My personal experience during the stay was terrible here's why:
1. The host: Two weeks in Matt lost his temper, raised his voice at me, personally insulted me, and threatened to kick me out for having a post sent to the address. This was because I needed my debit card sent to me and I forgot about the House Rules explicitly written on Matt's Airbnb listing - I think it was completely fair he was upset, I just think that nothing justifies raising your voice, and personally insulting your guest. Additionally, it was something that could have been calmly talked through, he could have expressed his frustrations calmly but decided to threaten to kick me out instead (a big threat to me being a young female student in a foreign country with no nearby connections, I've paid for the stay on a tight budget, if I got kicked out it would put me in a very vulnerable position). I feel like he felt he could disrespect me in this way because I am young and female. This made me feel unsafe and uncomfortable for the rest of my stay - I stopped cooking my usual meals and would only get ready-made meals from Tesco Express/quickly boil things just to avoid spending too much time in the common space. I reached out to talk to him after his reaction in an attempt at conflict resolution and to his credit, he did apologize and calmed down but I can't feel safe sharing a space with anyone (especially a much older man) who felt like they can disrespect me in that way. I tried my best to stay out of his way during the rest of my stay, act nice and polite, and would feel stressed out if I hear Matt's voice or his footsteps. During our talk, he mentioned that he was frustrated because it did not seem like I read the rules (I forgot to put the pots and pans away etc.) and there were things he constantly had to remind me of (certain ways of closing the doors etc.). In my defense I think these are things you experience when having a new person with different habits in a space you already inhabit - I needed time and open communication. You can be frustrated but you have to find mature ways of dealing with it - personally insulting me isn't it, losing your temper isn't it. There needs to also be a level of professionalism especially since I did pay for my stay.
2. Sharing a tiny flat with two other people. It's a very tiny space you are sharing with 2 other people, there's a third female lodger who takes a really long time in the bathroom so expect for there to be lots of time where you might have to hold your pee for 30 minutes or longer.
3. The Flat, cleanliness etc. - While the room is like the picture, the kitchen felt really grimy to me. I think it just hasn't been deep clean in a while. I eventually got used to it but I found the kitchen really gross when I first arrived. There are also small details like green stuff in the water purifier Matt doesn't seem to notice, the tea kettle seems like it's never been washed etc. There's also a lot of accumulated dust on the corners of the bed where the mattress doesn't fully fill it - I think Matt only vacuums the room but doesn't really bother going into the nooks and crannies to get dust bunnies out in the hard to reach places by the bed. While I like my room - and it is pretty like the picture, it can get really stuffy and when I try to open the window I always get a cigarette smell wafting from the outside. If you are sensitive to that sort of thing this is something to take note of.
The location is also really far from greater London so if that matters to you I would not recommend it. The small space, sharing with 2 other people and the distance from greater London just isn't worth the price but that's my opinion.
I don't like leaving negative reviews because I like to think that people are trying their best and I don't like making anyone feel bad but I feel like my experience was so negative that I want to let any future guests know of Matt's behavior and the way it affected me. If Matt is reading this I wish him the best of luck and hope he just doesn't express himself the way he did with me on any future guests.