Property Listing & Search Web App
Luxury Serviced Apartments is London’s premier platform for finding and booking high-end serviced accommodation. We were commissioned to build a fully custom property listing web app — a bespoke alternative to Airbnb tailored specifically to the luxury serviced apartments market.
The platform features an advanced search engine with location-based filtering across 20+ London areas, a dual-month date availability system, interactive map view with property pins, amenity filtering, price sorting, a favourites shortlist, and comprehensive single property pages complete with image galleries, star ratings, and enquiry forms.
Homepage walkthrough — luxury property search & booking platform
The Scope
What They Wanted
Luxury Serviced Apartments had outgrown their existing website — a clunky, theme-based WordPress site that was difficult to update and failing to reflect the premium quality of their portfolio. They needed a fast, SEO-optimised, completely custom-built platform that could rival the search and booking experience of Airbnb, but tailored specifically to the luxury serviced apartments market in London.
The brief was clear: build a property listing web app from scratch with location-based search across 20+ London areas, real-time date availability, interactive map views, amenity filtering, favourites functionality, and comprehensive single property pages with galleries, ratings, and enquiry forms. Speed and performance were non-negotiable.
What We Did
Discovery
We began with a deep dive into the luxury serviced apartments market, analysing the competitive landscape including Airbnb, Booking.com, and niche serviced apartment providers. We conducted user research to understand how property seekers in London search for and evaluate premium accommodation. This informed the information architecture — defining the property taxonomy (locations across 20+ London areas, amenity categories, property types), planning the search architecture, and establishing the data structure needed to power the listing platform. The discovery phase also included a technical audit of the existing site to understand what needed to be rebuilt from scratch.
Brand System
Heading Font
Playfair Display
Serif · Italic · 400–900
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn
Body Font
Manrope
Sans-serif · 400–700
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn
Primary Colours
Secondary Colours
Wireframing
The wireframing phase focused on mapping the complex user journeys that the property listing platform required. We designed the search flow — from initial location selection through date availability, guest count, and amenity filtering — ensuring each step was intuitive and fast. The split-screen layout for the apartments list (property cards alongside an interactive map) was prototyped extensively to find the right balance between information density and usability. Single property pages were wireframed with hero image galleries, rating breakdowns, and strategically placed enquiry forms.
Design
The design direction was driven by the brand’s luxury positioning. We paired Playfair Display — an elegant serif typeface — with Manrope for clean, highly readable body text. The colour palette centres on a vibrant purple (#8039e4) that carries through CTAs, interactive elements, map pins, and active states, contrasting against a light background that lets the high-quality property photography take centre stage. Every UI component was designed to feel premium without sacrificing usability.
Design Evolution
Before
After
From a generic theme-based site to a custom-built property listing platform
Development
Development was the heart of this project. We built a complete property listing web app on WordPress — essentially recreating the core functionality of Airbnb for the serviced apartments market. The search engine, date availability system, amenity filtering, interactive map, favourites, and sorting were all built from scratch with a focus on speed and user experience.
Location Search
An Airbnb-style search bar with location dropdown covering 20+ London areas — Westminster, Battersea, Knightsbridge, Mayfair, and more. Combined with guest count and date selection for instant property discovery.
Date Range Picker
A dual-month calendar date picker built with Vanilla Calendar, allowing guests to select check-in and check-out dates with range highlighting. Weekends and holidays are colour-coded for quick identification.
Amenity Filtering
Advanced “More Filters” panel with 12 amenity checkboxes — Air Conditioning, Gym, Swimming Pool, Room Service, Conference Room, Pets Allowed, and more. Properties are filtered in real-time as selections change.
Featured & Price Sorting
Sort button group allowing guests to order results by Featured, Price Highest, or Price Lowest. Paired with a live “Properties found” count showing 150+ listings across the London portfolio.
Split-Screen Map
An interactive split-screen layout with property cards on the left and a Google Maps integration on the right. Purple brand-coloured pins mark every property location across Central London, with click-to-view functionality.
Shortlist & Favourites
Heart icons on every property card let guests save apartments to a personal shortlist. A dedicated /shortlist page shows all saved properties with a counter in the header navigation — persistent across sessions.
Property Gallery & Ratings
Each property page features a hero image grid (one large, two small), multiple gallery lightboxes, and a star rating system across Interior Quality, Location, and Amenities. Comprehensive property details with action buttons for galleries, features, map, and quotes.
Quote Request Forms
Gravity Forms-powered enquiry system embedded on every property page. Guests can request a quote with their details, dates, bedroom count, and additional comments — all feeding directly into the property management workflow.
Contact System
A dedicated contact page with a comprehensive enquiry form, integrated live chat widget, and direct phone/email contact options. The contact modal is also accessible from every property page for instant communication.
A handpicked
collection of
London’s finest serviced
apartments
Over 150 luxury serviced apartments across Central London — from Knightsbridge to Covent Garden, Mayfair to Battersea. Each property handpicked for quality, location, and an exceptional guest experience.
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