bluewater

My husband and I are planning a three week stay in London.
Instead of being cramped up in a hotel we intend to rent an apartmant.
I would like to be in a residential neighborhood versus a major tourist area but at the same time I want to be very close to the tube, nice restaurants and a good local pub.
Any cozy neighborhoods in the middle of such a big city?
I have found tons of vacation rentals through homefromhome.com.co and londontown.com.

Scarlett

Our flat was in South Kensington. We loved it there, off Brompton Rd, near the V&A, many lovely shops, restaurants and the Tube station.

janis

There are a lot of neighborhoods that would fill your needs. But probably the best would be South Kensington (near the V&A), Bloomsbury (near the British Museum), or Pimlico/Victoria (near the river and Buckingham Palace)

Any of these areas would be VERY good for amenities, transport connections, and sightseeing.

elaine

I was going to say South Ken. or Chelsea. Chelsea doesn't have great tube connections, but it is a lovely neighborhood.

kaudrey

Hi,

We stayed at an apartment called Chiltern Court. It is on Baker Street and practically on top of the Baker St. Tube stop (Marylebone area). I loved the area - lots of restaurants, a nice pub right across the street, and the apartment was wonderful. If you do a google search, Chiltern Court has a website.

Karen

Kate_W

South Kensington probably is the nicest neighbourhood that is convenient to attractions. (Note that the further West you go - eg Earl's Court - the more downmarket you go.) The only downside about South Kensington is that it's so posh it's almost unreal (it is a residential neighbourhood, but it's full of American and French expats).
I also agree with kaudrey about the area near Baker St (south and east). The neighbourhood is called Marylebone, and it's has attractive Georgian low-mid-rise flats (it's where the Harley St doctors are located). I used to live there. The next neighbourhood to the East (Fitrovia) is also a good one (a little more commercial), and then the next one East is Bloomsbury (already recommended). Bloomsbury is a university district (so it has good cafes and people on the streets at all hours), but it also has some big tourist hotels and some ugly functional architecture (but don't let this put you off, if the price is right). One other difference to consider between the SW of the Park (Kensington, Chelsea etc) locations and those NE of the Park (Marylebone, Mayfair, Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury) is what you like to do. Lots of museums, shopping and the riverfront on the SW side. Better access to theatres and clubs on the NE side. Cabs are terribly expensive - and you'd be able to walk to the theatre from Marylebone-Bloomsbury.

Other trendy neighbourhoods are Notting Hill and Holland Park(NW of the Park), and Regent's Park (N, not S of Regent's Park), Hamstead, Camden, Angel. (The latter group is fairly far North - so I wouldn't recommend them. The former group is quite trendy, but there are some dodgy areas on the fringes of these neighbourhoods, so you want to be careful but exactly where you're staying.)

Alexis823

When we were in London, we stayed at a hotel in Mayfair. We loved the neighborhood. It felt very cozy and English! It was also convenient to restaurants, public transportation, etc.

Tsali

Karen,
When you reserved Chiltern Court did you go through the Foxton Agency? Their website for Chiltern court was the first one to pop up on google so I went to the site and Foxton has a ton of nice and inexpensive flats. I was just curious if that was who you dealt with and what the experience was.

Thanks, Tsali

kaudrey

Hi Tsali,

No, I didn't use an agency. Actually, it was arranged by my sister's company because she was there for 2 months on business, but while we were there the doorman told us that they rent out flats for shorter periods.

The flats that I saw at Chiltern all had pretty big bathrooms, nice size bedrooms and kitchens...it has one tiny elevator that holds about 3 people, maybe 4 if you don't have luggage. I can't seem to find their direct website either...if you really want it, let me know. I can email my sister to get it.

Karen

Tsali

Hi Karen,

No don't worry about getting the info from your sister. I am still just looking around at all the options, but appreciate your offer.

Tsali