I am doing some preliminary research to figure out where we can stay for a 2-4 week stay in central London. We will be travelling with our pre-school age child.
I have checked AirBnb, but those prices don't seem much better than staying in a hotel. What types of places offer long term stays?
Apartments. Try homeaway.com.
Sorry, but a long- term stay here isn't 2 to 4 weeks, so you are not likely to get any discount on the standard nightly rate.
What is your nightly rate (in £)?
Extend your search area into Zone 2 and look at Premier Inns and Travelodges.
The London School of Economics has a program for their students who get to 'manage' an apartment building. They rent to tourists. They also rent spare dorm rooms at various locations around London - most very central and near good tube and / or bus connections. Check out their website.
[www.lsevacations.co.uk/][1]
Be aware that it has problems with some browsers- so if it shows no vacancies, that is not necessarily the case. Contact them by email or by phone to be sure.
You could also check out Citadines. They run 'aparthotels'. Similar to apartments, but with some of the services of a hotel. They also have multiple central London locations. We stayed once at their Holborn/Covent Garden location when we were taking our kids. It had a single bedroom, a pull out sofa bed in the living room, a TV, nice sized bath room, and a good sized kitchenette. We saved money by buying snacks and breakfast stuff and eating in the apartment. You could even pack lunches and cook dinners if you wanted. That's how apartments (or hotel rooms with kitchenettes) save you money in London. Here's their website.
[http://www.citadines.com/en/index.html?gclid=CLrUx7-YjsoCFdEYHwodB_sH7Q][2]
Have you thought about home exchange? For the length of time you plan to be in London, you are a prime candidate for this kind of travel. We stayed in London for a month in 2013 on a home exchange and it was wonderful! With a child it would be nice for you to have a real "home" base rather than a hotel. It also costs you nothing!
The site I use is homeexchange.com.
I also have a home exchange blog that you can take a look at. I just started it in early December and am adding topics every week or so. It's meant to be a step-by-step tutorial on how to travel this way.
Good luck!
Have a look at SabbaticalHomes.com. There are some more economical options although some require a longer stay, i.e., 3-6 months. Worth a look. I have found VRBO to be more price-friendly than AirBnB.
