Apartments ★★★
Rental flats and short-term tourist lets of apartments in London can offer substantial savings, especially for four or more
An apartment is called a flat in Britain, and if you want more privacy, more space, or simply to play house during your London sojourn, you can call one home for often surprisingly low rates.
London has a staggering number of short-term apartments for rent to tourists—nearly 1,200 in Central London alone, spread throughout every neighborhood, some 700 of which charge £90 ($150) or less per night.
Contrary to popular misconception, apartments are often available for as short a period as a single night—though many do require a 2-night or 3-night minimum stay.
How much does a London rental flat cost?
Prices can vary wildly, but you can get an apartment for as little as £35 per night—not kidding.
That said, the average cost is more around £80 to £220 for a studio or one-bedroom—still a better bargain than hotels, plus you get your own kitchen and a homier feel. (There is also often a token cleaning fee of £10 to £45.)
What kind of apartments are there in London?
Many short-term flats are "serviced" to some degree (a maid will clean so many times a week); others are "unserviced" ("Here are the keys. Lock up when you leave.").
Some are one or two apartments to rent by a private owner. Some are the apartments of local folks who're on vacation themselves or who live elsewhere for long periods; many are permanent short-let flats owned by absentee landlords and rented via agencies.
Others are small rental firms that represent several flats—in one building, around a neighborhood, or across all of London.
Still others are Aparthotels or Residence hotels—more like an all-suite hotel of efficiencies and studios, each with a kitchenette. Residences are a kind of hybrid of an apartment and a proper hotel, often offering some degree of maid service and a front desk offering concierge-like services (and sometimes amenitied to the teeth with business centers, health spas, and the like)—but still a terrific savings over a hotel.
Reids List
A Kensington Hotel with remarkably inexpensive apartments and an amazing Penthouse flat
Luxury apartments 100 meters from St. Paul's Cathedral
Your own modern London flat overlooking the Tower of London and the Thames River
Modern serviced flats in Greenwich, London
- Homeaway.com - So many places it doesn't even bother listing rentals past the first 5,000—and that's just in London.Partner
- Vrbo.com -
VRBO stands for "Vacation Rentals By Owner," a worldwide virtual classifieds section devoted to villas, apartments, cottages, houses, and other places to lay your head fromas little as $400 per week in England. There are a stunning 33,761 properties available in England, 4,896 in Scotland, and 5,123 in Wales.
Though designed to allow villa and vacation home owners to rent to the public directly—ostensibly cutting out the extra costs involved in working through a middle-man rental agency—in my experience plenty of small-fry local rental agencies use it as well (not that there's anything wrong with renting through those folks; just wanted to let you know that not every property listed is truly direct from the owner).
Partner - Booking.com - More than 10,800 apartments across the United Kingdom, including more than 4,300 in London.Partner
- Rentalo.com - Another sizeable database for one-stop shopping, with more than 2,600 properties across the U.K. They also handle everything from standard hotels to B&Bs, agriturism, and even castles.Partner
- Hotels.com - Good generalist booking engine with plenty of "Apartments" options in the filter screens for each destination.Partner
- Interhomeusa.com - 966 rentals in the U.K., of which 212 in London. Partner
- Villasintl.com - Around 770 rental homes and flats of all sizes across the U.K., mostly in England (561 in London) with about 100 in Scotland.
- Belvilla.com - 386 holiday cottages across the U.K., inlcuding 15 flats and homes in London.Partner
- Airbnb.com - Tens of thousands of listings—but caveat emptor. Anyone can post a listing, so trust only the ones with lots of reviews.
- Booking.com - More than 120 residence hotels, aparthotels, condo hotels, and townhouse suites in the U.K.Partner
- Hotels.comPartner
- Adagio-city.com - More than 290 residence hotels all across the United Kingdom.Partner
- Sacoapartments.com - Some 80,000 serviced flats in 160 locations around the world, including in 95 cities and town across in the U.K.
- Staybridge.com - Staybridge Suites condos from London to Liverpool, Birmingham to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.Partner
- Gonative.com - 20 serviced flats in London, and partnerships with aparthotels in other UK cities.
» More about Apartments in England
General info about Apartments in England
There are dozens of hotel alternatives, from London flats to country cottages, farmhouse B&Bs to university dorms, rental rooms to residences, and campgrounds to castles. Here's how to find the lot of them.
