My stay at Surabhi’s place is one of my best AIRBNB experiences. I strongly recommend Surabhi’s place, and would love to stay there again myself in the near future. I would like to explain why my experience at Surbahi’s is so great in three parts: her place itself, the neighborhood, and Surabhi herself.
First, her place itself. I stayed for more than one week at Surabhi’s place in January and February 2019, when London was particularly freezing. But I felt generally comfortable at home at Surabhi’s place, which had been thoroughly reasonably heated. Surabhi’s place, always spotlessly clean, is a small but new house of three floors (or more floors? Of which I do not know). My partner and I used the second floor, which includes a bathroom (with TWO handheld showerheads, a tub, and a toilet) exclusive for the tenants, and one tenants’ bedroom for two persons. The bathroom was made special by the orchids kept in it, which were vibrant and fragrant during my stay. The hair blower is strong. The bedroom is comfy for a couple. There is enough room in the wardrobe for the coats and heavy clothes for the tenants. There are also numerous travel books on various countries for the tenants to browse in the bedroom.
The third floor of the house belongs to Surabhi exclusively, so I don't know what’s there. Surabhi generously shared the first floor with us, which includes a living room and a very well-equipped kitchen. One thing I especially appreciate about the living room is that it does without a TV-set or anything similar. Therefore, there is no noisy TV-watching or video-game-playing in the living room. The fireless oven is sufficient for us to make every meal of the day for us. There are enough pots, dishes, plates, mugs, bowls and silverware to use in the kitchen. Surabhi collects an impressive variety of international spices (especially for cuisine across Asia) and caffeine-free teas, and share them with the tenants. (Since Surabhi does not drink teas with caffeine, we had to get strong earl grey tea from a local grocery though.) There is a microwave oven. The refrigerator is spacious enough for Surabhi to share with the tenants. She even encouraged us to enjoy her food and orange juice in the refrigerator. There are always crackers and chocolate candies for the tenants to eat during the day as convenient treats. (Note: one has to climb stairs moving up and down between the floors in the house. There is no elevator.)
Second, the neighborhood. Surabhi’s place is in a very serene residential neighborhood, 10-15 minute on foot from Canada Water tube station (Zone 2). Before I found Surabhi’s listing on Airbnb, I knew nothing about Canada Water at all. I guess Canada Water is not so famous to international visitors, for it, being highly residential, does not look touristy at all. The district where Surabhi’s place is in seems to be newly planned and built, for the area with all the houses and apartments looked artistically vintage but modern at the same time. (Semi-?) wild animals could be spotted. For example, my partner and I found a fox near Surabhi’s house, but we were not sure if the fox was domesticated or not. I appreciate Canada Water as it is, as it feels like a quiet shelter away from but accessible to the hectic Zone 1. Next to the tube station, there are a small but very practical Sainsbury’s, a huge Tesco connected to a shopping mall, and the Canada Water public library open to all. After getting grocery at Sainsbury’s, we would walk for 10-15 minutes to get back to Surabhi’s place, during which virtually no shop or restaurant could be found. My partner and I enjoyed using this library very much, in which we could have coffee, sit and browse a wide collection of updated books (literature, manga, etc), and read and write for our own work. One did not need to show ID, pass, or cash to the library for admission. A dishwasher and a washing machine are conveniently installed in the kitchen and open for the tenants.
Third, Surabhi is a wonderful host. She is attentive to the tenants’ needs but gives no pressure. As she is a professional busy working every day, we did not get to see her at home on a daily basis. (We guessed she might go to bed early.) She is intellectual and artistic; the tenants will find her books and the artworks she does in the house. But she is also relaxed and easy-going. When we got home earlier, we usually found her reading or cooking in the kitchen (but never watching or listening to anything noisy). Sometimes she and we would talk about cooking tips briefly and cheerfully. My partner once made dinner for Surabhi, who was delighted. She also made dinner for all of us once, which was so hearty on a winter night. And to my surprise, she even baked a birthday cake for me during my stay; she happened to know about my birthday from my partner. I am very lucky to have had Surabhi as my host during my visit in London in 2019.