New York Habitat Blog

London Accomodation 1 Bedroom in Islington (LN-436)

If it’s a vibrant creative scene, cultural diversity and low costs you’re after, then there’s nothing quite like a stay in London’s East End. New York Habitat has fully furnished accommodations that fit your budget and put you in the center of this hip and happening area. All you have to do is enjoy…and explore!

Some of the best deals in London can be found on Brick Lane. There are Indian restaurants galore—all with above-average fare and lower prices than in other parts of the city. Just walk down the street and let the bidding wars begin: Servers will try to tempt you into their establishments with free glasses of wine, appetizers or desserts, or fifteen percent off your total tab. Go with the best offer—and be assured that, as far as the food is concerned, you can’t go wrong.

Near Brick Lane is the Truman Brewery, an eclectic art space with shops, eateries and—as the name promises—pints. Stop by for free showings and events or the popular (Up)Market on Sundays, where you can score samples of global or local treats or reasonably priced one-off clothing and accessories. Such cutting-edge designs can also be found at the nearby Spitafields market, an East End

London Vacation Rental Alcove Studio in Hackney (LN-773)

institution. Throw in a stroll through the colorful Columbia Road Flower stalls, and you can make a fun, low-cost day of it.
 The East End is also known for its galleries, which are more manageable—and often more contemporary—than London’s large-scale museums. Drop by Whitechapel in East Aldgate for free installations and music (and some of the best souvenirs for under £5 or £10 that you can shove into your carry-on), or White Cube in Shoreditch for its vanguard of visual artists. 

To explore the great outdoors, go for a dip in the lido at London Fields or head to sprawling Victoria Park for some football, free films or low-price music festivals. Let New York Habitat put you near it all in one of these amazing places to stay:

· A mod-styled 1-bedroom vacation rental in City-Islington (LN-436) on Hackney Road, near the Columbia Flower Market, Brick Lane and Spitafields. This funky ground-floor flat comes with a double bed, sofa bed, laundry/dryer, terrace and garden with deck. Smoking is permitted—and feeding the goldfish is encouraged!   

· A charming 2-bedroom rental accommodation in Haggerston, Hackney (LN-41) on the ground floor of a modern building with security. This apartment is located near Old Street station and comes complete with queen and double beds, laundry/dryer, an open kitchen, and homey wooden floors and shutters.
  

· This cool alcove studio in Hackney (LN-773) offers fresh furnishings, loads of light, exposed brick walls, parquet floors, a separate, fully equipped kitchen and a loft-style bedroom accessible from a staircase in the living room. It is located on the ground floor of a period block building with communal gardens, close to lovely London Fields. 
 

Check out our other Low-Cost London Neighborhoods:

- Mayfair

- Earl’s Court

- South Bank

With a New York Habitat accommodation in London’s East End, you don’t have to spend a lot to see it all!

Let us know your favorite low-cost local attraction with a comment below.

A few years ago, you may not have heard of Hackney. Nowadays, it’s one of London’s most up and coming neighborhoods, thanks to an influx of spectacularly inexpensive and eclectic restaurants, a thriving art scene, and popular event nights at area clubs. With a New York Habitat rental, you can stay in the first place that many locals head to on their days off and the last place a lot of tourists think to look.

Shoreditch, London: Hackney apartments

What makes Hackney a great neighborhood is its sense of community and shared spaces. In Hoxton Square, the heart of the area, you can run into students, moms with strollers, practitioners of yoga and tai chi, artists with sketchpads, international travelers, young Londoners taking it easy after a night out and old-timers enjoying these ever-shifting scenes. There’s no better place in the city to strike up a conversation.

In the streets directly surrounding the square, you can discover a great tapas café, fresh sushi, a stylish, subterranean restaurant, a traditional pub, a chill cinema/lounge, a small shop selling graffiti-inspired graphic tees, an independent music store, and the always worthwhile White Cube art gallery. That’s four blocks filled with the type of funky (counter-) cultural places that London is so famous for. Now you know where to find it! Do yourself a huge favor and, after booking your New York Habitat accommodation, check out local city guides or websites that will tell you what’s happening around London in any given week of any given season. You don’t want to miss anything that’s going on in Hackney! There are sure to be festivals, art fairs, musical celebrations, retro street parties and any number of community-oriented events when you’re there.

In the fall and winter, you can already look forward to the Sutton House Craft Fair, the Ogle Everything holiday shopping stalls, various ghost walks (great for Halloween), Mother Goose children’s theatre, and Bonfire Night (Nov. 5) in Hackney’s Victoria Park, which marks an historic failed attempt to blow up Parliament by celebrating with—what else?—fireworks! Anything going on in Hackney is a guaranteed good time. Some amazing places to stay in the neighborhood are:

London Accommodation: 2-bedroom apartment rental in Hoxton (LN-573)

A fun and funky 2-bedroom vacation rental in Hackney, Shoreditch (LN-573) that has a balcony, laundry and eclectic décor. This second-floor loft near Hoxton Square sleeps six comfortably, with an additional double bed in its light, airy attic.

A 1-bedroom accommodation in City-Islington (LN-436) on Hackney Road in Shoreditch. This rental comes with a terrace, parking space, laundry, garden and deck, stylish mod interiors…and three goldfish! It’s on a quiet street closed to the main artery but within short walking distance of all the hippest clubs and bars.

A stunning 1-bedroom furnished rental in Shoreditch, Hackney (LN-603), located on a cobblestone street in a quiet industrial conversion on the ground, first, second and fourth floors. This rental has a terrace, laundry, arched ceilings, wooden floors and amazing exposed brick walls.

A stay in a New York Habitat rental in Hackney will show you another side of London. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Let us know some of your favorite London festivals and can’t-miss community events in Hoxton by leaving a comment below.

A lot of tourists never get a glimpse of the London that exists outside of guidebooks. New York Habitat is here to change all that! To really see the city, venture off the beaten path, break free of Zone 1—and head over to Hackney, where some of our best holiday rentals are awaiting savvy visitors to take advantage of them.

Located in London’s East End, Hackney is an expansive area where Hitchcock filmed one of his first films, the art scene is alive and thriving, and over one hundred languages are spoken in a single day. Hoxton Square in Hackney’s southwestern corner is a hotbed for scenesters, artists and locals out for some sun. It’s surrounded by hip places to eat, laidback cafés, and galleries like White Cube that will make you wonder why you don’t live here permanently. Hackney Empire and Hothouse are edgy and progressive performance spaces, the Lux Cinema shows stuff that can’t be seen anywhere else without taking itself too seriously, and Hackney Marsh has the largest number of football pitches (er…soccer fields) in Europe, if you fancy a game or just want to watch some World Cup-worthy play.

Add to that the gorgeous gardens at the Geffrye Museum, historic buildings and blue plaque houses (including those once belonging to Marc Bolan, Mary Wollstonecroft and Edgar Allen Poe), a Burberry factory store hidden off Morning Lane (which is a pretty well-kept secret, so don’t tell anyone!), and bars and social spaces in happening SoSho (South of Shoreditch) that stay ahead of the trends…and you’ll start wondering why anyone is bothering with the West End at all.

London Accommodation: 2 bedroom vacation rental in Shoreditch, Hackney (LN-490)

To those of us at New York Habitat who are currently living vicariously through other people’s travel plans, here’s our idea of a perfect day in Hackney: Start with a Sunday morning trip to the Columbia Road flower market for bunches of fresh flowers to adorn your already sweet 2-bedroom rental in Shoreditch, Hackney (LN-490).

Or, since you’re already up, stop at the Broadway and Ridley Road food markets, where you can smell the spices from blocks off. Buy handmade cheeses, organic breads, Turkish dates and fair trade coffee for a light lunch in your funky furnished studio in Shoreditch, Hackney (LN-506), which is in the basement of a refurbished building used as a frame workshop in the ’20s.

In the afternoon, follow an architectural walk like the one suggested on Hackney Walks: Hackney Central that takes you to many of Hackney’s historical sights—though you’ll be hard-pressed to find one as aesthetically pleasing as your own furnished studio in Shoreditch, Hackney (LN-536), with stainless steel shower and decorative fireplace.

London Accommodation Studio rental in City, Islington: LN-536

After “bending it like Batista” at Hackney Marshes or London Fields (are you with me, Argentina fans?), go back to your super-stylish 3-bedroom rental in Shoreditch, Hackney (LN-434) and take in the sunset from your balcony overlooking Regents Canal.

Our client testimonial raves: “The apartment was excellent. I think it is better than any hotel I’ve ever been [to].” Hear that, all you overpriced Holiday Inns in the West End?

Enjoy the spaciousness of your accommodation as you get ready for dinner at the eco-chic, canal-side Water House Restaurant, then follow it up with a drink at Hackney Central (a converted railroad station), a show at the Empire or a game at the Hackney Snooker Club, where a friendly local will gladly explain the rules of snooker before soundly schooling you.

Finally, on your short walk back to your Hackney vacation rental, remind yourself that a perfect day out in London doesn’t have to be expensive—not in the East End, anyway.

Have anything to add to our Hackney itinerary? Please leave your comments below.