1936 On the Continent

houses are being modernised one after the other, and modern blocks of flats are also being erected in the district.
    In the vicinity of Baker Street, which runs from Oxford Street to Regent’s Park, and is, therefore, very central, many blocks of flatlets have been erected in recent years, offering the newest type of accommodation to visitors. Such buildings also exist in plenty in Hampstead, Bayswater and Kensington. They have nothing in common with the boarding-house, but are, on the contrary, designed to give the visitor the feeling that he is living in a flat of his own. The flats consist of one or two rooms, which are mostly small, but are furnished in an up-to-date manner, and ensure complete privacy. A characteristic feature are the bed-sitting rooms with their convertible bed-settees, built-in wardrobes and, in most cases, built-in wash-basins. These flatlets can be rented with or without breakfast. Residents are only restricted in so far as it is incumbent on everyone to show consideration for other residents.
Flatlet Rents
    Rents for flatlets range from 30s. to £4 per week. Hundreds of suitable addresses may be found in theclassified advertisements of the London dailies, particularly the
Daily Telegraph, The Times
and
Morning Post
. Information concerning less expensive accommodation may be found in the advertisement columns of the
Evening Standard
, and even more so in
Dalton’s Weekly
, a paper devoted exclusively to such matters. However, the latter can only be of use to those possessing a fairly good knowledge of London. Another method of obtaining accommodation is to apply to one of the estate agents whose addresses will be found at the head of the classified advertisements. In some districts furnished flats are advertised in showcases outside shops.
    In recent years flatlet houses on the grand scale have been erected in London, the best known of these being the
Mount Royal
in Oxford Street, where a kitchenette and bathroom are attached to each bedroom. The rent, without breakfast, is £3 15s. A still smarter establishment of the same type is
Chesham Place
, in the Belgravia district, where the rent for such a flatlet is at least £4 10s. per week. The
St. Regis
, in Piccadilly, is still more luxurious, and still more expensive, but here the residents may enjoy the advantages of a cocktail bar, gymnasiums, a Turkish bath, television sets, etc.
Furnished Flats
    The above information will be of little use to those who require even more, and wish to rent a completely furnished flat in London. Flat hunting is such an individual matter that the best advice may prove useless. Generally speaking, however, apart from the Coronation period, furnished flats at all prices and standards of comfort are not difficult to find in London, though flats furnished after the modern style are rather rare. At all events, those who can afford it may have the best that London has to offer, as even members of the nobility sometimes let their houses, including the domestic staff, for various periods during their absence from London. Information concerning such opportunities may be found in the advertisement columns of
The Times
, or from one of the many reliable house agents.
    An average furnished flat, consisting of two rooms, would cost at least £3 10s. per week, apart from extras, whichmay be not inconsiderable. Visitors should exercise the greatest caution when renting a furnished flat, as some professional letters demand unreasonable damages for repairs or breakages on the expiration of the tenancy.
    If we add that excellent accommodation can also be obtained in the environment of London, as, for instance, in Richmond and other towns along the Thames, as well as in country mansions converted into hotels, and at hundreds of hotels at the seaside resort of Brighton, which is an hour’s journey from London, with a half-hourly direct train service—we shall have given the visitor all the information on the question of accommodation which it is in our power to give within the limitations imposed upon us.
    In conclusion, one more piece of advice: particularly if you intend to make a long stay in London, devote every attention to the question of accommodation—see that you make it into a home. When in England you can only feel happy if you live like the English, and the English spend their lives not in the street or in cafés, but in their homes.
THE SIGHTS
    The sights of London? Why, every school child knows them. The