Rita and her husband were lovely hosts. Communication was clear and quick, and we very much appreciated Rita accommodating an earlier check in due to our flight arriving in the morning. She was also extremely understanding when our flight was significantly delayed on route.
The location is great, easy walking distance to the shops (including groceries) and restaurants of Kensal Rise and the beautiful Queens Park. We particularly liked Sacro Cuore - Naples’s style pizza, The Whippet Inn- classic English pub with nice food and a small beer garden, Taste of Chamberlayne - sandwiches and breakfast (also nice coffee) and the Khas Tandoori for curry. There are also many places for excellent coffee. The flat is also opposite a brand new community sport centre, and you can hire courts, do classes or gym and swim on a pay as you go basis.
While the flat is listed for 6 people, I think a family of 6 would find it a bit too small, as would 6 adults.
The top floor bedroom has restricted head height, and is set up for a child, however the skylight has no blind, so the room is very bright early and late (we stayed in July). The landing of the staircase also has a significant gap creating a fall risk, and which would not be safe for a younger child left unattended, and I personally wouldn’t let a toddler anywhere near it.
There is a single bathroom with an over-bath shower, with a hand held shower head and no wall fixing, as you sometimes find in English bathrooms. The hot cold water mixer was temperamental and I wasn’t able to leave the kids to shower unsupervised.
Unfortunately the downstairs/guest toilet smelt of damp, and leaving the fan running did nothing for the odor. We had to leave the door closed to prevent the smell spreading to the adjacent living space.
The kitchen was missing some basics, there were just 4 glasses despite the flat being for 6, and no wine glasses at all.
There is notably no dishwasher or clothes washer/drier (local laundries charged upwards of £5 for a small load, extra for drying) so the flat won’t really suit anyone needing to stay more than a few days (or a family with grubby kids!)
There is also no WiFi, and no phone line (we forgot to check!!) which was a pain. If you’re from overseas check out Giffgaff for great value (and reliable) phone and internet.
We had an unexpected visit at the beginning of our stay from the agent selling the flat. This was immediately dealt with by our hosts, but the flat does seem to be actively on the market to be sold.
There is a garden, but it was unkempt and there was no furniture to sit on.
The beds were old and to be honest a bit lumpy, and were matched by the pillows.
Overall our stay was adequate, we worked around the little things missing, but wouldn’t stay again. We felt the price (and perhaps it was just Airbnb’s surge pricing??) was too high and not reflective of the flat. That said our hosts were lovely, and very responsive.