a Lifetime Department: we’re going to England this September, and hope to spend a week in London. We’d like to rent a flat with 2 bedrooms and 1.5-2 baths. The London neighborhoods are bewildering to me, but I think we might want to be in Bloomsbury, because the British Museum is first on our list of sights to see and we’d go several times.
We don’t mind spending a bit to get what we want - maybe $500-600/night? Stairs aren’t really a problem if we’re talking 3 stories. The area is important, because we’d like it to be near restaurants, a grocery store, and a tube station. My d is a runner, so a good neighborhood for that would be a nice plus.
Please chime in if you can recommend an area, specific property, way to find one, etc. My d loves airbnb but I’m a little uncertain about that since I’ve never used it and might feel more comfortable with VRBO or something similar. Your ideas and anecdotes very welcome - thanks, world travelers!
About 10 years ago we stayed in a flat in Sloane Square. The area was great. It was a short walk to the tube, upscale shopping, restaurants and a lovely gourmet shop with lots of prepared foods. We used a service, I believe it was called something like Charter House London, that worked like an airbnb or VRBO.
London resident here: try to get something in Zone 1 (tube zones). That covers most of central London and most of the top tourist attractions and museums will be within walking distance or short Tube rides. For running - the best area are Regents Park, Hyde Park or along the river (the Embankment on the north side or the South Bank). Keep in mind that unless you are running super early in the morning - running on city streets is tough. If you want to be near Bloomsbury/British Museum, it is a heavy student area. The best/nearest restaurants are around Charlotte Street.
I can’t really suggest an agency, as we’re residents. Airbnb is very popular and you can find some very nice places in very central locations.
Areas to stay away from in Zone One: Anything near Edgware Road/Oxford Street or Marble Arch. The area around Victoria Station. These are higher crime areas with lots of pickpockets and beggars.
Best areas in Zone One (in my opinion): Mayfair, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Regent’s Park, Marylebone.
Wait - this just popped up on my facebook - www.onefinestay.com. Can’t recommend it cause I never used it, but worth a shot.
We’ve used both VRBO and airbnb with success. Don’t be afraid of airbnb. Many of its listings these days are from professional property management companies.
We rented a fabulous flat through Farnum & Christ in 2014. It was a 2/2 just a block from the Sloane Square tube station but on a very quiet street. F&C was great to work with. If you go to their website, it is listed as “Sloane Gardens 2” and was exactly as pictured. (And to give you an idea of how highly I recommend them, my CC account stopped working some time ago, and I rejoined just to be able to write this post!)
I like Kensington and Knightsbridge areas. D2 and I stayed at Bloomsbury when she was studying abroad. It was meh. We had to cab or walk to many restaurants we wanted to go to. We were one block away from the British museum. There was nothing interesting around there, except for universities.
When you do airbnb, pictures can be deceptive. Make sure it is not a basement apartment with windows. I usually have good luck with airbnb, except when it comes to London.
^Oh yeah - avoid “garden flats” or “lower ground floor” - that means basement. And remember to add a floor - a British 2nd floor is an American 3rd floor. Not fun with lots of suitcases or groceries.
We stayed in a basement flat near Regents Park back in 2000. It worked wonderfully though the flat was a bit stuffy and the plumbing worked a bit differently than I was used to. Something that surprised me was no screens. There just didn’t seem to be any bugs. I loved the London Underground. We stayed for 11 days and were able to see most of what we wanted to and take a short trip to Bath, Paris and even a Real Ale Festival in Peterborough. Be aware if you decide to use the lounges in the parks to rest up from jet lag they charge you (it was a pound back in 2000) :). It wasn’t the most luxurious place but it cost us under $1200 for the 11 days at the time. It was “owned” by an architect that drew up some plans for an addition on my parent house. I believe he had something like a 10 year lease on the property and would rent it out to others.
Wow! Thanks so much, all of you, for taking the time to post such helpful info. And especially thanks to @yauponredux for re-upping to help me out. I remember you as @yaupon. All of the input is much appreciated. I hope to spend Sunday flat-hunting.
We rented a couple of times through A Place Called Home. A wide selection of flats. We stayed in the Kensington area and liked it, but only one tube station. Bus was convenient. Walking distance to the V&A and other museums as well as shopping and restaurants.
@Ivvcsf I have never seen any kind of bug screen anywhere in the UK. In fact I can’t recall seeing such a thing anywhere in Europe.
@oldfort a post showing the true divide between US and European culture lol! You had to walk somewhere!
You’re going to need serious cash to stay in Kensington or Knightsbridge. I cannot afford to even window shop in such areas so cannot help with accommodation (other than to say "apartments " will be called “flats” when listed).
Resurfacing to say thanks again. I’ve been looking at the recommended areas and websites and have found some possibilities in each. I did wind up looking at airbnb as well, which I liked because they have so many ratings for each apartment. The professional management companies post great-looking photos, but the ratings accompanying each property seem very generic and I sometimes wonder whether it was a guest or the owner/agent who wrote them.
@oldfort and @megpmom, thanks for the helpful advice in #s 6 and 7 about basement/garden flats. So many of the properties I’ve looked at are exactly that. The photos make it seem as if they’re street level, or as if they have a small paved patio outside that’s slightly below ground level but was built in with steps leading down from the street. What would you say are the drawbacks - security, darkness, pests (I can’t do pests)? The photos make the flats look bright even when they are basement flats.
I personally wouldn’t want to live in a basement flat for the long-term, although for just a short term rental, it might not be so bad. The drawbacks are the lack of natural light in many of the rooms and the lack of a view. You might get the use of a courtyard or back garden, which is nice. Often the basement, or garden flats, have problems with damp and might smell musty, but the newer renovations would avoid this.
Yep, no window screens in the UK. Not many bugs - some flies in the summer and, at least in our flat, ants. Noise is a major nuisance in London in the summer, as not many flats have AC, so you have to keep your windows open. So try to opt for a side street that is not a bus route.
Back in 2000, we stayed in the Notting Hill area in a flat on Elgin Crescent. Nice walk to restaurants, Kensington,a grocery store and the tube. We walked a lot and DH also jogged in the AM. The highlight for me was being close to Portobello Market. We had to stay in the garden flat for a night before moving up to the 2nd floor. It was dark but it was the only flat that had access to the common gardens.
D1 once lived in a basement apartment in a very cold climate. It did have windows, so she actually had a lot of natural light, though of course no view. The advantage it did have was that when it was -26 degrees outside, her apartment was warm and cozy. Which was surprising, as she had been told it would be a problem in winter.
She liked the apartment, the climate not so much. She was sorry to move away from friends, but very happy to move to a more temperate climate.
If I were going to London, I’d also avoid a basement apartment. It’s not often one gets to visit such a wonderful city, so if you have a lot of other options, I’d grab one of those.
I would remember that if your visiting London you probably won’t be spending too much time in your flat. There is far too much to do and see. I doubt September would be hot (it’s usually not in London), however, most places don’t have any AC and a basement flat would be cooler.
We’ve used A Place Like Home three or four times. All the properties were excellent. Unfortunately, my favorite (a very nice split-level 2 BR/2Bath in Rosary Gardens convenient to both South Kensington and Gloucester Road tube stops doesn’t appear to be in their listings any more.