Kate and Renato‘s house is located near good supermarkets and has also fast access from Stansted Airport, either by car or by train. They also have a super fast internet connection, and communication with them was easy.
However, our stay was unfortunately disturbed by many crucial aspects: (1) some parts of the house were in an extremely dirty state. We found lots of dust and lost objects under the beds and on the futton mattress and mould on the sofa and the futton. Also the kitchen floor and utensils (each one of which we had to rewash before using for the first time) hadn’t been properly clean. When we wrote a complaint about the dirtiness, the hosts didn’t take it well and didn’t believe what we said. They sent us a receipt from the company hired to clean the house before we checked in as a response, as if a receipt was any proof of actual cleaning (clearly the cleanliness was not inspected after the job completion). They even told us we were not supposed to move furniture when we checked the state under the beds and that dust under them is acceptable for “an old Victorian house with open floor boards”; (2) it’s not in a very good location. Despite the supermarkets and the proximity to STN airport, it is 10 km away from the city center and not so close to the subway, as the ad suggests. It is at least a 20 min walk to Seven Sisters station (zone 3), or one can take bus 41 at Philip Lane stop, travel for 3 stops and exit at Seven Sisters. Not only that, but the neighbors were also loud at night, and we could hear everything from the streets through the windows; (3) some other issues: the ad mentions a clothes dryer, which does not exist; it was a bit struggling to take a shower, as very little water came out from it; one of the light spots on the living room ceiling must have been damaged, as two lamps we connected to it burned out during our stay.