I was impressed with our stay at Marcelo's place in Paddington, London. If you're a traveler looking for value for money without having to sacrifice, this is a fantastic pick.
My husband and I had been traveling for 4 weeks across Europe, and stayed here for three nights before we headed home. We were interested in seeing a little bit of the London sights, but I'd also caught a cold so knew we'd probably spend a bit of time in the apartment as I needed some rest. I'm glad we picked here!
What a TREAT to have Netflix. Most of our first day was spent in the apartment so I could get some rest, so it was soooooo great to 'netflix and chill' for a while.
On our second day we wanted to explore so it was awesome to have Edgware Tube station so close (we did a free walking tour of the City of London with Strawberry Tours and went to Brick Lane for the best curry of my life at The Monsoon, if you're wondering!). If I had to time it, I'd say you could get from the apartment and onto a tube train within 90 seconds. Okay, maybe 180 seconds hahaha but still - all's to say the Tube is super close which is so great, because the Tube is an excellent way of getting to all the places a traveler could want to go in London.
There is also a M&S Food Store on the opposite street, which was incredibly handy. Plus if you're a coffee lover just around the corner there's three different coffee places including a Starbucks (coffee's always a priority right?!).
As for the apartment, the place is easy to find, and the instructions for check-in where PERFECT. Everything was exceptionally clean and nicely furnished, including both bathrooms. In fact speaking of the bathrooms, this was the best shared experience I've had with bathrooms! The bathrooms where always incredibly clean and no issues with water getting on the floors from the shower (which has been a running theme with my experiences with shared bathrooms). The kitchens had everything you could want. The washer/dryers available were so convenient. Our room had everything we could possibly need - having our own fridge was a nice touch so we could keep our walnut whips nice and handy :D The hairdryer was the BEST hairdryer I've had in my entire 4 weeks across Europe. I could hear zero street noise other than sirens from time to time (but you're never going to get away from those being in the city); and I could hear virtually no other sounds from the other apartments and tenants, which is a far cry from my last two London hotel experiences where the walls where paper thin. I had worried that maybe with the other apartments this place might not feel private enough, but I need not have been worried. We felt like we had our own little cocoon!
If I had to choose between my last two budget London hotel experiences and this apartment, I would not hesitate to pick this apartment.
If you're a traveler and have no idea about what area of London to stay, I will say that Paddington wasn't my favourite suburb of the three London areas I've stayed in, HOWEVER the location of this apartment to the Tube station plus everything else makes up for that.
P.S. if you're looking for a really good meal out while you're in Paddington go to Satay House Malaysian Restaurant on Sale Place, it's only a few minutes walk away :)