We opted to stay at Z & Alex’s place for location and experience, rather than comfort, and that is what I recommend to others. The house is located in hip East London with great street markets and Jack the Ripper tours available. It is a bit of a commute for main attractions but was worth it to see another part of London. The room itself is stylishly decorated with an oriental theme but not the most comfortable. The age of the house and antique furniture mean (very) slanted floors and stairs, wobbly tables, lumpy chairs, and poor water pressure. I also pulled a few loose door handles off accidentally. The bed is comfortable if you prefer a soft mattress. Noise carried from the stairwell and the street but was not too disruptive during our mid-week stay. Unfortunately, a new lock had just been installed on our room and we weren’t able to lock it from the inside which was a bit disconcerting after a Jack the Ripper tour! The host was responsive to this but the lock was still not functional at check-out. Check-in and check-out were easy. We were greeted by Alex at check-in and able to leave our bags in the main room after check-out while exploring. The breakfast system was efficient with menus slipped under the door to fill out for the next morning. Our eggs Benedict was delicious but was served ice cold. We stuck to cold breakfasts (yogurt & granola) for the rest of our stay which were great. Roger was the chef for the first part of our stay with another chef the last day whose name we didn’t catch. Overall, our stay in the Merchant’s room was a good experience, if not the most comfortable.