Self Catering Accommodation in London

crazyvish

Dear All,

Please could someone advise me of a decent and cheap self-catering accommodation in London?

I am planning to take my parents to visit London for the first time, along with my wife and 2yr old kid. I have heard university apartments are good & cheap but no idea which ones do summer stays in June. I've tried googling but didn't gather much information so I am here for some help from the MSE forumites

Here is my search criteria:

- 2 double beds
- Fully fitted kitchen
- Ground or first floor (else a lift)
- Space to park car
- Don't have to be too close to central london as I can drive to and back to the holiday spots (London Eye, Madam Tussauds, Tower of London, Buckhingham Palace, Neasden etc . . )
- 3 nights starting Fri or Sat
- 2nd or 4th week of June

Thanks all in advance for your time.

p00hsticks

crazyvish wrote: »

Dear All,
- Don't have to be too close to central london as I can drive to and back to the holiday spots (London Eye, Madam Tussauds, Tower of London, Buckhingham Palace, Neasden etc . . )

Is it absolutely essential that you drive ? Is it your first time in London or just your parents ? I'm reasonably familiar with the city - we go for a week long break every year - but I've never driven, and I have a feeling that - depending on your definition of "decent and cheap" you might be asking for the moon on a stick here... and you;re certainly being rather naive if you think that you can just drive to and park up at places like the Eye and the Tower.

The money you'll save on a daily congestion charge and rental for a parking space is likely to cover the cost of taxis if the idea of public transport is too much (but that's half the fun of a visit to London!)

susancs

This site does student holiday accomodation.
http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/

I think the student holiday accomodation is not available until July so may be not much use for you. They are central London so usually don't have parking. You could look at hostels as they often have kitchens, but again they may not have parking. An alternative you may like to consider may be parking outside of London at a tube/train station to get the train in and leaving the car whilst on your short break.

http://www.brunelconferenceservices....accommodation/
Brunel Uni in Uxbridge does summer holiday apartments and has parking. The tube station is a mile away or you could drive and park up at the station.

You could also look at holidaylettings website for apartments that will sleep 4-5. Most require a 4 day minimum stay
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/london/

Hostel accomodation:
http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/england/london/
Look on Tripadvisor for reviews.

For a short break in London it is usaully best to avoid Saturday nights as these really bump up the accomodation rates, unless you book well in advance when there are special offers or sales on. Holidays starting Sunday nights often work out cheaper.

As poohsticks has said a car in central London on a short break really cuts down on your accomodation options and you will have high parking costs and congestion charges to consider.

charlearose

try the website airnb ( just google it )
they often have some really good deals You either rent a room or someone house for the time that you want so it might be better for you especially if you want to drive as you might find that someone house would have either parking or a permit system
Its a really good site and you will find that you have a lot of stuff like free wifi, use of owners bikes, ect I've used it when traveling around australia and had no problems with it at all


this is all the two bed flats /houses for rent on the 15 june fri sat sun


https://www.airbnb.co.uk/s/London--United-Kingdom?checkin=14-06-2013&checkout=17-06-2013&guests=4&min_bedrooms=2


and all of these have free parking

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/s/London--United-Kingdom?checkin=14-06-2013&checkout=17-06-2013&guests=4&min_bedrooms=2&hosting_amenities%5B%5D=9&room_types%5B%5D=Entire+home%2Fapt

crazyvish

Thank you p00hsticks and susancs for your comments and suggestions. I myself have been to London before but did not drive around. The reason I wanted to drive was to make life easier for my parents, carry the buggy and baby food. Considering the costs for congestion charges and parking, I do prefer to avoid taking my car into the city.

susancs, I'll take a look at the websites suggested, Cheers
p00hsticks, any suggestions if I don't take my car into the city?

susancs

crazyvish wrote: »

Thank you p00hsticks and susancs for your comments and suggestions. I myself have been to London before but did not drive around. The reason I wanted to drive was to make life easier for my parents, carry the buggy and baby food. Considering the costs for congestion charges and parking, I do prefer to avoid taking my car into the city.

susancs, I'll take a look at the websites suggested, Cheers
p00hsticks, any suggestions if I don't take my car into the city?

The tube is a far easier option as quicker, takes you to just beside many of the attractions, rather than the hassle of being stuck in traffic, struggling to find a parking space in a car park and then the walk to the attraction from there. Sundays are early morning are the only times you can find parking. I see in your orginal post that you mention Neasden which is not central London, it will be cheaper to look for accomodation around that area and get the tube in. It is a shame that you need a kitchen as the Travelodges in Park Royal and Cricklewood often have cheap family rooms (you would need two) at £15 per night when the sale is on. They also have parking(think Park Royal uou have to pay £5 for ).

p00hsticks

With a buggy, and the sights you mention, I'd consider getting around via the river for at least one day - a Thames clipper river roamer is £15 for an adult (and you can get a two for one offer if you have train tickets) and gives you unlimited travel on the clipper services up and down the Thames for the day. You could go from the Eye to the Tower, and then on to Greenwich and beyond. and the boat piers are much easier to negotiate with a buggy than most tube stations, which usually have at least one flight of steps.

We've spent the whole day just going up and down the river before now!

Sorry, I can't suggest any accommodation with a kitchen - we normally just stay in a Travelodge.

Missm

I used think apartments before, they were good and cheap (and they possibly had parking?)

I think there are a few dotted around London