This review is based on the quality for the price. The Airbnb and managers did discount the price for the noise of scaffolding being put up (noise on more than one day), but the value was still not great and it did not match the pictures. They say they will be renovating the place, so I hope your experience is better than ours. We travel often to London and we used to live in another part of London, so we know what to expect and we don’t think we are being too picky. Any of these issues we could live with, but we felt that there were too many issues for the price.
Pros
Big space, good beds, clean sheets, cool lower level apartment (good during heat wave), a lot of choice on TV, safe quiet neighborhood, clothes washer and dryer (the dryer doesn’t fully dry, but it is still helpful. This kind of dryer is typical in the UK and Europe), warm/hot shower and bath, allowed us to use an electronic piano in the living room.
Cons
Bathroom is not just outdated, it is breaking. Brown, crumbling, wet damaged corner. Bathroom looks like hostel. Bathroom ceiling light crooked and not attached properly. Painted tiles and paint is chipping off in many places. Hand shower by bath is still there but no hose attached. Mirror is rusted/tarnished? No curtain/blinds in bathroom window and we can see people in the garden. Dead plant in pot left at bathroom window sill. Bathroom window had bars for security, but the bathroom overall feels dreary bc of problems listed above and windows dirty and glass cracked.
Lower level apartment means it has a slight damp/moldy smell. Not as bad as some other London places we’ve been in.
Clothes washer was moldy and dirty in gasket and detergent drawer. Took me an hour to clean. I have had this problem in other rentals, but if it is the only problem or just 1 of a few problems, I don’t mention it bc I think lots of people don’t know how to properly clean their front loading machines.
Dirty dishes and glasses. Some places don’t guarantee clean dishes, but that should be stated in advance.
Kitchen counter and sink are 4-5 inches too high. Counter built to go over washing machine rather than for use as a kitchen. Very uncomfortable to use. I am 5’4”. Cobwebs in kitchen cabinets. Kitchen cabinets are not typical boxes with doors, they are like a utility closet or a roughly built airing cupboard.
Walls grimy or water damaged in some places and need a fresh coat of paint.
Big stains on living room carpet. More dead plants in living room. Food on rug under dining table. 2 upholstered chairs are yellowed and have threadbare arms. Pictures on listing show these chairs when they were new.
Broken pull chains on 2 of the bedroom blinds. You can close them, but hard to reach up high to open them. Blinds need to be used bc people outside can see in.
Missing doorknob or handle on the outside of the main door. So to close the door we had to pull it shut using the mail slot.
Hammersmith Bridge only allows pedestrians and cyclists, so the location is quite isolated. Taxis have to take a big detour to another bridge. There are no buses to Hammersmith. We did not know about this ahead of time. I feel that good hosts would warn their guests about particularly big transit problems ahead of time.
Once again, the review is based on quality for the price. Altogether it feels like there is a lack of looking after the place and they are booking guests regardless.