London - Hammersmith?

The Borough of Hammersmith is a diverse neighborhood in W. London. a.k.a the West End, home to some of London's biggest theatre venues. No need to fret about safety. Ride the tube to the "touristy" sites. 20 minutes. Here, read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammersmith
http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/904/london-by-area BTW London has the most CCTV cameras than any city on the planet. Big Brother, Scotland Yard, MI-5 are watching.

And the compensation he is offering is ...?

I agree with Nigel. Stand firm for some compensation. Hammersmith is fine, but it's not as central as the Tower.
From the Tower area you can walk to plenty of the things you'll probably want to see; whereas from Hammersmith, you'll be using transport.

Claudia is wrong about where Hammersmith is (sorry Claudia!) The West End is the western part of central London. West London is a different thing entirely. Hammersmith is a nice enough area in itself but it is quite a bit further out than the Tower area. For example Hammersmith tube station to Piccadilly Circus is ten stations and requires a change at South Kensington. The average gap between tube stations is 3 minutes, with those in the centre being closer together, but you are still looking at around 30 minutes travel in and out of the centre. Similarly, Tower Hill to St Pancras (for the train to Paris) is 5 stations while Hammersmith is 12. I agree with those who would ask for compensation. Have a good trip anyway. Alan

@Alan wrong about transport time or safety? Curious. Must admit didn't even think about the compensation issue.
Kudos to Nigel for bringing it up. Start looking on the airbnb website if you feel staying in Hammersmith won't work for you AND make certain you get a refund. If that doesn't happen let us know who this landlord/travel planner guru is so we can avoid him.

Hi Claudia, I think he meant, and I'm sorry to say I agree, that Hammersmith is not in the West End. It most definitely is in West London. Maybe the landlord cancelled the first property when he heard "chunnel"? Really though, Tower Hamlets and Hammersmith are pretty far apart. I hope that the landlord is genuine.

Be careful and make sure this guy is not a scammer. How did you find the rental?

We originally found him through vrbo.com. Why would he cancel for "chunnel"? He claims this is a better apartment, and did offer a full refund. I'm not sure what to think!

@Nigel, thanks for explaining my gaffe. Sara, over the years there has been debate about the Eurostar from London to Paris. Claims of the term Chunnel as disrespectful and a sure sign you're an American. Frankly if you referenced the train as the Chunnel in London very few would have a clue what you were talking about. BTW unless this guy is giving you full compensation I'd start checking the airbnb website for another place to stay.
Even though I don't consider Hammersmith that far out for your first trip staying closer would probably be best. Good Luck!

It also set off my scam alarm bells... the whole switcheroo. Location wise it isn't better... be interesting to see how it compares with what's in it... was it also listed on VRBO? And, makes you wonder why it would have still been available...

I must admit, the situation raised red flags to me simply because "bait and switch" is often a tactic used by unscrupulous landlords. Hammersmith isn't a bad location ... just not as centrally located. I worked in an office building in Hammersmith for a few months and I felt perfectly safe in the area. Did he give you the address of the flat? The main thing that I'd want to check is to see if it is reasonably closed to the tube station but not somewhere noisy like by the A4 flyover. The #9 bus goes through Hammersmith and is pretty convenient for getting into Central London.

He already knows we're American; that's no secret. We spoke on the phone and via email. Here's the link to the original apartment details: http://www.centrallondonholidayapartment.co.uk/faq.html and here's the new one he's offering: http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p477059 and here's the original vrbo posting where we found it: http://www.vrbo.com/334977

Sara, I actually prefer your new location in Hammersmith to the old location by the Shadwell DLR. I think it is a decent location and I actually think you have better transportation options right near you than you would have had in the other location. Hammersmith is on the Piccadilly line, the District line, and the Hammersmith and City line so you can get many places in London without changing lines. Also, check the bus route for the #9 bus which I think will be quite useful for you. Sometimes they run the old "routemaster" (old-fashioned double decker) bus on this route. The bus runs down Kensington High Street, past Green Park, and on to Trafalgar Square. The flat looks to be right by King Street which has lots of shops and restaurants. I think it looks fine.

You should find out how close the apartment is to Public Transport (particularly the Tube). Hammersmith tube station has Piccadilly Line (takes you right into th west End), District Line and also the "new" Hammersmith and City line. However, it is further out than is convenient for the tourist sites (a couple of stops past Earls Court).
The stretch along the thames is quite scenic and nice to spend some time, but not on a short first visit

Double check that the owner is legit. The phone numbers are different, but if one guy is acting as a property manager for someone else's apartment, I suppose that's possible. One site lists a name, but no photo, and the other has a photo and no name. Does this guy have other properties? Further research is required.

Update - I spoke with the new manager, and she seems nice. We had just adjusted to staying in the new place. On the advice here, I did email him and ask for some sort of compensation, citing the longer travel times, and the (100 pound) difference in price between the two apartments. Now he is saying they may have the original one repaired in time. He is supposed to let us know by tomorrow which one we will be staying in. I will definitely be examining that bathroom if we stay in the first one!

They sound completely shady. I hope they do the right thing!!