Part of the Love and London mission is to show our community of London tourists how to visit the city in a way that makes a positive impact, because when we travel, spending our money in positive ways is one of the best things we can and should do. With that in mind, you might have already read my article about Why I Don’t Recommend Using Airbnb in London. In it, I mentioned some alternatives, one of which is choosing apart-hotels in London.
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*This article was originally published in February 2021, and was updated in June 2022
What’s an apart-hotel?
An apart-hotel is essentially a mix of a hotel room and an Airbnb stay. You book by the room or the flat, and generally you’ll have, in the least, a kitchenette, dining table, and a living room area along with your sleeping area.
Most properties will do daily or weekly cleaning and you’ll usually have access to staff that can answer questions, hold onto your bags after check out, and help you with things like booking a taxi and finding a late-night spot to grab dinner.
In my opinion, they are a great compromise for when you’re skipping Airbnbs, and as long as there’s a kitchenette and living area with a sofa, that’s all I personally need. I mean, you ARE in London, you might want to have a meal or two in, but you won’t want to spend too much time in your little apartment.
Below are some of the best apart-hotels in London to book into.
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Image Courtesy of Cheval ResidencesCheval Residences – Kensington, Chelsea and Tower Hill
Cheval is a luxury brand that has a portfolio of apart-hotel properties around London and throughout the UK. You’ll find most of their properties around the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, but they’re also near St. Paul’s and their Three Quays location has incredible views of the River Thames, Tower Bridge and The Shard.
Stay in one of the Cheval Residences’s apartments or townhouses (yes, I said townhouses) and you’ll have high-end amenities like a 24-hour reception desk, a fully equipped kitchen, fitness centre, daily cleaning, pet services, and more.
Cheval apartments are child-friendly and you can easily book a spacious flat, penthouse apartment or townhouse for up to six people. Additionally, if you want to book a stay for 90+ days, they have special options for that.
I like recommending Cheval because although they are a high-end brand, I actually think their pricing is reasonable considering the space provided and what’s included. I personally would choose the Three Quays location just for its views!
£££ – ££££
Book on Expedia: Cheval Gloucester Park, Cheval Harrington Court, Cheval Thorney Court, Kensington Cheval Phoenix House, Cheval Three Quays
Book on Booking.com: Cheval Gloucester Park, Cheval Harrington Court, Cheval Thorney Court, Kensington Cheval Phoenix House, Chelsea Cheval Three Quays
Image Courtesy of LockeLocke – Dalston, Bermondsey, Mansion House, and Whitechapel
The newest additions to the London apart-hotel scene are Locke, and they’re proving to be popular with their reasonable pricing, good locations, and Instagram-worthy interior design. The hotels are also designed to be welcoming to those who want to work communally at their co-working spaces and internal coffee shops. Kingsland Locke even has its own microbrewery!
Kingsland Locke (Dalston) usually has the cheapest pricing, but I love the location for Bermonds Locke — Bermondsey.
WA, just select their Accessible room option.
££ – £££
Book on Expedia: Kingsland Locke, Dalston; Bermonds Locke, Bermondsey; Locke at Broken Wharf, Mansion House; Leman Locke, Whitechapel
Book on Booking.com: Kingsland Locke, Dalston; Bermonds Locke, Bermondsey; Locke at Broken Wharf, Mansion House; Leman Locke, Whitechapel
Image Courtesy of StayCity
StayCity – Greenwich and Covent Garden
StayCity offers mini-apartments for travelers on a budget and who don’t anticipate spending a ton of time in their rooms. You can book for up to four people (two on a sofa bed, perfect for the kids) without spending too much cash, especially when choosing their Covent Garden location, which is as central as you can get when it comes to London.
They also have a Greenwich location which is more affordable and gives you a chance to explore the lovely riverside neighbourhood. Stick to these two locations of StayCity, as they are the best in regards to booking apart-hotels in London.
££
Book on Expedia: StayCity Aparthotels, Greenwich; Wilde Aparthotels, Covent Garden (WA, select their Wild Accessible Studio)
Book on Booking.com: Staycity Aparthotels, Greenwich; Wilde Aparthotels, Covent Garden (WA, select their Wild Accessible Studio)
Citadines – Barbican, Holborn, Islington, and Trafalgar Square
Citadines is an apart-hotel brand that’s been around for a while, with properties all around the world. They’ve got seven in London, but the stand-outs are very-central Trafalgar Square and Holborn, and the ones in Barbican and Islington, where you’ll get more of a local vibe. I’d personally recommend Islington, as you’ll be very close to Camden Passage, a very cool lane (little pedestrianised street) that has lovely little shops and restaurants.
Whether you need just a studio with a kitchen or a two-bedroom apartment that can sleep six people, you’ll probably be able to find something that works for you at one of the Citadines apart-hotel locations.
££
Book on Expedia: Citadines Barbican; Citadines Holborn; Citadines Islington; Citadines Trafalgar Square
Image Courtesy of SpaceSpace Apart Hotel – Kensington
Space Apart Hotel has 30 furnished self-catering apartments in Bayswater, a great location for getting the Heathrow Express which runs in and out of Paddington, and is not far from the beautiful Hyde Park. This is probably the most affordable option on this list, just be sure to book a Premium or Triple Studio to ensure that you have a stovetop, if that’s important to you.
This apart-hotel is a bit basic (for example, cleaning is done weekly) but it seems to do the job, but read the reviews to ensure it ticks all of your boxes before you book. Also, there’s a little communal terrace on their fourth floor for guests to use as they please.
££ | Book Space Apart Hotel, Kensington
Image Courtesy of NativeNative – Bankside and Hyde Park
Native has nine modern and stylish apart-hotels all around London, and with rooms ranging from “Crash Pad” to two-bedroom apartments, you should be able to find something to suit your budget.
Location-wise, I’d probably pick Bankside, for its proximity to the Bermondsey area and connectivity to the rest of the city, or Hyde Park, which is a great jumping off point for exploring west and central London. Both are great choices for apart-hotels in London.
££ | Book Native Bankside or Native Hyde Park
Image Courtesy of room2
Room2 – Chiswick and Hammersmith
This is a recent addition to our list of London apart-hotels as room2 are fresh on the market. Room2 calls themselves a “hometel”, with incredibly stylish apartment-style rooms and suites, complete with kitchenettes, work spaces and sofas and even a terrace when you go for their biggest options. Notably, these two locations claim to be the first carbon-negative hometels in the world, and they are for sure the greenest hotel or apart-hotel options in all of London. And at the time of publishing, rates were SUPER good, especially at the Chiswick location.
££ | Book room2 Chiswick or room2 Hammersmith
More help with choosing a place to stay in London:
- Top Areas To Stay In London For Local Vibes
- 13 Cool London Hotels With Rooftop Bars
- The Best Hotels In London For Design-Lovers
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