I'm traveling to London this June for the first time with 7 people - 4 adults, 3 kids. Would you suggest VRBO, AirBNB, etc. - and what area is safe and central?
Posted by
Land of La
9261 posts
Whats your budget?
Have you read the RS Guidebook? Full of great intel regarding neighborhoods.
Further out from central london rentals will be cheaper but travel to and from the city center will eat up those savings.
June is also the height of the tourist season so it best to start trying to reserve accommodations now.
Good Luck.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1199 posts
Here are search results from the travel forum regarding apartments in London:
Posted by
11606 posts
We stay in Chelsea and Kensington when we visit London. We use LondonPerfect to provide our apts and/or houses.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8123 posts
It depends how many nights you are talking, but with that many people and having kids, an apartment would be attractive. Triples and quads are hard to find at hotels.
VRBO or AirBnB are fine, but I prefer Booking.com. Booking.com allows you to search by your needs and amenities, and it shows you exactly (down to the actual building) where the property is at. It also is much more clear on any added fees and many fewer requirement/tasks demanded of you. Booking also shows a range of accommodation, if nothing else for price comparison.
As for physical location, I look for something near a Tube station on a line going directly into the city center. Central London can get crazy expensive, the further out you are, the more tolerable the cost. The other thing I consider is some level of restaurants, coffee, and shopping near where I am staying. As an example, I find the Hammersmith area to be attractive, good pubs, good shopping if I need something, great transport connections, and some nice walking areas along the river.
Posted by
Singapore
590 posts
In terms of safety, there's nowhere in London I wouldn't feel safe staying in, and particularly any if the areas tourists are likely to consider are perfectly fine.
As Paul says, it really comes down to budget, ie where can you afford to stay? As he notes, look for a convenient tube station and use Google Maps to get a sense of how long it will take to get to the places you want to visit. No one location is perfect for all the popular tourist sites. I stay in St James's, which is walking distance to Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament etc, but is not the sort of place you'll find an Airbnb - I'm guessing you may need to look a little further out.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8913 posts
Many of these places are already booked up. I would move on this ASAP.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17561 posts
Booking.com came up with 342 apartments or other accommodations for 7 in “central London” for the 3 random nights in June I picked. The lowest-priced came to $500-$600 a night.