Live and work in London

A few weeks ago a secretary telephoned me in absolute desperation. She was desperately searching for accommodation in central London for some VIPs from abroad. She stumbled onto my website, not really understanding what the service was about. I think the words ‘free service’, ‘apartments’ just helped her to figure out that Quality London Apartments had something to do with accommodation. Apologies for my long opening, but it is a prime example of how little travelers in the UK and Europe know about the serviced apartment industry. After explaining the concept of serviced apartments and helping her find an apartment, I realized that I needed to share this knowledge further afield. Thus, this article is my contribution to open up this elusive industry and offer tips to travelers.

What is a serviced apartment?

A serviced apartment is a flat in a block, which has a separate bedroom, sitting room/lounge, fully equipped kitchen, your own private keys to own door. Serviced apartments can be in the form of a studio flat (all in one room with a kitchenette), one, two or three bedrooms.

All apartments enjoy maid service, utilities and a management team to help….just like a hotel. Guests only pay for a nightly rate and can live in a flat with everything they would have in their own home.

Pros: Serviced London Apartment vs Hotels

 More value for money and cheaper. In a hotel, no matter which star rating, you pay per night for one room which will have a TV, bathroom, sofa and a bed. This is similar to a studio apartment! In an apartment there is a separate bedroom, kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and dining table (exception is studio)

 Pay per apartment and not per person. An example would be paying £250 per night for a two bedroom apartment, which could accommodate up to 4 people, that works out at £62.50 per person.

 Freedom and privacy. An apartment is like being in your own home and there is plenty of space. You have your own keys to your own door.

 Booking is easy, just like hotels. The majority of apartments require a credit card to guarantee, pre-payment before you arrive and that’s it. No deposits, no tenants’ contracts.

Cons: Serviced London Apartment vs Hotels

 Apartments lacks the buzz and services of a hotel such as restaurants and Room Service. Albeit some apartments are owned by hotels and offer you the use of their restaurants and other services.

 No 24-hour service around the clock. The apartments are ran by a small team who work Monday to Friday 9:00am - 6:00pm, so you are on your own during the weekend. There are emergency numbers to call should you suffer an electric cut, but no 24-hours hotel Duty Manager to run to your room.

 No pool, massages, saunas like hotels

What to look out for when booking a serviced London apartment?

1. Quality of the apartment - make sure you find out if they are clean, well furnished and well maintained. How? Check the photos, and ask if you can book an appointment to view the apartment. This is very important if you are staying over a long period of time.

2. Do they have a friendly and efficient management team? If you need the comfort of a welcoming face to greet you on arrival, then ask for an apartment with a reception. Some apartments provide key boxes, so you can arrive any time, but there is no-one to meet you. A friendly and small team will be able to give you a very personal touch.

3. Opening time of the apartments office - doesn’t sound important? Well it is because the majority of apartments’ operations team open Monday to Friday 9:00am to 6:00pm. If you arrive at your apartment during office open hours, then fine, but any other time and weekends will mean that you will need to pick up the keys from a different location.

4. Key delivery by car at the airport? - If you are flying from abroad to London, and do not fancy traipsing throughout London at night to pick up keys, the majority of apartments will hire a taxi to deliver your keys to the airport upon your arrival. Convenient for a small charge.

5. Payment procedure and cancellation policy - every apartment vary in their guest terms and conditions. All will accept a credit card as a guarantee of reservation, some will ask for 100% pre-payment at least 7 days prior to arrival and cancellation can range from 12:00pm on the day of arrival to 28 days. So, before you confirm the reservation, be very clear about the terms and conditions. Ask your apartment agents to explain the procedure to you and read the terms and conditions on your confirmation emails. It will save you a great deal of trouble and headache later.

6. Apartments are always allocated on arrival. This policy is the same as any hotel, so unless you are a regular guest to a specific apartment, apartments are on allocations. In the same breath, some apartments only have a small number of flats, so if you are reserving the only 3 bedrooms penthouse in their collection, then you are guaranteed that specific apartment.

7. Rates become more competitive the longer you stay. In this, we mean you have more bargaining power if you are staying for one month or longer. This is when your apartment agent can really help you by negotiating with a variety of apartments to get you the best deal.

8. Using an apartment agent will also save you time searching, but most importantly they will work with your budget and negotiate a great deal for you. Of course, you also need to be realistic about what you can book, don’t expect to spend £80 per night for a luxury apartment. For example, one of our clients had £300 budget per night for a two bedroom apartment and he wanted something luxury. For those readers who know London well, also understands that this budget is actually very small. Despite that, we booked him and 3 friends into the Victoria Park Plaza luxury apartment (£150 per night less than the usual price) for £300 per night with free breakfast, gym and access to the executive lounge. Any apartment agent worth their salt can and will move mountains to help you.

What if I don’t like the apartment when I get there?

If you really feel that you have been hard done by, tell the apartment management team and ask to be moved to another apartment. All of the apartments that we work with are very customer focussed and try to help guests enjoy their stay. If this does not work, talk to your apartment agent, if that is how you booked. Best advice though, is to ask all the right questions before you book an apartment.

Your appetite for apartments is now whetted - how do you find London apartments?

1. As already explained, you can choose a free search and book service of an apartment agent or go direct to a specific apartment that you know. Both methods are absolutely fine, dependent of your knowledge of London apartments. Using an agent will mean that they will search far across their portfolio and present you with a variety of choices…all within 10-15 minutes. Agents are impartial and will only (good agents anyway) recommend the quality apartments for your needs.

2. You can use search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN to find apartments. Type in keywords like ‘London serviced apartments’ or ‘quality London apartments’ and so on.

3. Stating the obvious but, ask for a recommendation from friends and acquaintances.

4. Check on Tripadvisor and other customer review websites.

Summary

If you have read this far, then thank you for your time. I have tried to make this article clear and as helpful as possible, but I welcome your comments and any further information that you feel is very important.



By: Binh Zientek

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Credit crunch, downturn, depression….it really is all doom and gloom everywhere you look. Seriously, you are probably considering staying at home under the bed covers every day. This is understandable in the short term, but unfortunately, it is a depressing way to live and live you must! But, there is good news amongst all this bad news. Prices have dropped in London and all companies are bending over backwards for your business. We have compiled a few tips for travellers seeking to visit London economically and have a great time.

Shop ’til you drop

Take advantage of the drop in sterling and visit London to buy your Christmas presents. At time of press the pound was 1.55 against the dollar, so if you are a traveller from the US, there is rich pickings, especially luxury goods like handbags and designer clothes. Even the sterling is dropping against the euro, so European and Middle East travellers are spoilt for choice when it comes to finding bargains. The sales have started already and it is only October.

Hotels Accommodation

Hotels are slashing prices by at least 20% so it is worth shopping around. I find Expedia.com a great directory to find all the latest hotel promotions. Also don’t be afraid to call the hotel directly and negotiate, during a downturn everything is negotiable. Many hotels offer promotions such as stay for 3 nights and pay for 2, or free breakfast with weekend stays.

London Serviced Apartments

Serviced London apartments are a really cost effective choice of accommodation, even when compared to hotel promotional rates. For example, if a 4 star hotel rate is £140 per night for a double room which works out to be £70 per person. Whilst a one bedroom apartment at the rate of £150 per night and can accommodate up to 3 people, so that is only £50 per person. You will also enjoy more space with a separate bedroom, lounge and kitchen.

For families, it is even more of a good value choice. For example, an average two bedroom apartment is £220 per night so that is £44 per person for 5 people staying.

Apart from just price, serviced apartments are better value, ensure that your group can enjoy more living space and save money by cooking your own meals.

Transport

The price of oil has dropped now to a more realistic level, so the price of flights has reflected this. When in London, it is best to open an oyster card and top up for daily travel this is much cheaper than paying by cash, in fact it is half price. Visit www.oystercard.com

Or you can purchase one day or family travel cards. Another way to save cost is using a taxi sharing service. This service is available at a taxi rank in Paddington station.

Eating out on a budget

One of the best ways to find deals in restaurants and bars in London is to search on www.toptable.co.uk. At the moment, there are 2 for 1 promotions, or hefty discounts to entice diners.

So, as you can see it is not all bad news at all. There are so many bargains this autumn/winter, travelling to London is much cheaper than ever.



By: Binh Zientek

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London is one of the finest capital cities to be found anywhere. Contrary to popular belief this is not some feeble attempt at plagiarising advertising copy from other major cities in the world.

Bad times and good, I have lived and worked in London through them all.

From its darkest hours in the 1970s and the 80s at the height of the IRA terrorist campaigns to the ecstasy of winning the 2012 Olympics and the Queens Jubilee. London has had the experience and gravity to treat both with equal respect.

I remember travelling through London to return home to Northern Ireland where I now live on the day the news broke that Princess Diana had tragically been killed in a car accident in Paris. The sense of grief and shock were overwhelming as total strangers just blindly made their way to Kensington Palace to lay flowers at the people’s memorial. Contrast this with the day in 2005 of the Live 8 festival at Hyde Park when the city resounded to rock music belting out across its entire centre.

There is History almost round very corner in London. History that it would appear that most Londoners take for granted.

Take the changing of the guard for instance. This happens everyday at Betty and Phil’s place at the end of the mall. Perhaps I should be slightly more serious at this point because most onlookers will realize this point I am of course referring to Buckingham Palace and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh. Tradition is such that occasionally it gets altered and none more so than when after the awful events of 911 the band of the guards performed the Star-Spangled Banner in front of visiting American tourists instead off the traditional God Save the Queen.

It was important to note the significance of this event in that it was the only time that any other national anthem had been played at the changing of the guards instead off God Save the Queen.

It could be argued that it is incidents like this that go to sum up exactly what a rich variety of tradition and history exists in London. Unlike other major international capital cities, London may lack perhaps the historic grandeur of the Parthenon in Athens or the Coliseum in Rome but through out London you will find examples of perhaps a more modern architecture (though no less splendid and impressive) such as the mother of all parliaments, the Houses of Parliament in Westminster or the serenity of St Paul’s Cathedral a survivor of many centuries and in many ways every bit as impressive now as in the days of its design under the architect Sir Christopher Wren.

If nothing else the building of St Paul’s Cathedral is a testament to survival itself having both survived the Great Fire of London in the 16th Century and then four hundred years later the Blitz in World War II.

Possibly the existence of living history such as St. Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of such a modern and a bustling city of London really sums up the overall appeal of London where there is such an amazing and historic blend of old and new.

You have absolutely no chance of being disappointed you come to visit London.



By: Stephen Morgan

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The Victorian Pub - The Modern Plague of London

The Victorians drank for many reasons other than just to be sociable. Water was unsafe and  ale was used as a thirst quencher. It was believed intoxicants imparted physical stamina and energy - also, its initial effect was that fatigue was temporarily dulled. Alcohol was used as a pain killer,in treatments by dentists and surgeons and as pain relief during childbirth. Excessive drinking was common and there were pubs to suit every taste: the inns with accommodation for travellers, were the most respectable - at the other end of the scale were the gin shops which served the very poor. Pubs were the only place many people could enjoy comforts not available in their own homes - newspapers, light and warmth and a chance to socialise with company. 

 

Health -  Dirt and Disease

Until the bacteriological causes of disease were understood in the late 19th century the connection between dirt and disease wasn’t understood. Overcrowded conditions, limited access to light and air, streets littered with refuge with cesspools being the normal sanitary arrangements, made sure Typhus and other diseases abounded amongst the poorest of London society. Around 1842, the average age of a man living in Whitechapel, London, was 45 for a professional man, 27 for a tradesmen and 22 for a labourer. Wealthy people were less affected by diseases such as typhus - associated with insanitary  housing - but the waterborne disease of cholera, spared no class. The River Thames was used as a main sewer but only when politicians were driven from the Houses of Parliament by the stench from the river in hot weather, was anything done to improve drainage.

 

London Markets in Victorian Times

Most of the commodity markets were built or rebuilt during Victorian times. Before the coming of the railways, Covent Garden wholesale market had to have its supplies delivered by barrow and cart through narrow streets and alleys, while, live animals were driven by often-drunken drovers, through respectable London streets on their way to Smithfield meat market. During the Mid-Victorian era, London had numerous daily street markets such as Leather Lane off Holborn and the Cut at Lambeth and areas where large numbers of poor people lived. The retail markets, such as Petticoat Lane and Berwick Market were essential to the working class who could not afford shop prices.

 

Victorian Children

In well-off families, daughters were taught at home by their mothers, governesses or in small private schools - while orphan and pauper children in 1833 were quite often enduring a working day of 14 hours, even at six years old. A big advance came in 1873 when the employment of children was only allowed if it could be shown the child had a record of school attendance but the abuse of boy chimney sweeps continued in spite of the law. Victorian families were large, with five or more children the norm until the late 1800’s.

The Victorian Woman

Pre- marital chastity was very important in Queen Victoria’s England, even though females from working class families were hardly innocent about sexual matters because of the cramped conditions they lived in. Even among the upper classes an ideal of the perfect lady, was somebody without any sexual desires - just strong feelings for family and a desire for motherhood. Sexuality represented the animal side of human nature and the Victorians believed that family relationships would not last when people put their own pleasures before duty. Prostitutes and adulteresses were disliked and feared because of the passions they aroused. Prostitution may have seemed the only option for many single women faced with a life of poverty.

The End of Victoria’s Reign

In the last part of Victoria’s reign, thousands of row houses were built for artisans- many were plain and cramped but at least they had water, drainage and gas. The working week was cut by a fifth and workers had more time for leisure but for poorest members of society in London, the Victorian era was time of great hardship and misery.

 

 



By: Josephine Moss

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Internet Marketing Book

Most luxury vacations to London England will offer you everything that the tourists do, such as visiting the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the like.  While this is fine, it can be a bit ’samey’ if you have visited London before, and if you like the city but want to experience something a bit different to the usual tourist route.  Well, that can be arranged, because there is a lot more to London than the picture postcard attractions.

Irrespective of how many times you have been to this great city, you should be offered a tour when you arrive, just so that you can get your bearings if nothing else, and then later focus on the less well known attractions that London has to offer. If you can get yourself organized with one of those luxury vacations in London that offer a personal service, such as just the two of you sharing a limousine for your London tour, then you will benefit even more from this type of vacation.

A boat trip down the Thames will take you past the Millennium Dome to the historical town of Greenwich (pronounced Grenitch, not Greenitch), the home of the Greenwich observatory and where Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) begins.  This is longitude zero.  The Old Royal Naval College is well worth a visit, as is the observatory itself. You should also pay a visit to the National Maritime Museum containing many artifacts of naval history, such as uniform that Lord Nelson died in at Trafalgar in 1805.  On the way back, try the Docklands Light Railway and get a glimpse of modern London and Canary Wharf, that has been developed into one of the world’s major financial centers.

Most tourists never reach Bloomsbury, famous for its literary characters in the early 20th century, and there you will also learn a bit about Charles Dickens who has an association with that part of London. The British Museum is a must, with its collection of Egyptian artifacts such as the famous Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian Mummy rooms and the Elgin Marbles, brought back to Britain from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin, and now a major cause for dispute between the Greek and British governments.  This is the genuine Indiana Jones stuff!

The Duke of Wellington was the British general that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, and for that the people of Britain gave him Apsley House which you can visit. You should also visit Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard, and then on to Trafalgar Square, where a large monument was erected in tribute to Lord Horatio Nelson, who gave his life while defeating Napoleon’s navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.  Whitehall is nearby, the center of much of British government, and also 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister.  Next to it is No. 11, where the Chancellor of the Exchequer lives and then No. 12 which is the residence of the Chief Whip, whose job is to ensure that the MPs vote for the government.

There are other aspects of London that most visitors never see, including Little Venice, an area where Robert Browning lived and many celebrities still do, and Camden Lock, which you can visit by boat.  Here you will find a market with food and clothing stalls.  Finally, you must visit the stores in Knightsbridge, such as the famous Harrods and also one or two of London’s famous parks, such as Hyde Park where you can take a pedal boat out onto the Serpentine Lake, or visit the Albert Hall, just a stone’s throw away. Pay a visit to Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, where anybody can get on their soap box and make their views known publicly on any subject under the sun.

Such luxury vacations to London are best appreciated if organized with a travel company that can provide you with a degree of personal service that enables you and your partner to have your own personal driver or guide, and to take advantage of some of the best hotels that London can offer.  Such luxury vacations are not easy to find, but are definitely the best way to see the real London.

If you have visited London before, or even if this is your first trip and want to see some of the hidden gems of this great city, these are the places to visit and the way in which it should be done.  Nothing beats top class travel and accommodation, and personal service is the best way to ensure that while on vacation you live better away from home that at home. That’s what makes luxury vacations to London vacations to remember. 



By: Margaret Winfrey

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Most of us notice that we are starting to have less and less space in our own home and that our living area is shrinking due to the goods we have acquired over time. Nothing compares to living in a clean not crowded house. Whether we are aware of this or not, the items we keep on buying take up our available space and they even start collecting dust, which is bad for our health.

If you find yourself in such a situation and you don’t have any room for your items, it is probably time to resort to a storage company. Self storage represents the best solution for London people who are running out of space and they don’t want to give away some of their goods. Another idea would be to consider a self storage facility. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, self storage is a storage service which allows customers to rent a room that has the size they need in order to deposit their goods for as long as they want.

Self storage for London offers you the possibility to move your things to a secure storage place instead of selling them because you no longer have the necessary space to keep them in your house. The problem of storage is not a recent one but fortunately nowadays we have the possibility to improve the quality of our life by keeping our houses clutter-free. Storage London facilities don’t cost a fortune but if you wish to resort to such services, we advise you to add extra insurance if you live in an area with extreme weather conditions.

Self storage London is the solution to your problems, solving the storage problems for businessmen, householders and students. It is great to know that you have a safe place where you can store your belongings and that you can have them back anytime. Usually most London Storage companies will ask you to pay a monthly rent and they are responsible for your goods as long as they remain in the storage facility. Thus, you no longer have to worry that your items will be damaged or stolen.

Self storage is a great idea for those of you who are looking for a new home, redecorating your house or even for those who wish to sell their house and by resorting to a storage facility they make it look less crowded and more spacious. Nowadays even some sports and hobbies require a lot of space and why not store our items away in a secure place if we have the possibility to do that?

Storage in London puts at your disposal a wide range of options and many storage rooms of different sizes from which you can choose from. Some people choose to resort to a storage facility even for depositing their seasonal clothing and wardrobe. Even couples who are getting a divorce find themselves in a situation in which they need to store their furniture and belongings until they sort out their problems.

Self storage for London is exactly what you need if you are looking for a secure and cost-effective storage place. You can easily resort to a storage facility that will make sure that your goods are being kept in a safe and proper environment, without having to worry about their safety. As you can see, self storage is a practical business, one that is used by a variety of customers in a huge number of ways.



By: Clint Jhonson

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