We’re well situated
Every location we have selected for our luxury serviced apartments is desirable and explore-worthy. We want you to step outside and be excited to see what’s on your doorstep. Because you know what they say about all work and no play…
Chiswick
The perfect mix of village and city, Chiswick is a trendy district in west London. Not only does its uber-chic high street boast fancy restaurants, cool pubs, candlelit wine bars, charming gift shops, mooch-worthy independent bookshops, hipster-approved coffee shops and ice cream parlours serving Italian gelato, the area is also home to Chiswick Park, a business park with 1.8 million square feet of office space. It accommodates the global, European and national headquarters for some of the world’s leading companies, including Paramount Pictures, Starbucks, Swarovski and Mitsubishi. More than 10,000 people work at the park, enjoying the work-life-balance philosophy that is at its core.
Richmond
A picturesque borough in southwest London, Richmond’s extensive transport links and proximity to both Central London and Heathrow Airport make it an accessible, ideal business location. As such, many large corporates, such as eBay, PayPal and Graze, have chosen to locate here. With more than 1,400 tech companies based here, the area has been dubbed ‘Silicon-Upon-Thames’. The town is also a cultural hotspot, with theatres, galleries, museums, historical houses and The National Archives building, where you can explore 1,000 years of history. The area is also proud of its beautiful outdoor spaces, including the 2,500-acre Richmond Park, where herds of wild deer roam freely.
Marylebone
Marylebone is located in Central London and is roughly bordered by Oxford Street to the south, Marylebone Road to the north, Edgware Road to the west and Great Portland Street to the east. Marylebone High Street forms part of Marylebone Village, and it really does have a village feel to it, despite being in Central London.
It’s a prime residential area with perhaps a little over 500 properties, from studio flats to fabulous Georgian townhouses.
The area is also famous, since the 19th century, for Harley Street, being home to a large number of private medical and surgical specialists. There is a fantastic mix of eateries, specialist food shops, boutiques, beautiful buildings, tree-lined streets and so much more.
Mayfair
The most expensive spot on the Monopoly board, and with very good reason.
Mayfair is really the centre of Central London. It’s bordered by Hyde Park to the west, Oxford Street to the north, Piccadilly and Green Park to the south and Regent Street to the east.
It is home to some of the most famous residential and shopping streets in the world, including Park Lane, Berkeley Square, Hanover Square, Grosvenor Square, Bond Street, Regent Street and Mount Street. Retailers here include top designer brands such as Burberry, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Chanel… to name a few.
In addition, there are many specialist and independent shops, as well as restaurants – everything from Michelin-star eateries to street cafes. You’ll also find an array of museums, galleries, and so much more besides.
As an interesting aside, Mayfair gets its name from when a two-week fair was held in May from 1696 onwards.
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is famous for the Royal Opera House and the Covent Garden Piazza, which is based around a cobbled square and where one can nearly always find street performers, street-food vendors, pop-up shops, as well as all the more permanent shops, restaurants and bars that are based in the area.
Up until 1974, it was also home to a famous fruit and veg market, which has now moved to Battersea and is called the New Covent Garden Market.
There is a huge array of shops across the whole spectrum, as well as restaurants catering for every taste, trendy bars and, of course, the aforementioned internationally famous Royal Opera House.
Neal Street, Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials are famous for their independent retailers, including Neal’s Yard Remedies.
Soho
Soho is one of London’s most vibrant, exciting and unique areas. It measures around one-square mile and is bordered by Oxford Street to the north, Shaftesbury Avenue to the south, Charing Cross Road to the east and Regent Street to the west.
It is immediately adjacent to London’s Chinatown and forms part of the theatre district.
Carnaby Street is one of its most famous streets, synonymous with London being perhaps the trendiest and hippest city in the world in the 1960s. Carnaby Street is still an exciting place to be.
Soho has an eclectic mix of everything – bars, restaurants, shops, entertainment… and more!
In part, this may be due to its history as a haven for various immigrants: French Huguenots in 1685, and Italians and Greeks in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their influences can still be seen.
Other cities in the world also have districts called Soho – New York and Hong Kong perhaps among the most famous – but London’s Soho is the original.
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a small residential area in Central London, bordered by Euston Road and Theobalds Road/Bloomsbury Way to the north and south respectively, Tottenham Court Road to the west and Gray’s Inn Road to the east.
It’s a cultural hotspot for book lovers, intellectuals and art fanatics. The area is home to some of the Capital’s greatest museums, including the British Museum, and universities – not to mention the impressive architecture and leafy squares.
It’s another of those Central London areas that definitely has a village feel about it.
In the first half of the 20th century, Bloomsbury became known for its literary greats – in particular, members of the Bloomsbury Group or ‘Set’, whose members included Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster. The publishing house Bloomsbury takes its name from this group.
Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia is north of Oxford Street and south of Euston Road, with east and west borders at Great Portland Street and Tottenham Court Road.
Not only is it an affluent neighbourhood with the usual mix of shops, restaurants and bars, but it is also home to many of the Capital’s creative industries.
More or less in the centre of Fitzrovia is the BT Tower, which when built in 1965 was the UK’s tallest building at 174 metres, or 189 metres to the top of its highest mast. The name ‘Fitzrovia’ only appeared on Ordnance Survey maps in 1994.
Among the business occupiers in the area is Facebook.
St John’s Wood
St John’s Wood is an attractive, highly desirable ‘village’ just to the northwest of Regent’s Park and only two miles north of Bond Street, or two stops to Bond Street on the Jubilee Underground line.
It was one of the first London suburbs to be developed with a large amount of low-density ‘villa’ housing.
St John’s Wood is home to Lord’s Cricket Ground, as well as over 12,000 animals, who live at London Zoo, which is the world’s oldest scientific zoo, having opened in 1828.
The area is also famous for Abbey Road Studios, which is where The Beatles recorded 190 of their 210 songs and were famously photographed for their Abbey Road album cover walking on the pedestrian crossing outside the studios. Incidentally, the studios are also the world’s first purpose-built recording studios, having opened in 1931.
The neighbourhood also has a strong multicultural presence, with the golden-domed London Central Mosque, St John’s Wood Church with its columned façade, the area’s various synagogues and the American School.
It has lovely shops, fantastic delis, wonderful restaurants and fabulous open spaces nearby, such as Primrose Hill and Regent’s Park. Despite being within walking distance of Central London, the area is peaceful and civilised. No wonder it’s a firm favourite for anyone who can afford to live here.
Knightsbridge
Famous the world over for being the home of Harrods and, to a lesser extent, Harvey Nichols, also known as Harvey Nics.
Knightsbridge is bordered on the north by Kensington Gardens, to the east by Belgravia, to the south by Brompton and to the west by Kensington. It is affluence epitomised. It boasts Sloane Street, where designer brands such as Chanel, Dior and Prada have set up shop.
But there is more to Knightsbridge than just the most prestigious shops in the world. It has beautiful buildings – showcasing colourful shutters, flower boxes, wrought-iron balconies – pretty little streets, mews and squares. One such example is Pont Street, which has its own style of architecture, known as Pont Street Dutch, an architectural style typified by the large red-brick gabled houses built here in the 1880s.
Needless to say, to serve the fabulously wealthy who live, work and play here, there are a wide variety of restaurants, cafes, bars and more. Find yourself a spot at a pavement cafe and enjoy watching the world go by.
Belgravia
Belgravia is bordered on the north by Hyde Park, on the east by Westminster and Pimlico, the River Thames is to the south and Brompton and Knightsbridge to the west.
Whilst it is next door to Knightsbridge, it has a different feel and vibe. Yes, it’s still very beautiful, incredibly affluent, fashionable and expensive. However, it is much quieter, perhaps almost more sophisticated in an old-fashioned-charm kind of a way.
A number of organisations and foreign embassies are based here.
To serve its varied clientele, the area boasts a great selection of dining options, ranging from casual delis and cafes to upmarket restaurants, as well as pubs and cocktail bars.
Of course, there are plenty of shops to serve the same clientele, including speciality outlets selling non-fashion items.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill has long held something of a bohemian reputation, and is known for the Notting Hill Carnival, held annually since 1966 every August bank holiday. It is the largest street festival in Europe and second only to Brazil’s Rio Carnival.
Notting Hill is also famous for the eponymous rom-com film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, which was actually filmed in the area and gives one a sense of the place’s eclectic mix of shops and restaurants, green spaces and characterful houses.
Portobello Road and its market is a mecca for tourists, stylists and vintage shoppers alike. It really is an area worth exploring. It has so much to offer, whether you want to go upmarket and high-end, or hunt for bargains.
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is one of those areas of the Capital that is close to Central London and yet somehow seems to retain an almost village-like feel to it.
It is peaceful, with great stucco architecture, beautiful views of the canal, and quiet, winding streets – plus a few hidden communal gardens thrown in.
A specific area of Maida Vale is known as Little Venice as it is by the Little Venice basin and its canals.
As with all affluent areas of London, there are shops, restaurants and bars that cater for their wealthy residents. There is even a well-known garden centre, Clifton Nurseries.
Maida Vale is bordered on the north by St John’s Wood, on the east by Lisson Grove, on the south by Paddington and on the west by North Kensington.
Hampton
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames. There are several ‘Hamptons’. Hampton, Hampton Hill, Hampton Wick and Hampton Court together are called The Hamptons.
The area is famous for Hampton Court Palace (one of two remaining Tudor palaces), which was originally built by King Henry VIII for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (work began in 1515). It sits within 60 acres of spectacular world-famous gardens, which include the UK’s oldest surviving hedge maze with half a mile of paths, the oldest productive grapevine in the world and 750 acres of parkland, where deer roam freely, overlooking the River Thames.
Popular with families, the area offers a sense of community, with all the amenities required, including good schools, leisure facilities and open spaces.
Located just north of Hampton Court Palace, Bushy Park is the second largest of London’s eight royal parks. Totalling 1,099 acres, it is home to around 320 roaming deer. It also has the famous mile-long Chestnut Avenue, created by Sir Christopher Wren, with the 17th-century Diana Fountain – a bronze statue of a goddess set on a marble and stone fountain – as the centrepiece.
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