Family of four looking to rent apartment in London. Need suggestions.

Hi Julie, My wife and I have rented apartments in London from 'In The English Manner' twice now. They have a wonderful rep in California, her name is Gloria, but she goes by 'Glo'. They have many very nice apartments that would suit you, and our favorite neighborhood is Kensington. We are renting a nice 1 bedroom 1 bath apartment this September, and the rate including VAT is just $270 a night. Some apartments require a minimum one week stay, so good luck with your search! Check them out: http://www.english-manner.com/default.aspx

We have used Citadines in the past. They have several locations- we used the High Holborn/Covent Garden location- but that was about 15 years ago. You might also want to check out the London School of Economics. They rent dorm rooms and apartments to non-students! They also have several locations. You will have a kitchen, ensuite, and access to student facilities like the laundry room and "lounge"- game room. This is their website:
http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/

Hello,
I have rented a flat in London in May through VRBO and have used them for several town's in Spain in October. So look and see what they offer.

We have rented through holiday-rentals.co.uk and also from londonconnection.com Both good experiences.

Julie, our family of four (15 and 12 year old kids) and 2 grandparents spent five nights in a three bedroom apartment in South Kensington last summer. It's listing number 413866 at www.homeaway.com. It may be more apartment (and expense) than you need for the four of you, but you might check it out. I highly recommend the apartment and the neighborhood, and the owner was wonderful to deal with. Feel free to PM me if you would like more details.

Thank you! I'm just now starting to research London...it's been a rough week. Many agencies seem to require a one week minimum. I have found a handful of properties through www.homelidays.com Many seem to all be in the same apartment building in Zone 1? They have lots of space and some have river views with balconies. The prices seem too good to be true. Hmmm. So what are the best neighborhoods for a family? Kensington. Any other suggestions on neighborhoods I should search specifically for? I am totally unfamiliar with London. I'll check out the property you just mentioned Lynne. Thanks!

Lynne - Just checked it out, that's beautiful. It is a little more apartment than what we need, and was priced over our budget, but the biggest issue is availability. It's booked during the dates we need. We would like to find a flat over 50 sq meters, with at least one separate bedroom, somewhere in a good location (?) that allows for short stays, and no more than $350.00 per night. I think this is do-able, it's a matter or finding the right place. I'll search Home Away in the area of the apt rental you suggested.

Hi Julie, Others on here will be able to give you much more information about various neighborhoods, but our South Kensington location worked well for us. It was close to the Gloucester Road tube stop and thus a relatively quick ride to nearly all sites, but also had a neighborhood feel, which our kids really liked. It is also within walking distance of Kensington Gardens, a grocery store, and some decent restaurants. London is wonderful to visit but a big, busy city, and after a long day of sight seeing we liked being able to get on the tube and go "home" to our apartment rather than staying in a hotel right in the middle of things. Good luck with the apartment search, you will have a great time!

We just booked a flat for 3 of us to use in September through londonconnections.com. It is an organization out of Utah and so far they've been very responsive. This one is in Belgravia near Eaton Square. We have stayed in South Kensington before and it does have a wonderful neighborhood feel.

Hi Julie, Our family of 4 rented an apt. in Kensington using vrbo.com, #14471. Huge place, excellent location - tube 2 blocks away. Holland Park is right there, and Kensington Park is an easy walk. Great for the kids to let off some steam. It's on a residential sidestreet with shops close by. Starbucks type place w. wifi on the corner.

... and if you wander down to Gelato Mio and have one of the best gelatos north of the Alps you can use their free WiFi too...

Julie, I just went through the booking process for myself (we booked for July as well!) and it can be a tad overwhelming. VRBO.com has been an excellent experience. I see that others have mentioned it, but I wanted to sing its praises. The owners were all very quick with their initial responses of availability and very helpful with all our questions. I highly recommend it. One thing I've found is that if you truly want to stay somewhere central and SAFE...you may have to expand your budget. I found early on that our budget of 150 pounds per night was just not going to cut it for a flat for 4...and when we expanded to 200 a night, so much more became available to us. Also, we booked early March for our July 18th arrival date and found many of our desired flats taken already. I'd book soon! Good luck with your search!