We loved staying with James, right in the heart of Portobello Rd ,with everything on our doorstep. The only negative would be sharing a bathroom down 2 flights of stairs, but that did not affect our enjoyable stay and we would return at the drop of a hat.
For the best brunch, go to the Electric Diner, next to the Electric Cinema. For the ultimate gin experience, go to the Ginstitute on Portobello Rd - a superb night's entertainment and return with your own bespoke gin.
It is a beautiful area of London and everyone was so friendly, including meeting a lady in a restaurant who lent us her restaurant loyalty discount cards for us to use during our stay and said "just post them back through my door " - (which we did) Never had anything like that anywhere before !