Neighborhoods in London

As it has often been stated here and on other borads, London's sights are not clustered in any one area. As long as your rental is near a tube station (or bus stop) you will be able to get to what you want to see/do. It will be especialy convienent if you are inside the 'circle line' of the tube. You might want to check out the London School of Economics. They rent spare dorm rooms and apartments to tourists. The LSE Top Floor website (www.lsetopfloor.co.uk/) is where you can checkout and rent the apartments. They have multiple central London locations.
When we were taking our kids, we used Citadines (http://www.citadines.com/uk/london/holborn_covent_garden.html). they are a 'serviced apart-hotel'- sort of a hotel like apartment. They don't make your beds or clean everyday, but there is a staffed front desk, good security, etc.; and they do change sheets and do some cleaning if you are there for a longer stay. They also have multiple central locations. We stayed at the Covent Garden/High Holborn location.

I think that where is not as important and how big. Like, is it big enough for Andrea & Jim to stay there with us? ;-)

First time visit? Budget? Neighborhoods such as Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Kensington, S. Kensington, Chelsa are close to a lot of sights but pricey. The reality is with tube and bus transit and clustered sights (the Eye, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Horse Guards, and Buckingham Palace are blocks from one another) you'll have easy access and can stay in less costlier areas. Also a very walkable city. On many visits enjoyed the vibrant Bayswater neighborhood and stayed at the clean, fairly priced, safe Vancouver Studio Apartments. Liked having two tube stops to chose from, a variety of restaurants and cafes to enjoy, a nice pub close by, and early morning strolls in and around Hyde Park. Via airbnb.com I've since found a stellar accommodation in the Camden Town area and that is now my go to place to stay. Bit of aways from the city center but I'm fine with that. For a first time visit consider Bayswater, Earl's Court even Marylebone. This link to Timeout magazine overview of neighborhoods is good: http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/904/london-by-area
So is Frommer's: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london/0055027611.html GREAT city. Have a wonderful time.

Thanks for the help! Yes, budget is a big concern for us. I keep going to other countries because it feels impossible to do London/England/Scotland on a budget. But, I'm trying to stay optimistic that there are ways around it like finding a cheaper flat. Some on airbnb seem too good to be true. I guess as I search more I'll find out. And Andrea, of course we are all staying together. I was just just doing research for us both!

Actually, since Andrea mentioned there will be 4, it brings up an issue we ran into. If an apt. ad says it sleeps 4, make sure they mean 4 adults. We rented an apt that listed it slept 4 but 2 of them would have to have been really small. Like under 10.

Big fan of airbnb and the two places I secured for my London stays were great! Simply be CERTAIN the places are within the Underground Travel Zones 1 & 2.

Check out two B&B networks - At Home in London and London Home to Home. My daughter and I have used both; they have a range of rates depending on the amenities and location of each home, and I really enjoyed talking with our hostesses. Our first stay was out in Chiswick which became a problem for us - too many late nights at the theater! So the second time we stayed closer in. London may seem expensive but there are so many wonderful free museums and discounts that your overall cost may not be as high as you fear. Have a wonderful time!

We have rented this place near the British Museum and the St. Pancras train station in order to simplify our later trip to Paris. http://www.vrbo.com/270611 It looks to be in a good area and relatively inexpensive.

Susan and Monte, my wife and I just returned from London in June (our first visit) and we rented a flat through VRBO.com. We were there 4 nights, and the flat was located at Tower Hill, just across from the Tower of London and steps from Tower Hill tube station. It was a great choice. With the efficiency of the tube in London, you don't need to stay in Westminster or even the West End to have easy access to the areas most visitors are interested in. If you are interested, message me and I can provide you specific details on the flat we rented. Otherwise, my point is simply that you don't have to stay right in the heart of the action to have easy access to the sights most likely on your checklist. In our case, staying east of the main sights (but right near the Tower) worked out very well.