Added: 02/10/2006 |
While choosing from British homestays, you may count on comfortable and safe accommodations, which will be your second home for some period of time. All hosts receive a visit from accommodation assessors, whose task is it to inspect hosts? Homes in accordance with British Council standards. To suit all budgets, students are generally offered four British homestays categories, including standard, budget, superior and deluxe. Budget and standard homestays feature accommodations in the Greater London area, located in close proximity to the city center.
Such accommodations can be found in Harrow, Leytonstone, Greenwich, Norbury, Kilburn, Queens Park, Southfields, West Hampstead, Islington and more. For more sophisticated accommodations, located in prime areas, consider superior and deluxe homestays in the areas of Kensington, Shepherds and Marylebone. It is also possible to choose from self-catering accommodations, which however, don't provide the same atmosphere as British homestays, and hence, are less beneficial to language students.
Staying in the British families, you will be treated as one of its members, which means you'll be required to fit in with family routine. In some houses students are provided with Rules of the House, designed to help them settle into the new home. It should be mentioned that British homestays don't offer services similar to those in hotels.
Friendliness and politeness are seen as an integral part of English family life, and ways to treat your hosts, who provide you with a high quality accommodation. As soon as you get your private area for studying and relaxing, you bear responsibility for keeping it tidy. You shouldn't bring friends to your room without host's permission; neither are you allowed to use your room to accommodate anyone else.
Such living areas of the house as the dining and sitting rooms are available to students. Some homestays feature private study rooms, which are not for use of other family members and guests. The number of bathrooms may vary, and if you haven't booked a room with a private bathroom, you'll have to share it with someone else. Some of the services available include laundry, telephone calls and Internet access.
Unless you have a self-catering accommodation, you shouldn't use kitchen facilities with the exception of those for making coffee or tea. In case you are planning to stay overnight or return home late, let your hosts know so that they don't worry. Because the surrounding may differ from what you are used to, you may encounter some difficulties, which may be resolved with your host's help. You will also be offered assistance in the areas of transportation, medicine, library, supermarket, Internet Cafe and leisure facilities, like gymnasiums, sport clubs and swimming pools.
Currently there exist a range of companies, offering top accommodation with UK families, including London Forest Homestays, British Homestays, London Bed and Breakfast, Academy International English Language School, London Bed and Breakfast and Host Family Agency and more.
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