Page 17 - WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE DISCOVERING ENGLAND

fraction of the cost of London hotels. I
was excited … until I noticed something
troubling. Very few of the ads included
agents or phone numbers. Could all of
these be scams? Probably I quickly dis-
covered.

As a test, I sent an email inquiry about a
1,600-square-foot place in central Lon-
don listed for £60 daily on Craigslist.
“Mark” replied within minutes (even
though it was the middle of the night
in London), letting me know a £430 de-
posit would reserve the flat and advising
me to right away “before someone else
does.”

Now, pretty much smelling a rat, I asked
how to send the deposit. Wire the mon-
ey to a bank was the quick response. I
replied that a London friend would de-
liver a cashier’s check only after inspect-
ing the property to be sure it was as rep-
resented. Sorry, Mark replied. The place
is always rented and the tenants can’t be
disturbed. A bank transfer was the only
option. Nice try – but no way, Bozo.

Such scams are common around the
world, I discovered. But I also learned
there are numerous legitimate vaca-
tion rental brokers who could make my
vision come true. I turned to One Fine
Stay, a company with a good track re-
cord and high praise on Trip Advisor. In
their listings, I spotted the perfect flat.

Here’s the description: “This is the art of
small at its very best. There is something
undeniably satisfying about the clever
pithiness of this light filled studio apart-
ment. Like a self-contained pod in the
heart of Westminster, this is the perfect There were lots of hotel deals in that price Left top: In our London flat Ron James is not
hideout from which to explore the city’s range. And the large damage deposits re- in another room as it appears in his photo.
heritage, architecture and culture, both quired on vacation rentals will take a good It’s all done with mirrors. Left bottom: A
ancient and modern. Within minutes dent out of your cash flow. photo of a flat for rent on Craigslist that
you can be loitering outside the ornate was too good to be true. Right top: A photo
wrought iron gates of Buckingham Pal- The fine print on the One Fine Stay website from the online brocure of our flat with a
ace, gazing up at the gothic stone spires of did warn that the flat was small, but also large mirror giving the illusion of another
Westminster Abbey, or enjoying the grand said it was perfect for two people. After al- room with a large kitchen. Bottom right:
formalities of Big Ben and the Houses of most a month in a tiny cruise-ship cabin, The representative from One Fine Stay
Parliament.” we thought that small would be fine. Plus demonstrates the courtesy iPhone.
it didn’t look small in the website pictures.
Unlike the to-good-to-be-true rates of- We applied and paid the deposit, certain
fered by the scam artists, our legitimate our dreamed about live-like-a-Londoner
flat rental wasn’t a bargain at $226 per day. vacation would be a reality.

Winter 2014 winedineandtravel.com 17