The flat has a lovely uncluttered, well-designed feel and wonderful views with treetops outside the windows. It is a warm, light flat in a quiet neighbourhood which has little traffic, and a villagey, characterful feel. There are some odd quirks like no curtains / blinds in either bedroom - so you may need an eye mask, and with the lights on you're in danger of being seen by the dog walkers outside! Also despite being generally high-end there were surprises like posters sellotaped to the bathroom wall (which quickly fell down due to damp!) and missing cooking items like sharp knives. Also there is an environmentally friendly but very noisy Heat Recovery System next to the bedrooms - which meant little sleep the first night. We later discovered that it could be turned off, but there was no information about this.
Also it doesn’t mention in the listing that the property is right next to a cemetery, with gravestones coming to within a few metres from the house, under the bedroom windows - this might bother some people so would be useful to know!
The main downside though is that the property isn’t managed by the owner, but by an agent, Houst - it feels pretty impersonal if you’re used to dealing with owners - all messages are answered by ‘Ben’s support team’ so you never know who you’re actually talking to. Also before releasing full details of the property, Houst required us to sign an online form agreeing that “A minimum fee of £50.00 will be charged for late check outs” - this wasn’t specifically mentioned in the listing, and according to AirBnB this breaks their rules - this left a nasty taste when signing it! Also the address we were given for the property didn’t actually exist according to the Royal Mail and other address lists, so it was hard for us to arrange a food delivery to the flat, and we never got a clear answer from the agent about this.
So all in all a stressful booking and settling in experience, partly made up for by a nice flat and a good neighbourhood.