First off, Alexander is a Tier 1 host who made sure our family was taken care of during our stay. He checked in on us during the week, and was never more than a text message away. FYI: "Us" is a mom, dad, and two kids aged five and eight.

The apartment was clean, very spacious for a major city like London, convenient, and just like the photos. It is about 25yds from the Old Street Underground station, and less than a block from a grocery store. Bus stops were literally across the street. Around the corner are a pub and a bazillion take away (American = "take out") restaurants. The apt. also has a super-expensive high security entrance door, so Americans can feel free to leave the guns back home in the States. If I was single and looking to locate to London, the apt would be a top choice for convenience, neighborhood, amenities, etc.

Since Alexander is a great guy, I want to help him avoid any more guests from hell, so I will lay out the quirks (and every apt has them) so those guests can look elsewhere. First, Hoxton/Shoreditch is a happening neighborhood similar to anywhere in Lower Manhattan NYC, so you will hear city noises outside at all hours (sirens, traffic, *people*, etc.; SHOCKING, I know). It isn't Essex, it's LONDON. The windows are double paned, so most noise is screened out. Second, the bed in the rear bedroom has a support bracket underneath that may need readjusting from time to time; anyone with 2 brain cells can figure it out. Third, the apt. is on what we Americans call the 2d floor (one up from the ground floor). The ground floor is a coffee shop, and in the basement is a speakeasy called Nightjar (look it up on the internet). Some evenings you may hear live music (mainly jazz) faintly filter up from Nightjar between the hours of 2100-2400 if you go to bed early and the apt. is totally still. It was inconsistent; some nights we heard nothing, but if we did hear anything it was over before midnight. If you open the window the music is cancelled out by the ambient city noise. Also, some mornings if the windows were open we could hear the coffee shop staff open the ground floor back patio around 0700 to prep for customers.

In short, the apt. is great for those who want to stay in the heart of the city and have no illusions about what that entails. Our family made out just fine since we got what we wanted from the trip - convenience, cleanliness, safety - in trade for city ambience; guests should weigh their own needs when deciding whether to rent. In America we live out in the far flung suburbs next to farmland and cows but adjusted to Hoxton/Shoreditch just fine. Your mileage may vary, but now you have something to think about!