With spring break around the corner, it’s hard not to get distracted with thoughts of vacation.  Travel seems to be on everyone’s mind and I’ve been swapping recommendations from past trips with friends.  One of my favorite recent discoveries is One Fine Stay.  In October 2013, my husband, kids and I made our first trip to London and loved it.  I am a die-hard San Francisco girl and love to travel to new places, but have never actually wanted to live anywhere else.  London was the first city that I actually thought, I could live here.  Part of what made our week-long stay so great was that we got to pretend we were locals by renting an apartment through One Fine Stay.  I found OFS doing random online research and after having no luck finding a nice hotel suite for our family of four that didn’t break the bank.

Unlike VRBO or Airbnb, you don’t rent from owners.  One Fine Stay curates their apartments, making it hard to choose between all the great homes.  Their website has photos of every room and I especially appreciated the “home truths,” which helped us narrow our choices.  For your stay, OFS comes in and replaces all the bed and bath linens with white hotel linens, as well as provides hotel toiletries.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a staffer and shown around the apartment.  Then we were given a cell phone for local use, which included nearby recommendations for sights and restaurants from the owners themselves.  We stayed in the beautiful neighborhood of South Kensington (pictured above) and were able to walk to museums, restaurants, shops and the tube.  Our temporary Drayton Gardens home was peaceful and spacious.  Though we certainly enjoy eating out, it gets a bit tiresome for a whole week.  We were glad to have a kitchen for breakfasts, breaks, and even take-out after a long day of sightseeing.  And having access to a washer/dryer in the apartment was so convenient — allowing us to pack less and bring home more souvenirs, like shoes and a purse for me.  We can’t wait to rent through OFS again, next time, we hope, in Paris!

This post is not sponsored.  We love sharing our finds and faves with readers.  Above photo was taken down the street from Drayton Gardens during our London visit.