The new luxury: rent a home-from-home for your next vacation or business trip in Central London

Today’s sophisticated traveller is increasingly turning away from the formulaic predictability of a hotel room in favour of renting a high-spec furnished apartment, with some local colour, but why?

Avenue Story – a home from home

The contemporary traveller wants to feel the pulse of the city he visits: to smell its aromas; to listen to its unique sounds; to live as its citizens do. As soon as you enter the lobby of a typical four or five-star hotel you are cocooned in a bland ‘anywhere’ that actively shuts out the personality of the city outside. Everything from the decor to the restaurant menu is carefully designed along pre-established lines, so that the visitor has the same experience, from Bangkok to Berlin.

London Living

For authenticity, freedom, space and an array of facilities, the rented apartment has it all. Business and vacation travellers are discovering the unique pleasures of renting a home-from-home.

The best short-term apartment rental agencies offer the chance to curate a travel experience along completely individual lines. However, websites such as airbnb  provide detailed descriptions of every property with curated photos of every room, as well as insider notes on the precise location and its ambience – and the main difference? Reviews. Lots of them. Look out for the superhost badge as these typically have five star reviews.

Old and the New

Rule Britannia

In addition to the huge advantages of space, a short-term rental offers the visitor facilities that make living so much more flexible and relaxing. On the way home from a busy day’s sightseeing – or business meetings – you can join your neighbours at the local food markets and buy ingredients to prepare a meal at home. If you are travelling with children, you not only have space to store the stroller and toys, but you can enjoy the evening once they are asleep – impossible to do in the confines of a hotel room.

To get under the skin of a great city you need a key to your own door, to say ‘hello’ or ‘bonjour’ to the neighbour on the floor below, to spread your wings and luxuriate in a real home – yours for the duration.

What’s your story?