I know London is an expensive city and the owner Doreen seems like a nice person. She was very flexible about checkin and checkout, which we appreciated. But we've stayed in fantastic airbnb's across North America and this was very different.
Imagine that your 20-something friend hears you’re coming to London and says you can stay in her flat for the weekend (and she’ll stay with a friend.) That’s what this place is like. There was almost no preparation for our visit. The carpet and sofa had large stains. Window coverings were basic. No pictures on the walls. Areas around wall switches were dirty. There were no chairs – just 4 small backless stools. Food was in the fridge. Washed dishes were in the rack by the sink – not in the cupboard. Only 1 small hand towel in the bathroom. Doreen told me where to find 2 bath towels but we had to share because there were 3 of us. There’s no TV or radio. Every surface is covered with the owner’s personal belongings so we had to keep things in our suitcases and keep track of our stuff.
On the plus side, there is internet and the building seems secure. It’s possible that the Airbnb standards in Europe are just much lower than North America. Next time though, we’ll stay in a hotel.