Let’s start with the good things. The location is excellent with good connections via public transportation, and only a short walk to Notting Hill. The apartment was available at the agreed time. The communication with the host (note: this property is managed by a company so there is no direct contact with the owner) was relatively easy with a reasonable response time. Decent TVs with local channels and possibility to stream via Netflix etc. The kitchen is equipped with a large fridge and freezer. The beds have decent mattresses.

Future tenants need to be aware of the following:

The apartment is cleaned in a superficial way. Still plenty of dust on top of the appliances, on the floor and under the beds

There are quite a few walls with what looks like water damage resulting in the paint coming of the walls. The kitchen cupboards as well as some of the wardrobes are falling apart.

The air smells moldy and it is necessary to open the windows on the front (street side) and on the back (bedrooms) to ensure fresh air.

The windows open but there are bars in front of the windows on the inside for security reasons and those you cannot open as they are locked with a special key. In case of fire this could be a serious issue.

The two bathrooms mentioned, include one bathroom with a very low ceiling which does not allow adults to take a proper shower.

The apartment is not as bright as you may wish since it is entirely at basement level.

The WiFi connection offers proper broadband in the living area, but it is impossible to get a decent connection in the bedrooms.

Some of the light switches do not function properly and the dimmable lights flicker.

However the biggest issue is that there are big construction works right behind the apartment. There is a lot of noise related to this as of 7.30-8 am until at least 5pm on all days except Sundays. It is impossible to sleep because of this noise, even with the windows closed. This is something that should have been mentioned in de description as this really impacts the quality of the stay in this apartment.