Earls Court

Earls Court is the cheapest genuine zone one postcode. It sits in SW5 in west London, south of Kensington and west of Chelsea, and the rates here run well below what the travel time would suggest.

Where it is

Earls Court station is on the District and Piccadilly lines, which puts Knightsbridge four stops away and Heathrow direct. Warwick Road and the Earls Court Road run through it, with Gloucester Road and South Kensington immediately east.

Why it costs less

It is a rental area rather than an owned one, and always has been. That keeps the incall rents down and the hourly rates with them, without moving you any further from the centre in journey time.

Who works here

A deep East European roster, and one of the more established trans concentrations in London. Mostly incall, in flats rather than hotels.

Booking here

Short notice is realistic here more often than it is further east. If you want an hour tonight rather than a booking on Friday, this is a sensible place to start.

What the flats are like

Converted Victorian houses, mostly, which means street doors rather than porters and a quieter arrival than a mansion block. The area has been a rental district for a century and the buildings suit this work.

What it costs

From around £200, which for a District and Piccadilly line address four stops from Knightsbridge is the arithmetic that keeps people coming back here.

Worth knowing before you ring

Read the profile rather than the area. The roster here is wider in every direction than the postcodes east of it, which is a strength if you know what you want and a reason to be specific on the call if you do not.

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