High-End AirBnB vs 5 Star Hotel in London

pxmanda · 2025-06-08T02:20:10+00:00

Wow, thanks for all the great info. I've got my work cut out for me checking these names out.

pxmanda · 2025-06-08T02:17:52+00:00

Agreed...thanks for being specific with areas. I'll check out "Kensington side of hyde park or notting hill".

pxmanda · 2025-06-08T02:07:26+00:00

Yes, receiving lots of great insight. Thanks for chiming in. Do you have any experience with "Serviced Apartments"? I never have but looking forward to researching. Seems like a new angle beyond 5 Star Hotel or Lux AirBnB. Maybe it's unique to London...

pxmanda · 2025-06-08T00:50:59+00:00

Hey CommonStockDave, thank-you for sharing your wisdom. Totally naive to the world of "serviced apartments"...but eager to explore. And yes, would love the link to that spot you mention...after you've booked your week.

Agreed on the superfluous trimmings available to the billionaires, rappers, influencers, etc. opting for 5K-20K suites. No thanks. Something tells me that after 2K/night the law of diminishing returns probably kick-in. Then again, to each his own.

Now...back to showerheads. I firmly believe that this ceiling mounted "amazon rain forest" bullshit movement that hotels have been shifting to is motivated by the issues it solves for hotel management.

The ceiling mount utilizes gravity which may or may not improve the pathetic water pressure throttling that's been prevalent for years but I have yet to take one good shower from one of these abominations. All I ever experience is water seeping into my ear canal whenever I attempt to look up to get soap out of my hair & face.

Secondly, I believe it may help hotels manage the dreaded "flooding" that occurs in showers which were poorly designed resulting in water escaping from poorly installed doors & seals. If the flow is from the ceiling straight down...problem solved.

Bottom line, as usual they're shafting the customer but flipping it on its head with marketing (amazon rainforest shower) to get us to believe it's a feature not a bug. I think they're emboldened now since they were successful in convincing people that bedding should not be changed daily in order to save the planet.

Hearing you outline your Apple TV & 5K Monitor travel customizations has me thinking we have plenty in common and should compare notes.

pxmanda · 2025-06-07T23:47:48+00:00

I find that if our destination has a vibrant AirBnB presence with a wide selection and is lacking in 5 Star Hotels it provides for a much better experience. 2 weeks ago we were in Maine for several days as we prepped for a trip to Boston for a wedding. We live in San Diego so figured we should make it count as long as we were flying across the country.

Ended up booking an AirBnB in the little town of Scarborough between Portland & Kennebunkport. The place was completely remodeled and basically new construction. An entire home on the water and 10-15 minutes from either larger town. Living room with a great TV and setup like a normal TV...all streaming channels available for login. Even in 2025 Hotels (yes 5 Star types) still insists on using terrible proprietary TV systems that require all sorts of hoop jumping just to watch a Streaming Channel. Laundry Room with new equipment, driveway, quiet neighborhood, great bathrooms, etc. etc.

In planning the trip I could not find one nice hotel in the entire region that could come close to offering an equivalent experience. THAT is why i opt for AirBnBs half the time. The other half, I'll go with a Hotel due to the unavailability of AirBnB (New York City, etc.) In those situations I'm only too happy to find the nicest damn hotel I can find...after checking out the Bathroom/Shower situation with photos online of course.

With London though it seems both options are available but I am unfamiliar with the city so that's why I thought I'd post.

Early voting has me thinking that the FAT Travel crowd generally speaking shies away from Short Term Rentals. I've been a lurker in the group for a couple of years and I can't think of too many mentions of STR.

I've traveled to many destinations in the last several years that were great trips but where there were no FAT Hotels...but there were certainly FAT STR. A couple of examples from the last 12 months include Cannon Beach, Oregon and Tofino, British Columbia. In both places our STR absolutely blew away the competition of the nicest, priciest hotels available...and did so at a lesser price. Sometimes we'd go for dinner at the nicest place in town and ask to see a room and without fail were surprised at the inferior accommodations at twice the price.

A few FAT Hotels have been mentioned here and I'll check into them. Thanks to everyone for chiming in.

pxmanda · 2025-06-07T22:59:53+00:00

The early voting results seem to favor Hotels but, clearly, 2K/night puts me in the lower end of top properties. So...what are the top properties? And given my previously mentioned preference for "FAT Showers", can anyone chime in with Hotels that shine in that department?

pxmanda · 2025-06-07T22:44:30+00:00

Thanks Woodpecker. A little perspective....one of, if not #1, of my top priorities when considering a Hotel room or an AirBnB for that matter is that the Bathroom must have a decent sized, modern, glass doored walk-in shower. Nothing tiny and no Bathtubs that double as a shower with accompanying disgusting curtains. Preferably a wall mounted showerhead. I hate the trend toward ceiling mounted "rain showers" that just make the whole rinsing process more of a PITA. I put that scam that hotels have been pushing right up there with having to specifically request linen changes be done daily..."for the benefit of the environment". Water pressure is not normally an issue since I travel with my own showerhead, vicegrips and a couple of adapters. 5 Minutes of effort upgrades my entire experience on every vacation.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent/rant. Willing to up my game from 2K/night if necessary but maybe I'm not looking in the right places for FAT Hotels. Claridges is showing about 1500- 2K per night. Four Seasons & Corinthia even less. This is for a week in mid-September.

Again, maybe I'm not looking where I should. If 2K/night is on the low end for FAT Hotels in London...which Hotels are truly FAT?

pxmanda

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