Long gone are the days where one could rent out a luxury apartment in central London for less than £2000 a week. Peanuts get you nothing (or a shared dorm in Earl’s Court).
Indeed, the average 5 star hotel will set you back around £400 a night. Or add an extra digit and try the Ritz, for a cool £1600 a night.
Enter luxury living in swish serviced apartments, or ‘aparthotels’ as one group with three different locations call themselves.
Supercity Aparthotels offers, they say: “luxurious and affordable stays for those visiting the capital, providing guests with a home away from home in the heart of London.” Budget wise, think cashews rather than peanuts though.
You can chose between central locations including Templeton Place or Nevern Place in Earl’s Court, or The Rosebery in Clerkenwell.
On a recent trip to London I stayed in the latter, The Rosebury. As a former hipster it made sense. I booked out a one-bedroom apartment and had a friend stay with me. You see, the new breed of serviced apartments are all self-catering, so I needed to bring a friend to cook me breakfast in the morning (he rustled up a mouth-watering sausage and bacon fry-up in case you’re asking!)
My stay at Supercity was about as close to real-London luxury living as I might get on my measly budget. At £140 per night, with two of us paying £70 each, it worked not much more expensive than your standard Ibis or Travelodge – but here is cooler (the Rosebury is in Clerkenwell after all and you don’t need to be a former hiptser to know what that postcode means!)
The place was small, but perfectly formed. It sort of made sense that the coffee table was strewn with Taschen books and this was reflected in the minimal Ikea-style décor with an art student twist adorning the walls.
We entertained friends on the night, bringing back a few bottles of Rioja and had the room and facilities to entertain. We drank until the small hours, lazing around on the sofa and enjoying the open-plan kitchen. Several bottles later I crashed. And I’m pretty sure I slept on a Waitrose cashew.
For more information, or to book, visit http://www.supercityuk.com
Being Erica 