In summary: Flat with spacious living room and kitchen (for London standards…) in a great location at the heart of Chelsea. Two bedrooms are large, have closets and an ensuite bathroom. Two additional bedrooms are tiny, spartan and merely consist of a bed and nothing else (one even lacking a window). Guests who sleep in the small bedrooms have to go through one of the large bedrooms to reach a toilet. Furniture is worn out and low-quality. We required a lot of back-and-forth with the host over several days to get heating to work and froze through the first few nights.
In more detail:
Location: Fantastic location between Battersea Park and Kings Road, both reachable on foot in a few minutes.
Heating: We had four days of back-and-forth with the host to get the heating to work. Countless calls, waiting in vain for a whole day for the host to show up, reading manuals and watching YouTube videos to understand the boiler configuration. The eventual solution was simple. If the host had understood how the system works, this could have been resolved in minutes over the phone.
Furniture: Living room couches are torn and uncomfortable. Beds are probably the cheapest on the market, the wires dig into your skin. We had to put duvets and blankets under the sheets to get some comfort but this was not even possible for everyone because they ration the sheets and the duvets. Had to beg for an extra duvet and duvet cover which they brought, but an extra sheet we had to buy ourselves. The promised mattress topper for one of the beds did not arrive during our stay.
Equipment: There's a large fridge with freezer, microwave, stove, toaster, dishwasher, washing machine. The rationing also applies to plates, cups, and cutlery. As a party of five adults and one child, we were constantly running out so had to buy disposable plates and cutlery to supplement. We mentioned this issue at check-in, but the host didn't address it. We asked for a drying rack for laundry, which the host provided.
Keys: The host provided only a single set of keys. This was challenging for 5 adults with different schedules. Eventually, on the fourth day, we got a second set of keys, which was highly appreciated.
Rubbish collection: The host told us to dump rubbish bags on the pavement any day, they would be collected. We researched and found out rubbish is only collected two days per week. Suggesting fly-tipping to guests we found shameful.