South Kensington has a number of museums and is close to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, which has a playground. Bloomsbury, to the North, is close to the British Museum, and Coram Fields, which has a playground. Regents Park also has a great playground.

I think with kids, you want to be sure your rental is near a Boots (pharmacy) and a Tesco or Sainsburys (groceries), since inevitably you need bandaids or milk. London supermarkets have lots of "lunch on the run" foods i.e., prepared sandwiches etc. (Marks and Spencer especially) In fact, the entire city seems to be one giant homage to the sandwich, so you can often get inexpensive lunches when you are out and about.

Kids also love Greenwich, which is cheaper, but farther off the beaten path. Plenty of green space, the Royal Observatory, and regular boat connections to the rest of London.

My kid loved Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the playgrounds, the Tube, Camden Market, seeing a musical, the Natural History Museum, Trafalgar Sq. He could probably have skipped the British Museum and Buckingham Palace. The War Rooms have a nice kid s' audio tour.

Paddington is convenient for the Heathrow Express. But that's it. To get anywhere else in London requires a relatively cumbersome tube ride as you'd most likely need to transfer at least once or twice.

It's a bit of a hotel ghetto with a lot of inexpensive hotels and not much else. It is a pretty area to walk through, however.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We stayed on the east side, in what I suspect is regarded as an unfashionable neighborhood, and stayed in a spectacular two-bedroom
loft apartment for $150 per night.

There is no way this exists anywhere within a 30 minute Tube ride of central London in 2018. You could probably get a $250/night place further east, but not possible for $150/night.

I stayed in that AirBnB three years ago, but it was definitely within a 30-minutes public transit ride to Tower Bridge. I don't see that particular unit on AirBnB now. But I see a lot of other nice two-bedroom London apartments available for about $150. Maybe they're hard to get or aren't what they seem, but I've had a great time in AirBnB units. The people I know who provide AirBnB units themselves are lovely people with great properties.

We stayed in Maida Vale last time because, as you mentioned, we wanted to live like a local. There was a huge park where the kids could play soccer and a few small restaurants near the Tube station where we ate and/or bought some groceries. The bus ran down to Marble Arch through many local areas and we were within walking distance of Abbey Road so we did a family photo on the crossing. Was a pretty relaxing time.

Might be a little further out than you would care for as it seems much of your trip will be West End or South Ken/Knightsbridge.

I've also stayed for work frequently in High Street Ken area. Bit more alive than Maida Vale and easy enough to get to some of the things you want. Pricier though. Earls Court might be a tad cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We stayed on the east side, in what I suspect is regarded as an unfashionable neighborhood, and stayed in a spectacular two-bedroom
loft apartment for $150 per night.

There is no way this exists anywhere within a 30 minute Tube ride of central London in 2018. You could probably get a $250/night place further east, but not possible for $150/night.

Have you actually looked on Air BnB? A quick search found one in Shoreditch ($161) and Islington ($158). Of course, these are not the best places but both offer the entire 2 Bed flat.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7258490?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=vWJ_LbsH

$302/night for 5 guests for 5 nights in early August.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7590337?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=0o-k3z17

$295/night for 5 guests for 5 nights in early August.

You can't go by the advertised prices. Those are lowest seasonal prices and generally summer is higher. And the fees add a lot.

PP here. But that Shoreditch place looks great and is totally the type of area I personally like to stay. Residential with lots of cafes to start your day, but not a big crowd when you walk out the door. And then hop on the train to see the tourist sites.

NP, and Londoner here - Shoreditch is a great neighbourhood to be in. Islington is nice but a bit annoying in terms of location and accessibility - it wouldn't be my first choice. I think Bloomsbury is a good recommendation, and I love Marylebone too though it will probably be more expensive. Kings Cross would also be a good location - I'd stay on the Camden side, as there are some nice places there (google Granary Square). I don't recommend staying around Blackfriars or Farringdon or the City generally as it is dead on weekends. I don't really like Paddington as a neighbourhood but agree that it is very convenient for the Heathrow Express. If that is important to you, then somewhere like Maida Vale would be better - it is a pretty neighbourhood (google Little Venice), lots of cafes, etc , and good access to tube, and very close to Paddington without being in it.

Marriott/SPG just came out with a new "portfolio" called Tribute. Right now it's in London only. Basically a Marriott managed short-term apartment rental service.

https://www.tributeportfoliohomes.com/

Hyatt has a similar program now as well, but for more cities:

https://www.oasiscollections.com/?icamp=oasislpbook

I have rented flats in Chelsea, Notting Hill, Knightsbridge, and Holland Park. I have stayed with friends in Islington, Stoke Newington and Highgate. I would love to rent sometime in Borough (or elsewhere on the south side of the river), Shoreditch and Marlyebone.

If you want truly central London, I would go with Covent Garden, Bloomsbury or maybe Knightsbridge. Mayfair would be far out of my budget. But South Kensington is a convenient neighborhood for families (v. close to the parks and the museums), with lots of rentals available, the Tube and good bus connections. To the PP who suggested Richmond ... that's a hike.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We stayed on the east side, in what I suspect is regarded as an unfashionable neighborhood, and stayed in a spectacular two-bedroom
loft apartment for $150 per night.

There is no way this exists anywhere within a 30 minute Tube ride of central London in 2018. You could probably get a $250/night place further east, but not possible for $150/night.

Have you actually looked on Air BnB? A quick search found one in Shoreditch ($161) and Islington ($158). Of course, these are not the best places but both offer the entire 2 Bed flat.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7258490?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=vWJ_LbsH

$302/night for 5 guests for 5 nights in early August.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7590337?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=0o-k3z17

$295/night for 5 guests for 5 nights in early August.

You can't go by the advertised prices. Those are lowest seasonal prices and generally summer is higher. And the fees add a lot.

PP here. But that Shoreditch place looks great and is totally the type of area I personally like to stay. Residential with lots of cafes to start your day, but not a big crowd when you walk out the door. And then hop on the train to see the tourist sites.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We stayed on the east side, in what I suspect is regarded as an unfashionable neighborhood, and stayed in a spectacular two-bedroom
loft apartment for $150 per night.

There is no way this exists anywhere within a 30 minute Tube ride of central London in 2018. You could probably get a $250/night place further east, but not possible for $150/night.

Have you actually looked on Air BnB? A quick search found one in Shoreditch ($161) and Islington ($158). Of course, these are not the best places but both offer the entire 2 Bed flat.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7258490?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=vWJ_LbsH

$302/night for 5 guests for 5 nights in early August.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7590337?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=0o-k3z17

$295/night for 5 guests for 5 nights in early August.

You can't go by the advertised prices. Those are lowest seasonal prices and generally summer is higher. And the fees add a lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We stayed on the east side, in what I suspect is regarded as an unfashionable neighborhood, and stayed in a spectacular two-bedroom
loft apartment for $150 per night.

There is no way this exists anywhere within a 30 minute Tube ride of central London in 2018. You could probably get a $250/night place further east, but not possible for $150/night.

Have you actually looked on Air BnB? A quick search found one in Shoreditch ($161) and Islington ($158). Of course, these are not the best places but both offer the entire 2 Bed flat.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7258490?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=vWJ_LbsH

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7590337?location=London%2C%20United%20Kingdom&adults=4&s=0o-k3z17

Anonymous wrote:

We stayed on the east side, in what I suspect is regarded as an unfashionable neighborhood, and stayed in a spectacular two-bedroom
loft apartment for $150 per night.

There is no way this exists anywhere within a 30 minute Tube ride of central London in 2018. You could probably get a $250/night place further east, but not possible for $150/night.

Peronsally I like to stay near Paddington. That means an easy way to get to/from Heathrow on the Heathrow Express (helpful especially i fyou hav ean early morning arrival or departure when other options aren't running yet) and it's on the Circle line too so easy to get around the rest of town.