I stayed at Raul and Carol's place for two months this winter. Overall, I enjoyed my stay! Here's a list of pros and cons about the apartment for those looking to book:
Pros:
1. The kitchen/living area is really cozy and attractive. While this space is a bit smaller than it seems in pictures, the view out of the lovely enormous windows is SO serene. I spent so many afternoons perched by the window looking out onto Vauxhall Park. Really amazing to have that peaceful view in the middle of a city neighborhood.
2. The amenities/utilities are overall pretty good--heating works well and super easy to use. Convenient washing machine and dishwasher.
3. Great shower and shower pressure!
4. Raul and Carol were super accommodating and communicative hosts. They didn't bug us throughout our stay but checked in whenever was necessary and responded quickly to our messages.
5. Kitchen is equipped with lots of pots/pans/cutlery/etc (though some of the cutlery is stained).
6. The apartment is within walking distance of many beautiful locations like the river and Battersea park. I walked throughout our neighborhood often!
Cons:
1. A strange sewage-like smell would sometimes come from the bathroom and leak into other parts of the home. In general we often had to open the apartment windows to air out different smells that would get trapped in the apartment hallway.
2. The apartment itself was clean when we got there, but the building's front entrance is often dirty or littered with old mail.
3. The bedrooms are a lot darker than they seem in the photos, at least in the winter. My bedroom was dark for most of the day and that made it hard to spend much time there in the daytime.
4. Whenever the neighbors play music it is extremely audible and can feel chaotic and distracting. However, the neighbors were really nice to us! And this made us feel less bad about playing our own music haha.
5. One of the bedrooms looks out on an unkempt backyard.
None of these cons were so difficult to deal with that we felt we had to notify Raul and Carol to solve them in the middle of a pandemic. Overall, there were many aspects of the apartment that we enjoyed and I really appreciate that Raul and Carol were kind and unintrusive hosts. I'll miss looking out at onto the park from the windows! Thanks so much!