Ok so when I arrived it was not a great start. I had told Chimezie what time i was expecting to be there and asked if I could leave my bags there before check in. He had said that i was welcome to leave my bags there when I arrive. I arrived at his home just after 7am yet was left waiting almost 2 hours until 8:48am till being let in. I had knocked, called and messaged quite a bit and no answer. After 2 days of travel it was the last thing I wanted to be doing. Luckily it was a nicer London day and the sun was out. When Chimezie finally answered the door he seemed quite annoyed that I had woken him up. I understand it was relatively early that I arrived although we had arranged earlier when I would be there.
I said Id be back for check in at 12 and I was told “Check out for the guest here now is also at 12 so don’t expect the room to be ready then”. I was too shocked and jet lagged to even know how to reply to that.
I made myself busy until about 2pm and messaged Chimezie to see if the room was ready.
I was told that the previous guest had left and that the bed sheets wouldn't be ready for another 3 hours. Not ideal when all I wanted to do was sleep.
When I arrived back at the house Chimezie had found a spare fitted bed sheet but thats all that was there beside from a duvet without a cover. I didn't have this or the other sheets until 1030pm Friday night (The day after i arrived) as they were still apparently not ready.
The tap in the bathroom didn't work and the shower head hardly worked. I told Chimezie and he organised to have them both replaced. I was unable to shower in the morning as he had removed the shower head all together.
The next day i locked the door as I left as i wasn't sure if anyone was home. I was never told anything about the door and if it locked automatically so I just did the safest thing.That afternoon I had a message from Chimezie saying I had locked him inside and he then called me saying that I had “A lot of explaining to do when I came home”. I had just jumped in an uber to race home but the plumber who was coming to fix the taps in the bathroom had unlocked the door for Chimezie. Naturally I avoided going back for as long as possible as I felt extremely uncomfortable being there. I saw him once for the rest of my stay.
The location: Relatively close to Streatham Common station. About an 800meter walk, although I didn't feel safe walking from the station back to the house at night. Not much around walking distance to the house. Lots of small overpriced convenience stores around but you'd need to jump on the bus to get to the closest Tesco. There is a nice pub and tea rooms close by near the train station called “The railway”. Avoid during the morning as there is a children's creche next door and the tea rooms become unbearably loud with screaming children. I love kids but this was too much.
The House: The photos are outdated and need to be taken again. The room is on the second floor. Small but large enough for what i needed. The bed is a small single and not very comfortable. There was a freestanding wardrobe but no hangers. The bathroom is on the ground floor. The “Shower” is really a bath with a detachable shower head as it is hard to shower with how the shower head is positioned and even harder to not make the bathroom a swimming pool without a shower curtain.
I was really surprised at the state of the house. The living room/ sitting room was clean. The house was tidy although kitchen filthy, bathroom terribly filthy and bedroom fine but the carpets need a serious clean. The towels need replacing as I found they were marked and stained.
My overall stay Id rate a 2/5. I couldn't wait to leave the place by the end.