Gables, Marylebone IS central London. It is just above Oxford Street in the center of town. It doesn't feel very busy/crowded, though-it has quite a neighborly feel to it. Lots of cafes and interesting shops and pretty squares. You can get anywhere in about 15-20 minutes. I don't know about parking--We don't have a car, and are going to try to exist without one. My husband works in the City and can get there in under 20 minutes by tube, including walking time to and from the station. At Baker Street you have the Metropolitan, Jubilee, Circle, Hammersmith and City lines (and Bakerloo too? Can't remember) or you can walk to Bond Street tube in 10 min for the Central line. We loved Hampstead too, because it is green and pretty and doesn't feel like you are in the City, but we ultimately rejected it because we prefer to be in the heart of things while we are here--and because it adds so much time to our commute. If my husband and I are working in central London, it would add an extra 20 minutes commute time because of changing trains, etc. With two tiny ones at home we wanted to be able to get to them as quickly as possible if we needed to, and we wanted to be able to spend that extra 20 minutes at the end of the day with them rather than on the tube. Plus, the Northern Line always seems to have delays.
But apparantly a lot of Americans like Hampstead because it is more like home--houses rather than flats, residential rather than urban. It IS very pretty and very chic.
We did get the flat, for 100 pounds/week less than the landlords were asking! Whoo hoo! I am so excited--they are putting hardwood in the double reception, recarpeting the bedrooms, and painting. If you decided to go the Marylebone route, do go with McGlashans. They were great--and we worked with about 15 different agencies over the last two months, so we should know!
