Staying a while? Where to base yourself in London

On a long stay the dull things decide whether a neighbourhood works: a supermarket within walking distance, a park where children can run, a street that goes still at night and a flat with a second bathroom. On those tests Kensington wins, Marylebone is a close second, and Chelsea suits couples more than families.

Kensington: most room, most green

Of the areas we list, Kensington has the most family-sized flats. Most of its thirty-odd residences do three bedrooms, around ten go to four or more, and prices start at about £175 a night.

Kensington Gardens is basically the local back garden. The Diana Memorial Playground has reopened after a multi-million-pound renewal, and Kensington Palace sits at the western edge. Further west, Holland Park has the Kyoto Garden and a lot fewer tourists.

For the weekly shop, Whole Foods fills the old Barkers department store on Kensington High Street. The streets round Edwardes Square and Kensington Court are conservation areas, residential and mostly silent by late evening, which is what you want when the children go to bed at seven. Transport is good too, with several Tube and rail lines close by, from the District and Circle at High Street Kensington to the Central line along the northern edge, so school-holiday trips across town rarely need more than one change.

Marylebone: a village in the middle of town

If one parent's working in the West End or the City, pick Marylebone. Plenty of Tube lines are within a short walk, the Elizabeth line at Bond Street among them, so the commute's short whichever way it runs.

Errands are easy. Waitrose is on Marylebone High Street, the farmers' market fills the Cramer Street car park on Sunday mornings, and Regent's Park, with open lawns and playgrounds, is about ten minutes north. Paddington Street Gardens is small but fine for a run-around before breakfast. About half the Marylebone residences do three bedrooms, and the area's starting prices are the lowest of the central areas covered here.

On a wet afternoon the Wallace Collection on Manchester Square is free, and its rooms of arms and armour hold children's attention longer than you'd think.

Chelsea and Mayfair

Chelsea is lovely for a couple on a long stay. Royal Avenue and Dovehouse Green are small green spaces off the King's Road, there's a Waitrose on the King's Road too, and the Chelsea Physic Garden is a walled garden by the river for an unhurried hour. But only one of the Chelsea residences does three bedrooms, so bigger families run out of options fast.

Mayfair suits a long business stay better than a family one. There's no shortage of places to eat near a typical residence, but they're mostly restaurants rather than grocers, and weekday errands mean a walk up to Oxford Street or across to Marylebone. Mount Street Gardens and Green Park are the local green spaces. If work means Mayfair and the children are with you, look at the bigger flats, since a fair few residences there do three bedrooms.

Big flats are a small slice of what's available, so for school holidays book early and ask each residence about a long-stay rate. Listings rarely answer the questions that decide whether a month goes smoothly, so put these to the residence before you commit:

• A lift: only about half the residences have one, which matters with a pushchair.
• Laundry: fewer than a third list laundry facilities, so confirm there's a washing machine in the flat.
• Housekeeping: how often it comes and whether it's included, since only a minority offer maid service.
• Pets: only around one residence in five takes them.
• Air conditioning: roughly half have it, and a July heatwave in a top-floor flat is grim without it.
• Minimum stay and monthly rates: a few residences won't take anything under four weeks.