Hammersmith

It really depends where in Hammersmith. Are you near the "Hammersmith" tube stop or located somewhere in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham?

Boroughs are quite large - like saying Queens in New York - and within them they have many neighborhoods and villages. Urban villages, yes, but villages nevertheless, and not are the same.

If you could be a little more precise it would help us give a far better answer.

Can you clarify the "some pretty negative posts about safety" please. Where did you see those, and what exactly did they say?

if you're only in london for 4-5 days, i'd say spend a bit more and stay in kensington over hammersmith. of course you'll need to take the tube or buses for many things matter where you stay, but it's also nice to be able to walk to a few things, too, which you'll be able to do in kensington. i used to work in hammersmith and while it is convenient, there wasn't much there i wanted to do or see (as an american living in london, and no disrespect to hammersmith, there might be some wonderful things there).

The OP hasn't been back to clarify whether the district of Hammersmith or the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is the heart of the question. Since there is a reference to Kensington and Holland Park rather than the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea the former is more likely but that is all guesswork.

Plus West Kensington is in Hammersmith and Fulham to make things even cloudier.

The rental apartment is in Hammersmith Grove. http://www.lamingtonuk.com/locations/hammersmith/
We do love Kensington, but haven't been able to find a place to stay within our budget. We were planning on taking the Eurostar to Paris and head to Provence on the train after a couple of days, but we're reading about railroad strikes being planned for the period we'll be there. As for safety questions, I've read things here and there on different blogs. I know nowhere is 100% safe. I'm not terribly worried about that issue. My sister and her husband were robbed on the tube a few years ago by two guys with knives, but that kind of incident has happened here on our BART trains (San Francisco bay area) and on every transportation system world-wide. They were seasoned travelers, having been to the UK and Europe over 15 times at that point. It didn't stop them from going to London or riding the tube on subsequent trips. Thanks for the responses.

Have you looked in other areas like Earls Court which is south of Kensington? A lot of apartments are being converted into short term lets. And it's a nice area.

Thanks, Frank. I'll check out Earls Court.