Short term flat rental in London?

August 10, 2010 1:58 PM

Looking for a short-term flat rental in London. One month, probably. Has anyone had a good experience with a particular vacation rental company or have any other advice?

My stay will be one month, possibly two months. Just need a studio somewhere central. Simplicity is what I'm after as I'm not going to have a lot of time to look around once I'm there (a few days at most). I've lived in London so am familiar with the city. Thanks!

posted by meerkatty to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

Have you checked Gumtree?
posted by elsietheeel at 2:19 PM on August 10, 2010

http://www.airbnb.com/

I haven't used it but it seems open to many versions of self rented spaces, searched it for a planned trip and found lots of options.
posted by Freedomboy at 2:57 PM on August 10, 2010

I had very good success with Roomarama for a short-term stay. The nice feature of using them is that your money is held in escrow until you've ascertained that the flat is as expected. Once approved, you give the landlord/owner a code and then they get paid.
posted by qwip at 3:20 PM on August 10, 2010

I've heard good things about Grosvenor House Studios on Drury Lane.
posted by hot soup girl at 3:36 PM on August 10, 2010

I have had a lot of success with Homeaway.com. Most of the listings are for weekly deals, but I am sure that you could potentially negotiate a deal for something on a montly basis.
posted by elkerette at 5:33 PM on August 10, 2010

When we first moved to London we went with accommodation london for six months and they were decent, although the flats were way tinier that what we were used to in Australia (but now after six years in London, tiny flats are normal).
posted by goo at 6:41 PM on August 10, 2010

Moveflat listings labelled as "SHORT LET" are something else you can look into.
posted by asymptotic at 4:09 AM on August 11, 2010

If you try Gumtree, never ever ever pay money for a flat you haven't seen. This is a common scam that targets people unfamiliar with the UK rental system.
posted by mippy at 5:10 AM on August 11, 2010

I used ApartmentsApart when staying in London (Camden Town) and was really pleased; however, my visit was quite a bit shorter than yours, so the prices might be high for a whole month's stay.
posted by neushoorn at 5:39 AM on August 11, 2010

Thanks everyone. I try to avoid Gumtree like the plague - have never had a good experience with it for any kind of flat rental. The other suggestions are great - I'll take a good look and report back with what I end up going with.
posted by meerkatty at 9:08 AM on August 11, 2010