While we have been using Airbnb for a number of years now, this was our first time staying at an Airbnb shared space with the host. We were unsure how such an arrangement would work out but it was one of the few places advertised close to the center of London that was in our price range so we decided to give it a go.
Toral, the host, agreed to meet us there at the flat when we arrived jet lagged from our flight. Her flat was just a short fifteen minute walk from the London Bridge Underground station. She allowed us to drop our bags and then showed us a local market place and a great place for breakfast (or was it lunchtime now?) where we had a wonderfully satisfying meal.
The Bermondsey area is as Toral describes it: eclectic and loaded with foodie delights. We thoroughly enjoyed walking through this neighborhood, even in the rain, which was every day.
Back at the flat. The first floor is a large open kitchen and an adjoining dining/living area which contained a table for eating or hanging out. The kitchen is large and well equipped. Without a doubt, the best equipped kitchen I had ever seen in an Airbnb. The refrigerator was absolutely stuffed to the gills with jars and containers of food but there was a noticeable foul odor emanating from inside, however, which made us hesitant to store any of our food in there. It needed some attention. Toral did have a nice filtered water container which we used regularly. There was also a washer/dryer combo unit which we used to do a small load of laundry which worked great. This was a big plus.
The bathroom upstairs was beautiful with a great shower. The bedroom was tiny and cramped and had very little place to store clothes. The quality of the mattresses was the worst I have ever experienced in an Airbnb. I don’t say that to be harsh. These were awful. If there was a minimum requirement for grading Airbnb mattresses, these would score below it. The pillows were not much better either. Neither my wife or I was able to get a good night’s sleep during our entire stay in London due to the poor quality of the mattress. The bed also did not have a head board on one half which caused the pillows to slip away during the night.
As for the shared space, it mostly worked out well as we didn’t see Toral, the host, all that much during our stay there. On our second to last night there however, Toral was cooking dinner and entertaining a friend downstairs until well into the night, so we had no choice but to spend the rest of the evening in our tiny bedroom sitting on our uncomfortable mattresses. We question Toral’s decision to be entertaining other friends while she had paying Airbnb guests in her home.
Overall, Toral’s place is nice but it is not without its quirks. If you don’t mind a poor quality mattress, this place may provide a good value for you. If you value a good night’s sleep, I would say pass on this one.