Charlie’s place was like a home away from home. It has great character, incredible design, and everything you could need for a multi-week stay. I really appreciated being in a “real” home with books on the shelves and kitchen gadgets and utensils you wouldn’t normally find in a basic rental property or apart-hotel. The weekly cleaner was excellent, too.
Charlie was a friendly and welcoming host, and overall the communication was great. We had a bit of a miscommunication on the first day around the check in time; Charlie notified me that I was unable to check in until after 6pm as the apartment was being cleaned, so I made arrangements to conduct my online work meetings elsewhere that day with the understanding I would get to the property some time after 6pm. I hadn’t realised that Charlie would be waiting to check me in personally at exactly 6pm, and was a little later due to work commitments. Once I got to the property the check in was great with lots of really useful pointers (e.g. washing machine and dryer location and settings, light switch information). Communication-wise there was also an unfortunate issue with another tenant who had their bike stolen from the property during the 4th week of my stay, and despite later mentioning to me that he had had 3 bikes stolen from this property before, Charlie was keen to not be involved. I understand this to an extent, but it was a really unpleasant experience to contacted by another tenant, accused of leaving the hallway door open (I did not) and asked to pay £200 to cover the cost of their bike when I was not responsible for the theft or the lack of security in the hallway (visibly unlocked bikes behind a Yale lock door on a busy London street, no hall cameras, multiple tenants and people with keys/access to the property). After this incident I was a lot more reluctant to use the shared laundry facilities for fear of further bike-related confrontation (please note that the washing machine and dryer are in a shared space used by other tenants and not in this apartment itself as the kitchen picture in the listing implies).
The location of this property is incredible, and it was ideal for both accessing central London (which I did for work once a week) and having a wealth of places to explore on the doorstep. Between the Rich Mix cinema a minute down the road and Brick Lane just across the street I was never short of things to do. Holy Shot (coffee shop practically underneath the apartment) and Gecko cafe (down the road, next to Rich Mix) became my regulars for great coffee.
The desk space (not really pictured in the listing) was superb and perfect for home-working. I also really appreciated that the apartment was warm and well equipped with additional blankets on the sofa for chillier nights.
Overall I had a fantastic time staying at Charlie’s place and would not hesitate to stay here again.