Vacation Apartment Renting - London Experience

In front of our Warwick Road apartment rental in London

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip to the United Kingdom - half spent in London/Windsor and half in Pencaitland, Scotland (near Edinburgh). For the London portion, we rented an apartment through HomeAway and were VERY happy with our choice. We find that renting apartments on our trips is not only more reasonable (about 2/3 or less of what if would have cost for a much smaller hotel room) and also places us in great neighborhoods and more local venues.  This one was only a few blocks from the Earl's Court tube (metro) station which offers quick access to all the go-to places in London.

We first became acquainted with the option of renting an apartment (in lieu of booking hotel space) in 2004 in Venice, Italy. We had been very disappointed in our initial booking and changed hotels after the first night. We were standing in line for a restaurant chatting with some regular visitors to Venice who told us they rented the same great apartment overlooking the Grand Canal every year and it saved them a great deal of money. They were spending what we were for a far superior lodging arrangement. That started the process of looking for apartment space wherever our travels would take us over the next 10 years.

Thus far, we have rented apartments in the following cities/locations:

• London (Earl's Court) - see link to HomeAway listing link
• Lisbon
• Madrid 
• Manhattan Beach, CA (twice)
• Paris
• Amsterdam
• Athens

All of these have been good to exceptional.  We've used AirB&B, HomeAway, and VRBO - all provide a good service and lots of listings. Many renters list on more than one site.

Here are some lessons learned:

• Closely read the reviews of the space to look for comments about location, condition, or other factors important to you such as access to public transportation or noise/activity levels in the area 
• Ask questions about critical elements to get the definite answers from owners/managers such as smoking policy, ability to park a car if you bring one, whether there is an elevator (many are 3/4 story walkups) and security issues if on ground floor
• Verify full price for stay - some include listing and cleaning fees and some do not
• When booked, provide arrival information and find out exactly how you get access to apartment and if there will be someone there to greet you and provide information about the the place and surrounding areas - also find out how you check out

Well, we plan to do this again soon! We loved the Earls' Court neighborhood and found delightful pubs and stores in the area - very local. We felt we were really living in London for the week.

Anticipation is Half the Fun of Travel

Edinburgh - my pinterest board

My husband and I are leaving soon for a two-week trip to the United Kingdom - half in London and the other half in Scotland. Every other year, we travel for a week with four other couples to some European destination and rent a cottage, house, chateau, villa, castle - you name it! We have been adding an additional week since we're already spending a fortune on airfare. The location for the extra week is often based on airport used or other considerations. In this case, we are flying in and out of London and since we were last there in 1989 when our son was less than a year old, we felt that a follow-up trip was definitely in order.

Planning a trip is half the fun and, according to some sources, the greater source of happiness since the actual event may be fraught with issues like traffic and/or weather delays, lost luggage, and other unanticipated problems. Planning is filled with idealized visions of famous sites to be seen; shops and restaurants to check-out; experiences to pursue; and, companionable people to engage with - only the best of the best!

An article this morning in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution entitled "Planning a Trip is Half the Fun" by New York Time writer, Stephanie Rosenbloom, describes the psychology behind this phenomena.

"Social scientists have been saying for years that we get an extra happiness boost if we consciously delay any type of pleasure ... Doing this allows us to build up positive expectations, to relish how enjoyable the experience might be.

Scottish church - see pinterest link above

While in Scotland, our group will be staying in Winton Cottage - part of a larger estate about half an hour from Edinburgh link to website. It looks wonderful!

We LOVE to travel and I must agree that the planning and anticipation are a particularly pleasurable element of the experience. I usually start intensive planning for international travel a year or more out and that includes some of the things mentioned in the article; reading books about the locale; talking with fellow travelers/friends about their experiences and recommendations; collecting photos and images (via pinterest) to help me envision the location and identify "must sees"; and, reviewing apartment and bed and breakfast options for our trip. In our division of labor, I am responsible for our accommodations and my husband is responsible for the transportation - usually airline and car rentals.  He is also the first to clip articles and buy travel books.

I hope to have some great photos to post here soon! I am already planning next year's big trip - a whole month in Paris, France. Ah .... that anticipation!!

Street in Edinburgh - see pinterest link above