Good stay in a beautiful apartment!
My parents stayed at Lauren’s place for 5 nights and they kept saying how lovely and spacious it was. I was happy with it as it is close to my place and I could walk to and from hers to spend time with my parents.
Lauren’s house is quite warm which is perfect for guest visiting from tropical countries during fall and winter.
The building is secure and not far from the bus and train stations in the area. You can get into central London in little time. Water pressure is good, the apartment is generally clean and what you see in the photos is what you get for the most part. But do confirm with Lauren exactly what essentials you may need for your stay. I let her know I was happy to cover unavailable essentials listed in amenities as she had sent us an offer at booking.
The bedroom is spacious and my parents repeatedly mentioned that they enjoyed their sleep.
Lauren’s flat is quite equipped as she lives there and she seemed happy to share her belongings with my parents. They enjoyed cooking their own meals with fresh produce gotten a few minutes walk from the building.
Lauren was kind to give us an early check in for free and was patient during the booking process. However I would suggest reaching out ahead of time to agree on check in time as she previously agreed to a super early check in but only let me know it would no longer be possible when I contacted her a day before. She still checked us in 3 hours before her listed check in which I thought was accommodating.
Also check with Lauren that the “knack” on her door has been fixed as this makes the door difficult to unlock. Lauren only mentioned the issue with the door after we checked in although I asked before check in if there was anything we needed to keep in mind. My parents were locked out and in on several occasions and needed me to wiggle the key for minutes whenever we locked and tried to unlock it. I didn’t bother with reporting this during my stay given that she had been super accommodating during the booking process.
I would recommend Lauren’s place if you want a pretty place in an appointed location but personally won’t be booking Lauren’s place again following my experience from check out day.
On check out day, Lauren’s previously cracked seat broke when my mum sat on it resulting in her losing her balance. Unfortunately we couldn’t agree on how to resolve it.
Lauren provided us with 3 dining seats, two of which were cracked before check in. She admitted to being aware of this but she tried to take advantage of the situation because the seat was usable until when my mum sat on it on check in day. She also lied about the cost of the seat to me and in her report to Airbnb.
Lauren also reported that we damaged her bin stating that the lid wouldn’t close, luckily for me I had evidence to show that her bin lid was open on check in day and all through my parent’s stay. I left it in the same state after taking the trash out on check out day. Lauren also lied about the cost of the bin.
Lauren reported to Airbnb that someone slept in her couch without evidence even though there is cctv in her building to show this as untrue. Thankfully I had hard data showing me leaving to and fro her house every day of her stay.
Lauren also said she spent double on cleaning despite me cleaning her surfaces, sweeping her floor and hoovering the carpet. All the dishes were done and the dirty towels thrown in the washer.
Please do not take the beddings after use for washing. Lauren took a photo of this and reported it as me making a mess of her house.
I told Lauren my parents would be cooking all their meals during their stay and she turned around and demanded reimbursement because of the food smell and needing to deep clean her house as a result.
The fact that she tried to make up stories to support her unfair request for reimbursement on an already damaged chair ruined the entire experience for me and my parents.
If you decide to stay with Lauren please do a thorough video at check in and check out as you may need it. Thankfully this isn’t my first Airbnb experience or I would never use Airbnb again.