Sites specific to accessible apartment rentals in London?

October 8, 2015 5:30 AM

I need to rent a wheel-chair accessible apartment for 3 people starting Saturday, somewhere near to or very accessible to the Kings College Hospital in Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London. I am in the US and know about airbnb and homeaway, but are there other sites that are either UK specific or focused on serving people making hospital visits? Given I need to make a speedy booking, looking to widen my search options as much as possible.
posted by darsh to Travel & Transportation around London, England (7 answers total)

I spent a lot of time looking for an accessible rental for my parents in London earlier this year. Unfortunately I was unable to find any good way to do this, and I found that the airbnb apartments listed as 'accessible' were usually nothing of the sort (stairs and clawfoot tubs everywhere!). We ended up getting a hotel room just because it is at least possible to search for accessible hotel rooms online.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 5:48 AM on October 8, 2015

And just in case you haven't seen it: the hospital does provide this list of nearby accommodation, but doesn't specify accessibility in most cases (The Holiday Inn Express definitely has accessible rooms or suites, at least). Perhaps you could contact the accommodation manager mentioned and ask for help?
posted by the agents of KAOS at 5:53 AM on October 8, 2015

I work in Denmark Hill and with the advent of the overground line linking the station into the Underground network, Camberwell is now pretty easy to get to from other places in London.

Don't feel the need to tie yourself to Camberwell if you're struggling to find somewhere. How long are you prepared to travel for?
posted by fatfrank at 6:11 AM on October 8, 2015

Do contact the accommodation manager listed above - lots of patients travel to Kings from overseas for liver workup, they're pretty used to this question.

I would look at Southbank/Elephant and Castle/Waterloo if you can't find anything in Camberwell itself - they have a lot of chain hotels, and it's really easy to get to Denmark Hill on the bus or train from those areas. I generally get the bus unless I'm literally outside Blackfriars station.

Buses are all accessible, and you can call ahead to book assistance on the train services (the stations all have lifts but you'll need a hand with the ramp into the train carriage itself). I'd allow 45mins to get between Kings and those areas - it can be as quick as 15mins on the train but it's best to allow extra time.
posted by tinkletown at 6:40 AM on October 8, 2015

I believe something like half of the Overground stations don't have lifts/step-free access - in theory they will arrange transport from any inaccessible station to an accessible one, but I've no idea how well that works (listing of accessible stations and available assistance). The Underground is mostly inaccessible but you can plan some routes on it.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 7:57 AM on October 8, 2015

Transport For All has excellent resources for planning to get around London with accessibility concerns.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 7:59 AM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

https://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ seems to be one of the biggest apartment renting sites in the UK. They do have accessibility info on each page, but don't seem to have it as a filter.
posted by kjs4 at 3:50 PM on October 8, 2015