We are an usual review perhaps, as we moved into Olivia's flat for 6 weeks while our own house was having building work. We are a local family (Serena, myself and our 2 teenage boys). We chose the flat because it is near our house and near to school for the boys, so minimal disruption. We have lived in the area for 20 years and have been very happy here - as others have said, it is not far from Forest Hill and Sydenham stations, has nice local shops (especially the book shop in Sydenham) and restaurants (especially the Japanese restaurant) and plenty of buses which get into town quickly.
Olivia's flat is compact and newly-decorated. The hairdryer provided was still unopened in its box. It is a small property on a busy main road (parking is possible, but at your own risk) that has been recently converted into 3 flats, so there were a few teething problems as a result (for example the water supply to the washing machine had not been turned on) but these were easily fixed. Olivia over our 6 week stay was extremely responsive, friendly and helpful. For the issues we had (a broken light in the hall, broken door handle, broken boiler) they were all fixed the same day, and sometimes within the hour of reporting. The rooms were beautifully dressed and clean, the kitchen stocked with the important things.
So why not 5 stars? There were a few issues - all of which we have fed back to Olivia. The main difficulty is the noise, which others have noticed. The house literally shakes as a bus goes past, and the flat is on a main road so the buses run very late. Being a house conversion, the noise from the other flats also carries, with footsteps, laughter and music carrying through the walls. I found myself tiptoeing as I left to go to work at 7am. The bins also overfill quickly, so rubbish and food waste finds itself on the front garden quickly, and we found ourselves having to clear it ourselves. This should all be fixable with more/bigger bins (to include a recycle bin as we did not have one of these).
Overall we have been happy with our stay and would recommend it subject to some small changes which may well have been implemented by the time your read this.