It is hard to enjoy a quiet location when there is home reno going on upstairs.
Location: To begin, the location itself is outstanding. The flat is convenient to shopping, restaurants, pubs, museums, and two tube stops on different lines. The street is a nice one and the general atmosphere around is diverse and fun.
Construction: Shortly after we moved in for a three month stay we realized that the upstairs was undergoing a complete overhaul - new windows, flooring, cabinets, etc. This involved high-speed saws during the day and people hanging out of windows sanding frames above the garden. Scaffolding was going up, coming down frequently. Ladders were left unattended over our exit door - very unsafe activity by the construction crews. So it was very difficult to enjoy the garden or the property in general during the week. Checking with the host we heard consistent surprise, and we were told there was only a couple of weeks of decoration/painting left. Each time the activity took another turn we were told only a couple more weeks, however when we left three months later they were still not finished. For example, we would come out into the hall outside our flat and find someone cutting into the ceiling and blocking exit. No notice at all. We were told the construction manager would inform us when activity would affect us - never heard once from the construction manager. In the second half of our stay the construction extended into the weekend and they were constructing full decking and flooring above both bedrooms so there was no place to avoid the sawing, grinding, drilling, hammering. Construction on Saturday that causes noise for neighbors is not allowed in this area, however the host was not helpful in getting this stopped. At the end we would have made a direct complaint to the council but we were out of energy and discouraged. The construction is still underway and appears to have months left so we worry about the impact on the next guests.
Flat: The flat itself has everything you might need, in varying stages of functionality. When we moved in the dishwasher was not working and it took weeks of regular reminders to get the problem addressed by the host. The stove top was underpowered and only one burner at a time could go full power. Two burners could go half power. Any more and the stove would reset and turn off. It was very challenging even to boil water on the stove for pasta. The overall appearance of the flat was rather shabby, and the carpets themselves were very soiled. The flooring under the carpets creaked a lot so not sure what was down there. Bathroom had been modified more recently and was fine. Kitchen was very small but would have been functional with a more functional stove.
Overall: This could be a nice place with effort put in to clean up the flooring, and unfortunately it does not appear you can rely on information from the host about construction, general condition etc. The host frequently attempted to set up communication outside airbnb as we approved move-in (a red flag), and emailed us just prior to indicate we should say we were a member of his family if asked. This is the kind of thing that I really do not like. Apparently he told the construction people I was his brother. So I worry whether he is even authorized to do airbnb in this property.