Get What You Want in New York Habitat Rentals Near Cheyne Walk, London

So, Scorsese has finally turned his obsession with “Gimme Shelter” into a full-blown film of the Rolling Stones called Shine a Light. It’s been released in IMAX so viewers can have the sensation of being surrounded by Mick and the boys. But why not do it one better by staying in the actual surroundings where the Stones’ frontmen used to live? New York Habitat has London accommodations that put you right in the middle of Mick and Keith’s former London neighborhood of Cheyne Walk —‘satisfaction’ guaranteed!

In the late 1960s, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were both living on Cheyne Walk just a few doors apart (Keith was at #3 with girlfriend Anita Pallenberg, whom he stole away from bandmate Brian Jones; Mick was at #48, first with girlfriend Marianne Faithfull—during which time the Chelsea drug squad carried out on infamous raid on the flat—then with wife Bianca).

Many of the Stones’ most recognizable songs were written in the studio that Mick had built in his backyard garden. The Chelsea Drugstore, part-pharmacy, part-soda fountain, part-pub mentioned in “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” was a ten-minute walk away (unless you wanted the purple-clad, scooter-riding delivery girls to make a home delivery), so it is quite possible that Mick popped down there from time to time to get some prescriptions filled. David Bowie, whose wife Angela is believed to have been the inspiration for “Angie,” lived just a few blocks over on Oakley St. It is incredible to be walking the same streets that served as such inspiration to two of music’s most prolific songwriters—and after living in our Chelsea flats in Cheyne Walk, you’ll understand why.

This area has long been attracting luminaries in the arts, making Cheyne Walk the single street with perhaps the most blue plaques in London. Among those who have called it home are: painters J.M.W. Turner (#119) and James McNeil Whistler (who moved around from #21 to #96 and #101), writers George Eliot (#4), Bram Stoker (#10) and Henry James (#21), poet Dante Gabriel Rosetti (#16), and George Best, who was an artist in his own right with a soccer ball. What brought them all here is obvious—the beautifully-constructed early 18th century houses, the Thames River views framed by the Albert and Battersea Bridges, the celebrated Chelsea Physic Garden, and the bohemian houseboats clinging colorfully to the riverbank.

What you’ll see when you stay in one of our outstanding Chelsea accommodations is a neighborhood that has not changed all that much since Mick and Keith were residents. In other words, it still rocks! The pubs are friendly, the pints are frothy, nearby King’s Row is full of fabulous people and fashionable shops. Sure, the Chelsea Drugstore (where Kubrick also filmed some of Clockwork Orange) is now a McDonald’s—but you can’t always get what you want…or can you?

The answer is an absolute yes if you stay in one of these well-appointed New York Habitat apartments:

• A pretty one-bedroom vacation rental in Chelsea (LN-860) with lots of servicies and amenities.

A fully-equipped, one-bedroom accommodation in Chelsea (LN-82) on Kings Road.

So skip the IMAX theater and head on over to a New York Habitat vacation rental to see Mick and Keith’s old haunts on Cheyne Walk in London. Most of us may never lead the rock star life, but at least you can walk the Walk.

Which London blue plaque houses are you most interested in seeing? Leave your comments below.