Why it’s Hard To Find Great Apartments in London For Your Vacation in London

 London is a unique city due to its popularity as both a historic travel destination and a global financial center.  There is high demand for apartments in the center of London for bankers, who have bid up rental prices for nice apartments. Owners became spoiled, realizing that they could charge high rents without having to maintain the apartments properly.  Times have started to change, but owners remain spoiled by long term rental prices. 

We continually search for nice apartments to represent and manage for our guests, but most apartments are simply not up to our standards in terms of maintenance or furnishings. When owners contact us to represent their apartments, we are often disappointed by the furnishings and maintenance:  drab paint, sagging furniture, un-remodeled bathrooms and kitchens.  Sometimes, we’ll find Aunt Bessie’s furniture stacked on landings and hallways, or owner’s personal paperwork in desks.  We have discussions with owners to suggest replacing worn out sofas and beds, only to be told that putting a throw over the sofa or an extra mattress topper will hide the stains.  We gently suggest that a good clean out will improve the rent- ability and appearance of the apartment – but our advice often falls on deaf ears.  In most cases, we say thank you and politely refuse to take it on.

Some agencies may take on the apartment anyway, but our philosophy is that if we wouldn’t sleep in the apartment or sit on the sofas ourselves, we wouldn’t want our guests to do so either.

 The demand for long term rentals has caused an odd practice in London that we discovered.  Some agencies have fluid inventory.  An agency will take a booking for an apartment but if the owner finds a long term renter at a high price, they’ll walk away from their short term rentals.  The agency scrambles to find another apartment to offer guests.  Generally the apartments are fine, but it’s upsetting for guests to think they rented one apartment only to find they actually get another.  Our philosophy is that we will only rent an apartment if we are sure it is available, no switching.  Yes, sometimes a rare problem can occur, such as building works in the apartment next door or a major leak, but these are fortunately rare …. and we have always been up front and found a replacement that we think is as nice or nicer than the one we rented. But if we rent you an apartment such as the Cornwall or Queen's Gate loft studio or other, that is exactly the apartment you will get.

Since our selection is limited we invested considerable time searching for excellent apartment  options for guests, quality serviced apartments that offer good value and great central London locations. Beautiful apartments and no surprises when you walk into your apartment door!  We hope to either welcome you at one of the apartments we manage personally or help you experience a wonderful London vacation at one of the apartments we offer here.