We at Serviced City Pads have some beautifully appointed serviced apartments in London, with our Apart Hotel in Gloucester Road, South Kensington, being particularly popular with food lovers, being in London’s most prestigious restaurant area.

Bibendum, in Fulham Road, couldn’t be in a better position for a restaurant: it’s located on the first floor of Michelin House – a splendid art deco building that was, until 1985, the UK headquarters of the famous French tyre manufacturers. Bibendum is the name of Michelin’s chubby mascot and his art deco image stares down as you tuck into a French-inspired menu, which also includes an oyster bar downstairs.

If you don’t want to travel that far, then our serviced apartments in London’s Gloucester Road are close to the equally prestigious 1880 at the Bentley hotel. Nicknamed “Versace on acid”, it makes the Cafe Royal look like McDonald’s. The glistening chandeliers and gold ormolu are matched by an a la carte menu of up to 10 courses.  Alternatively, just pop in for afternoon Tiffin.

If it’s celebrity stardom you’re after, you’ll have to book well in advance for Ramsay’s restaurant – the only TV chef-owned restaurant to have earned the coveted Michelin 3 stars. Instead, head for Sticky Fingers. If you think it sounds like a Rolling Stones album, you’ll be right – it’s owned by Bill Wyman.

Our luxury serviced apartments in London come complete with kitchens. With restaurants like these on the doorstep, it’s not surprising most people eat out.

We at Serviced City Pads have some excellent Apart Hotel accommodation in London’s attractive Gloucester Road, one of several locations in London’s prestigious Albertopolis district. So named because of its association with Prince Albert, this is London’s major centre for culture and learning.

Those renting London serviced apartments here can enjoy the benefits of the Victoria and Albert Museum (close to the Royal Albert Hall); the Geology Museum; the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Other places of interest include the Queen’s Tower (the water tower of the Imperial Institute, the rest of which has been sadly demolished), the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall. Short distances away are London’s famous green spaces of Hyde Park, Green Park and Kensington Gardens, and there are serviced London apartments available near these areas.

For retail therapy, you are spoilt for choice – Park Lane, Sloane Square, Kings Road, Knightsbridge and Harrods are all within easy reach, while eateries include restaurants run by TV’s most outspoken chef – Gordon Ramsay.

Albertopolis sounds like the kind of “yuppie” name that would have been dreamed up in the 1980s, but in fact it was coined in 1851 – a satirical reference to Prince Albert’s involvement with the Great Exhibition. As President of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition, it was he who enabled profits from this venture to purchase the land, and erect the commanding “seats of culture and learning” which people visit today.

Following Albert’s death, the area became known as South Kensington. It was during the “Noughties” that Albertopolis became a fashionable term again. Today, people rent luxury serviced apartments in London’s Albertopolis for learning, pleasure and work – the museums can also be booked as meeting venues.

We at Serviced City Pads make sure all our luxury serviced apartments in London are located conveniently close to public transport links. Although our accommodation in London often has parking facilities, once there it’s usually best to leave the car and rely on London’s excellent tube network to get you around.

One popular location is Trafalgar Square which, although it doesn’t have a tube station of its own, has Charing Cross literally on its doorstep. Charing Cross is also a mainline station, meaning those booking into our apartments have the option of leaving the car behind altogether.

Whether you have booked London serviced apartments for business or pleasure, Trafalgar Square is an excellent choice. Most people know it for Nelson’s Column and the nefarious pigeon population (who still seem to congregate there, although no longer in such prodigious numbers, thanks to Ken Livingstone banning the feeding of them in 2003). In the same year, extensive redevelopment of the north side was finished. This included creation of a pedestrianised area, disabled access lifts, a new cafeteria and the demolition of part of the wall to create a set of wider steps.

All these changes mean that traffic no longer thunders in a 360o circuit round the Square, and Nelson no longer has to be denuded of guano every 3 years. It also means Trafalgar Square is in hot demand as an outdoor conference area – it can be booked just like a meeting room. Maybe this is why our London serviced apartments in Trafalgar Square are so popular with business users.

Booking luxury serviced apartments in Liverpool gives you the perfect opportunity to put a corporate hospitality or team building package together. Released from the confines of hotel hospitality suites, you have an enormous range of alternatives. The city is brimming with organisations supplying entertainment to both recreational and corporate visitors.

Shiverpool Ghost Tours is one such company. Formed in 2004, this enterprise runs entertaining ghost tours around Liverpool’s most haunted areas. The nightly excursions can accommodate up to 40 guests, and operate around several themes. For example, you can book a Hope Street tour, ‘Auld City Shivers’ tour, Docklands and Mariners tour and so on.

Despite one tour being called the Horror at St George’s Hall, the emphasis is more on light-hearted fun than being scared witless. Costumed guides bring history alive by regaling you with stories of the city’s dark past, and a few hidden surprises. Some are laid on – others are not. It’s up to you to decide which is which.

There is also a bespoke – or rather, bespook – service for groups of 15 or more, engineered to your specific requirements. Shiverpool Tours are keen to point out that all the tours are based on research and fact. All they add is a touch of theatricality. Combined with our luxury serviced apartments in Liverpool, it is perfect corporate entertainment.

We at Serviced City Pads would like to reassure you that, while our serviced apartments in Liverpool are conveniently located for Shiverpool tours, none of them are haunted!

No matter what your reason for renting luxury serviced apartments in Liverpool, you’re sure to start whistling the famous song the moment you see your first ferry crossing the Mersey. It’s an iconic image that hasn’t changed since the 1960s, when Gerry Marsden first penned those famous words.

There have been ferries crossing the Mersey since Mediaeval times – they were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. In the 14th century, Birkenhead Priory ran the service to the tiny village of Liverpool. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, the ferries were run as privately owned, fully rigged sailing ships. Not a good idea, on a foggy river with little wind!

Literally hundreds of ferries have come and gone over the years – including fully rigged sailing ships. Not a good idea in a narrow shipping channel with heavy fogs and little wind!  In 1914, the SS Iris and Daffodil served as troop ships, resulting in the word “Royal” being added to their names. The Royal naming tradition continued until 1960, when a new generation of “super modern” diesel ferries were launched. Their grand titles – Woodchurch, Mountwood and Overchurch – were names of post-war housing developments! Given a total refit in the 1990s, they were renamed Snowdrop, Royal Daffodil and Royal Iris  – the latest generation of “Royal Flowers” on the Mersey.

We at Serviced City Pads have a number of serviced apartments in Liverpool’s waterfront district, where you can watch these historic vessels chugging away to your heart’s content. To learn more, book accommodation in Liverpool and head for the fascinating maritime museum.

Many people book accommodation in Liverpool to explore the water. It does have rather more than its fair share, with both the Mersey river and the Manchester Ship Canal to choose from. Both offer cruises and excursions – a fascinating way to explore the Wirral’s industrial and natural heritage.

Even if you aren’t a fan of the water, you can’t book into serviced apartments in Liverpool without taking a Ferry across the Mersey. No other river crossing has attracted so much attention – it even had a song written about it. As well as regular crossings to and from the Wirral Peninsula, the Mersey Ferry company (operating under Mersey Travel) offers the Big Mersey Adventure, River Explorer cruises, Manchester Ship Canal cruises and Special Cruises with live bands. If you regularly book luxury serviced apartments in Liverpool for business purposes, check out Mersey Ferry boat chartering – a much more original venue for a corporate function than the usual tired conference room.

The Mersey has been running a ferry service since the 12th century or earlier, and over the years has seen hundreds of vessels come and go. The current fleet dates from the 1960s, and it’s thrilling to think you can stand on the same hallowed decks the Beatles used. Most cities would have scrapped their fleet long before, replacing it with modern vessels.

Whether you are renting serviced apartments in Liverpool for business or pleasure, we at Serviced City Pads guarantee you’ll be crossing the Mersey again and again.

Whether you are in Edinburgh for pleasure or business, we at Serviced City Pads recommend some gentle rambles along the river Leith as the perfect accompaniment to a stay in one of our Edinburgh serviced apartments.

The Water of Leith runs through the centre of Edinburgh. Easily accessible by both road and rail, those booking accommodation in Edinburgh can cycle the whole route in one day, as the entire river is only 24 miles long. Walkers and cyclists can tackle it in a series of stages. This is the best way, as each mile is crammed with things to see.

Dean Bridge, a dramatic construction across a deep gorge, was built by Thomas Telford in the 1830s. The area here was once lined with numerous mills. There are still numerous remnants of Edinburgh’s industrial past to be found, and anyone booking serviced apartments in Edinburgh’s New Town will find it an easy stroll to discover some of them and there are lots of other places and points of interest to be seen in Edinburgh, even if you are here on business.

It’s a downhill ramble past Stockbridge, Inverleith and Cannonmills – as the name suggests, this is where the great cannons used at the castle were forged. There are many more things to see between here and Port Leith, including gardens, museums and stately homes. Book luxury apartments in Edinburgh, and we at Serviced City Pads guarantee the “silver ribbon” of the river Leith will enchant you as it has so many others.

History lovers staying at luxury serviced apartments in Manchester’s city centre may feel they’ve booked into a cultural desert, but this is not so. There is a wealth of civic and industrial landmarks to visit – many of which were well established long before the Industrial Revolution even arrived. Chief among these has to be Chetham’s Library. The oldest free public reference library in Great Britain and the oldest English language library in Europe, it’s a “must see” for anyone renting serviced apartments in Manchester city centre.

Chetham’s is easy to overlook, hidden as it is just off Millennium Square and next to the stunningly futuristic Urbis Centre. In 2009 the centre had a “Hidden Manchester” exhibition. A truly surreal experience was to wander the flatiron contours of this award-winning masterpiece; all glass, steel and digital technology – and then head for its Hidden Manchurian neighbour, where the books are chained to the wall as they were in the 17th century. The building itself is one of the oldest in Manchester, part of the 15th century Chetham’s Music School.

Although you can’t borrow the books (the oldest public lending library in the UK is at St Mary’s Church, in Surrey) you can still use them for reference. Once inside, you can take Manchester’s staunch tradition of Socialism to heart, and sit at the same window seat Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx sat, while Engels was composing his masterpiece, “The Condition of the Working Classes in England.”

Whatever your political beliefs, we at Serviced City Pads recommend a visit to Chetham’s for any “culture vulture” booking accommodation in Manchester.

We at Serviced City Pads try to make life as easy as possible for our clients, which means ensuring their accommodation in London is near to major transport hubs. We have several apartments in London’s Charing Cross district – near famous landmarks like Trafalgar Square, the Monument and, of course, Charing Cross Station. Whether you’ve booked serviced apartments in London for business or pleasure, here are a few unusual facts about the Charing Cross area.

For example, did you know Trafalgar Square is available for company bookings? Rallies and marches are free of charge, while filming, photo shoots and performance-based activities cost £500 – £1000 per hour, with a flat rate of £500 – £10,000 per day thereafter. You could book an awful lot of nights in one of our London serviced apartments for that, although it isn’t really that much, when you consider that in return you get private use of one of London’s most iconic landmarks. A more affordable option is to book Parliament Square Garden instead. This is still public, and yours for just £200 per hour.

Charing Cross station is unusual as it connects directly to two other London railway termini – Waterloo and London Bridge. It was built on the Hungerford Market site in 1864. The Charing Cross Hotel, built in the French Renaissance style, was finished a year later.

With excellent rail, tube and bus links across London and the UK, our serviced apartments in London Charing Cross are always in demand.

Rent serviced apartments in Birmingham and you’re within easy distance of the NEC – the National Exhibition Centre. Famous for its trade shows and public exhibitions, it is also the home of the world’s biggest dog show – Crufts. Whether you’re a dog lover, exhibitor or just plain curious, we at Serviced City Pads can’t imagine any better reason to book Birmingham serviced apartments than to view this yearly event.

March 2010 marks the 109th Crufts dog Show. Originally housed at London’s Kensington Olympia, Crufts switched venues in 1991, its centenary year. It has remained at the NEC ever since, and with so much accommodation in Birmingham so nearby, its no wonder that this event is so popular.  A magnet for tradespersons, exhibitors and the public alike, Crufts has faced controversy in the past, owing to some of the extreme breeding practices that used to be in practice by exhibitors. The modern approach is markedly different, with the emphasis on healthy, happy dogs and the role dogs play in society.

This year, DFS will be celebrating the relationships that exist between dogs and their owners. The most popular judging event is the Best of Show award, but the show-ring hosts a number of “doggy” events besides the winning classes. Popular attractions include rescue service demonstrations, the World Agility Championships and the Friends for Life competition, which features tales of bravery and friendship in adversity.

Crufts is amazingly good value for such a big event, and you can stretch the budget even further by ignoring the NEC chain hotels, and renting luxury serviced apartments in Birmingham from us at Serviced City Pads instead. Not only are they better value, they are far more central to Birmingham’s other attractions.