London guides
Two days, three good meals and one evening off
Mayfair, Knightsbridge or Marylebone, and how to keep a low profile
A private London stay, without a lobby full of strangers
Staying on after the meetings: a London long weekend
A month in Kensington: how the locals actually live
On a long work posting? Get the routine right early
Your first London trip: choose the walk home, not the view
Booking for a CEO? Plan the landing before the apartment
Where to stay in London if you're LGBTQ+: near the bars, or a Tube ride off?
Founders in town: pick the neighbourhood before the building
Travelling alone as a woman in London: why the apartment matters
Booking a serious London apartment: what we'd tell a friend
It's usually the dining table: why executives skip the hotel suite
Staying a month? Here's why a flat beats a hotel
Booking for someone senior? Send these questions first
A weekend in a London flat: where to stay and what to sort first
Stay in a stable, a mansion block or a listed townhouse
Somewhere bigger than a suite: London's other places to stay
Who gets in, who's watching, and where your passport goes
Staying a month or more? Pick the commute first
Chelsea: pick your end of the King's Road first
Central London on foot: where to stay if you'd rather walk
First time in a serviced apartment? Here's how it actually goes
May or September, mostly. But it depends what you're coming for
Covent Garden, Mayfair or Kensington? It depends on your evenings
Staying a while? Where to base yourself in London
Serviced accommodation: one phrase, two meanings
Mayfair, from Curzon Street outwards
Chelsea is a walk, top to bottom. Here's the route
There's a lot more to Knightsbridge than Harrods
Open every cupboard: what your flat should come with
Where to stay in London depends on why you're going
Ignore the photos and read the listing
Two days in central London with friends (book these bits first)
Three days in London, without crossing town twice a day
Walking London in winter (and beating the dark home)
Aparthotel or serviced apartment? Here's how to tell
Where London's starred restaurants actually are
Stuck for a present? Give them a London experience
The free collections, the big shows, and when to go
Book by Wednesday: seven Sunday roasts worth the effort
Where to eat Japanese in London, depending on the night you want
Ten things that make London worth the trip
Where to picnic in London when Hyde Park's heaving
London's royal year, and where to stand for it
Lunch after the park: where to eat on the edge of the green
When London's spring flowers are worth the trip
Where to buy cake in London (and get it back to the flat)
Eating well in London (and still eating out)
How to make a rented London flat feel like Christmas
Booking the Christmas party? Get the room sorted first
October's wet. Eat well anyway.
Aim for October, and bring a proper coat
The Italian restaurants in London that are worth booking
Where to go for a really good Chinese dinner in London
Seats, prices and pillars: booking the West End properly
How many of you? London's best private rooms, by head count
Kensington, starting from the High Street
Where to eat in London when the view matters
Two nights in town, four fewer train rides
Get next year's London trips into one calendar before January
The case for Christmas in a flat, not a hotel
Get outside: what to do in London this autumn
Watch London from the sofa, then go and see it late
The flat is your office this week. Check these first
Four London walks worth doing from your front door
The 2020 habits that stuck, and why they suit London
Pelicans at half two, and other wild things near the West End
Five people, one flat, one week: how to get through it
Where to buy, taste and make chocolate in London
London in spring: what each month is like, and what to book
January in London: resolutions you might actually keep
Buying Christmas decorations in London (and a tree you don't have to put up)
Where to watch the fireworks on Bonfire Night (book first)
Christmas Day is the hard one. Book it first
Studio, two-bed or a whole mews house?
Autumn is when London theatre gets serious
Booking an apartment for your boss? Check these first
Forget the muddy field: London does festivals better
Done the London Eye? Here's what the kids will actually remember
A month or more in a London apartment: sort the boring stuff first
Light till nine, and a calendar nowhere else can match
What you're actually paying the 'service' for
Moving to London for work? Don't sign a lease in week one
What's on in London in spring, and what to book early
What a CEO actually needs from a London stay
Where to get warm when London turns grey
Where to go for a spa day in London
Fashion week without living in the back of a cab
The London weeks to avoid (or book early for)
London at Christmas: what to book and what to skip
Three or four nights in London: how to plan them
Your travel policy probably doesn't cover apartments yet
Booking a family trip to London? Ask these six things first
Cooking in your London apartment? Here's where to shop
Tap in, walk more: how to get around London
The big birthday, the family wedding: where to put everyone
London's museums, sorted by what you actually like
Hands-on or left alone? Picking your level of service
Getting a table at London's Michelin-starred restaurants
Airbnb or a serviced apartment? Start with who answers the phone
Holiday let or serviced apartment? Think about day four
Sending a team to London? Book the flat, not the rooms
What a London concierge can actually get you, and what it can't
Two weeks or longer? That's when a flat pulls ahead
Why ask the residence direct?
Booking sites charge the residence a commission on every night. Ask direct and there is none, so the residence has room to move: unpublished specials, a better rate for longer stays, breakfast, flexible check-in and check-out, and sometimes help with theatre or restaurant bookings.
| Booking sites | Direct via London Residency | |
|---|---|---|
| Who replies | The platform | The residence's own reservations team |
| Commission | Paid by the residence to the platform | None |
| Extras | Rarely negotiable | Ask for early check-in, late check-out, upgrades or long-stay rates |
| Fee to you | Sometimes a service fee | None |