Click on any of the questions below to read the answers. If you have any questions that are not answered below, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Q. What is central-london-apartments.com?
Q. What are Serviced Apartments?
Q. What can I expect in my apartment?
Q. Can you give me 10 good reasons why I should book an apartment instead of a hotel?
Q. How far in advance do I have to book my apartment?
Q. How can you offer such great discounts?
Q. How do I pay for the booking?
Q. Do I pay any money to Central-London-Apartments.com?
Q. How do I book an apartment?
Q. What is VAT?
Q. Can I book an apartment without a credit card?
Q. What credit card details must I supply?
Q. Is it safe to supply my credit card details?
Q. When will my credit card be charged?
Q. How do I cancel my reservation?
Q. What does the term Cancellation Policy mean?
Q. How do I amend my booking?

What is central-london-apartments.com?

central-london-apartments.com is a London serviced apartments booking agency. We offer a number of carefully selected, well managed apartment properties in central London, the majority of which are discounted. You can book an apartment for any period, from only one night up to three months or more. The reservation service is open to anybody and is FREE to use - we charge NO FEES to our customers.

What are Serviced Apartments?

A Serviced Apartment is a self-contained apartment comprising a living area, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen/kitchenette - all the facilities of a home. The apartments are referred to as being 'serviced' because they are managed, maintained and cleaned for you, in a similar way to what you would expect from a hotel room. Apartments can be booked quickly and easily, just as you'd book a hotel.

What can I expect in my apartment?

Apartments vary in size from studios - one room containing both the sleeping and lounge areas, with a separate bathroom - up to four bedroom apartments with a separate lounge. Most of the apartments have direct dial telephone and TV and many have more entertainment facilities such as satellite TV, DVD, hi-fi and broadband connections. Studios and apartments alike have kitchen facilities; in the case of the smaller properties and studios this is referred to as a kitchenette as it is not full size and may not have the same facilities as a full kitchen. In the larger apartments the kitchen will often be a separate room. Kitchens are normally equipped with a full cooker, microwave, fridge-freezer, cutlery and crockery (including plates, cups, glasses, pots and pans). Some will also have washer-dryers and dishwashers. Maid service varies in frequency from daily to weekly, and includes a bed linen and towel change along with other maid duties. Many apartments have a reception and concierge for your convenience, but most do not have a restaurant. This is normally not considered to be a disadvantage, as you have a choice of cooking your own meals or dining in local cafes and restaurants.

Can you give me 10 good reasons why I should book an apartment instead of a hotel?

Yes, read our '10 great reasons to book an apartment' section.

How far in advance do I have to book my apartment?

There is a high demand for apartment accommodation in London, as more and more people are now realising the many benefits of this type of accommodation when compared to a hotel. Therefore, we advise that you book at least a month in advance, particularly in peak season. Of course, we will certainly deal with last-minute bookings, but we may not be able to obtain availability on some occasions. We'll do our best to find you a suitable alternative, though!

How can you offer such great discounts?

We sell a high volume of apartments through our website, and this means we have strong 'buying power' with the apartments we work with. We negotiate the best rates we possibly can and we pass those savings on to you.

How do I pay for the booking?

Once you have found the apartment that suits your needs on our website, click on the button labelled 'Book This Apartment'. You will then be taken to the secure booking request form, where you will be asked to input information, including your credit card details. On the booking form you will be presented with a drop-down menu of credit card options, for example Diners, Visa, American Express and Switch. Most apartments accept all major credit cards; however, there may be exceptions. Your credit card details are required to guarantee or part pay for your reservation, depending on the particular apartment you have chosen to book. You can find details of if, when and what you will be charged towards the bottom of each apartment's web page under the heading 'Terms and Conditions'. In many cases, your card will NOT be charged until you arrive at the apartment, where you can arrange to pay by card or cash - whatever method is appropriate to you and the apartment's reception. Most apartments will require you to produce a method of payment upon arrival, as you would expect in a hotel, whether it be cash, banker's cheque or, more usually, credit card details. This is to cover any incidental costs you might incur, such as telephone calls from your apartment. If you fail to cancel your reservation and do not arrive at the apartment, the apartment may charge your credit card with a cancellation fee. Each apartment has its own cancellation policy, which you can find on its web page under the sub-heading 'Terms and Conditions'.

Do I pay any money to Central-London-Apartments.com?

NO. Your payment is made directly to the apartment at central-london-apartments.com rates as displayed on the website and booking form. central-london-apartments.com will make the reservation for you with the apartment and in so doing will pass on your credit card details (only to the apartment property you have selected).

How do I book an apartment?

See our quick guide to the booking process

1. Once you have found the apartment you require, click the 'Book This Apartment' button and you will be taken to a secure booking form.

2. Complete the booking form with the details required. It is important that you fill out all the fields. Once you are happy with your details, click 'SUBMIT' for your details to be sent securely to central-london-apartments.com.

*Important - On the booking form, please ensure that your e-mail address is correct. If your e-mail address is incorrectly typed in, we will be unable to respond to your request.

3. Acknowledgment page - Once you have pressed 'submit' and your details are all correct, you will be taken to an acknowledgment page. This is an automated process that guarantees that the details have been submitted.

4. Confirmation e-mail - Once your booking request has been received, the apartment will be reserved, subject to availability. You will receive a confirmation e-mail telling you of your confirmed apartment booking and providing you with all the details you need. You will also receive a booking reference number and the address of the apartment.

Note: Your e-mail confirmation will usually be with you the same day if you booked between 9am and 4.30pm UK time, Monday to Friday. If you have booked outside of these times, your e-mail notification will arrive the following morning, or on the following Monday if you booked during the weekend or after 5pm GMT on Friday. We will always try to get the confirmation to you as soon as possible.

What is VAT?

VAT stands for Value Added Tax. All central-london-apartments.com rates include VAT, unless otherwise stated. This means that the rate you see on the website is the total price for the apartment - no taxes or service charges will be added to your bill.

Can I book an apartment without a credit card?

Unfortunately this is not possible. All the apartments require credit card details, either as payment or as a form of guarantee, in order for you to make a reservation. If you do not cancel the reservation within the cancellation notice period, and you do not arrive at the apartment, the apartment is entitled to charge a cancellation fee to the credit card. (Please check individual apartments' web pages for details of cancellation charges, under the sub-heading 'Terms and Conditions').

What credit card details must I supply?

We require the credit card number, CVV security code, expiry date and also the full name and billing address of the credit card holder.

Is it safe to supply my credit card details?

See our site security section for full details.

Once you have clicked the 'Book This Apartment' button, you will be taken to the booking form for you to complete. The booking form is hosted on our secure server. All the information you submit on the booking form is encrypted between your browser and our server. We use SSL for encryption, which is the most common and accepted encryption system used on the web.

*Important: On the booking form, please ensure that your e-mail address is correct. If your e-mail address is incorrectly typed in, we will be unable to respond to your request.

When will my credit card be charged?

This depends upon the particular apartment that you have chosen to book. You can find this information towards the bottom of each apartment's web page, under the heading 'Terms and Conditions'. The booking process is clearly described here so you know when and what you will be charged. In many cases, your card will NOT be charged until you arrive at the apartment, where you can arrange to pay with your card or cash, whatever method is appropriate to you and the apartment's reception. Most apartments will require you to produce a method of payment upon arrival, as you would expect in a hotel, whether it be cash, banker's cheque or, more usually, credit card details. This is to cover any incidental costs you might incur, such as telephone calls from your apartment. If you fail to cancel your reservation and do not arrive at the apartment, the apartment may charge your credit card with a cancellation fee, which varies according to the particular apartment (again, you can see this on the apartment's web page under the heading 'Terms and Conditions').

How do I cancel my reservation?

All the apartments featured on the website have a cancellation policy that must be observed. This can be seen on the apartment's detail page, and also on the booking confirmation email that we send to you. To cancel a reservation, please contact us as soon as possible by telephone or email, quoting your booking reference number (also contained within our email). We will then make the cancellation with the apartments. If any cancellation charges apply, we will liaise with the apartments on your behalf to try to reduce them to a minimum, and will contact you to confirm what (if anything) will be charged to your credit card.

If you need to cancel a booking urgently, and it is outside our office hours, then we advise you to inform the apartment directly using the contact details you'll find on the confirmation email.

What does the term Cancellation Policy mean?

Each apartment has its own cancellation policy, and it is important to read this carefully before booking. If you cancel your reservation within the required time before arrival stated in the apartment's cancellation policy, you will not usually incur a cancellation charge. Towards the bottom of each apartment's web page, you'll find a section entitled 'Terms and Conditions', which clearly describes the cancellation policy. If you fail to cancel your reservation and do not arrive at the apartment, the apartment may charge your credit card with a cancellation fee, which varies according to the particular apartment (again, check the cancellation policy for details).

How do I amend my booking?

You can contact us by email, telephone or fax with any amendments you require, for example, if you want to add nights to your booking, or change the apartment type (see contact us). We cannot, however, guarantee availability if you require extra nights. If you wish to reduce the number of nights booked, you may be subject to a cancellation charge, but we will always do our best to help you.

We hope these FAQs have answered all your questions, but if you still have queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.