VRBO London

My husband likes the amenities of a hotel, especially the daily housekeeping while I like to have an apartment when I am in a city for the same reasons you mentioned, the extra space along with the ability to have some meals at at the apartment if we like. In London, I found the Cheval Apartment/Hotels. We stayed in South Kensington in December for 6 nights, but they have other locations, including around Hyde Park.

What I liked about Cheval is that they have some amenities of a hotel such as 24 hour desk service, daily cleanings (not towel or linen changes, and knowledgeable staff to help you. They also have slippers and robes. Each apartment has a washer/dryer along with a full kitchen. We had a studio which was more than enough for 2 people, but they have one and two bedroom apartments as well.

They can be a bit more expensive than an Airbnb or VRBO. However, they do run specials, specifically for longer stays. It was less than staying at our other options we considered, including Hilton and.Marriott. We booked the special through the Cheval website which entitled us to a free complimentary breakfast the first day. What was really surprising was that that breakfast fed us more than one day: croissants, bread, half dozen eggs, cheese, salami, orange juice. They also provided daily water refills and Nespresso machine for fast coffee in the morning.

I am going back to London again in 2025 and will be staying there again.

Staycity is another chain of aparthotels that has a few locations in London,
including Paddington area. Also Citadines. If you want more, an easy way
to find them is to go to Google Maps, scroll down to the general area you
want to stay in, and then search on "aparthotel". You will get lots of hits
and can drill down to investigate specific properties in the area you want
to stay in.

The negatives of VRBO, in my opinion, are not with the overall business model,
but the potential inconsistencies of individual units & owners.

I assume you know that hotel rooms in London can be quite small and if you've
only booked 1 room for the 4 of you, you most likely will indeed be tripping over
each other most of the time. For the price of 2 rooms, I suspect you can get a
decent apartment/aparthotel.

We have used VRBO in London 3 - 4 times and usually been satisfied.

One apartment had an elevator but there were 16 steps from street to elevator and 12 steps from elevator to apartment. Not a problem for us, but a person in a wheel chair would not have been able to get there. It is always a good idea to ask about things like that, if it is important for you.

In general we enjoy having breakfast in our own pace (2 - 3 hours), having a washing machine, having a separate bed room, etc

There are numerous aparthotel chains in London with multiple locations. You could get a one bedroom unit where the parents take the bedroom and the kids sleep in the living room. These places offer kitchens in each unit and a laundry room. Some offer free breakfast.

Each is run like a hotel so there is a front desk/reception open 24 hours a day if you have a problem or a question.

Some chains are (In no particular order);

Staycity

Wilde by Staycity

Locke Hotels

Citadines

Fraser Suites

Staybridge Suites

Residence Inn

Some of these chains are also in Paris.

I no longer trust Vrbo since my experience this month. Vrbo allows host to violate there rules to protect you from phishing and scams. I booked a trip to Florence, Italy using the free cancelation and paid in full. I canceled within 11 days (within the allowed timeframe) because the host sent 2 emails OUTSIDE of Vrbo platform. The host wanted me to check in with my personal info by using an outside link. All communication should be done through Vrbo's secure messaging system.

I reported the violation to Vrbo and the supervisor reviewed the email screenshots and correspondence from the host who said I should “find another host who is more adept at VRBO rules." The supervisor told me it is OK that a host “go the extra mile” by emailing outside the platform. She also refused to acknowledge the host defiance of the contact policy. Basically I was gaslighted. I spent over 3 1/2 hours on the phone regarding cancellation and Vrbo only gave me a partial refund. I'm done with Vrbo.

I’ve used vRBO 3 times in London and been satisfied each time. Your biggest challenge is that this is fairly late for booking. Top properties are probably gone.

We did a VRBO in the Notting Hill neighborhood a couple of years ago for a week stay, great location but all the beds had absolutely horrible mattresses, pillows and blankets. I was looking forward to a washer and dryer but they had not been maintained so useless. Not the best experience.

As a resident, I always put in a kind request that people avoid using Air BnB type lodgings when staying here. We have a housing crisis and many landlords have figured out they can earn a lot more on short term rentals to tourists and have thus removed badly-needed rental stock from the long-term rental market that residents rely on. There are a lot of good suggestions above for aparthotels- and I agree that hotel rooms here can be tiny so I understand why you'd want more space.