TL;DR: Basils place is in a great location, comfortable, and Basil is a great host. Will not hesitate to re-book.
This was our first AirBNB Experience. My husband and I were looking for a place to spend close to a month in London. After reviewing several options we booked with Basil. We were not disappointed.
Check In/Check Out Process Process:
The check in was a breeze. We met Basil at his shop that is just below the flat. He handed us the keys and we were off. Check out was just as easy. We left the keys in the flat and left.
Location: Could not be better. The flat is located on Edgware Road - right at the intersection of Paddington, Marylebone, and Maida Vale neighbourhoods in London. There are plenty od shops around - Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose so you will not have any issues finding necessities. There are also a number of restaurants nearby.
In Basils flat you are a 10 minute walk from Hyde Park Corner, The Marble Arch and Oxford street (Some of the bets shopping on the planet). A quick walk across the edge of Hyde Park and you are in The Queens back yard - Buckingham Palace, St James Palace, Green Park and St. James Park. Not to mention Picadilly Circus, Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue and The Strand. You are just also a few minutes walk from Abbey Road for Beatles Fans, 221B Baker Street for Sherlock Holmes Fans, and Regent Park.
For those who don't like to walk - you are just steps from the Edgware Road Underground stations. From there you are just minutes by tube from anywhere in the Greater London Area.
Getting To Basil's flat is ridiculously easy from Heathrow - Take the Heathrow Express into Paddington Station and walk 5 minutes to the flat. From the Other airports its similarly easy - but just involves a transfer at one of the other London Stations. You don't need a hire car unless you just want one.
The Flat Itself:
The flat is well appointed - There is a lounge that has two sofas, a TV, a 4 place table, and book cases. It was very comfortable, pleasantly decorated, and easily embraceable by just adding your own souvenirs to the shelving units. In the wall unit Basil has also thoughtfully supplied all of the user manuals for the appliances for those unfamiliar with how some European appliances can be different.
The TV is a smart TV - and you enter your own passwords for Netflix, Amazon, HULU, etc.
Bedroom: The bedroom is smartly appointed with a US queen Size bed (UK Small Double). Basil provides multiple sheet sets and comforters. There are two wardrobes and a 4 drawer chest, 2 night stands. My favourite feature was the large window - great for opening for a cooling night breeze.
Outside the bedroom is a washer/dryer in the space under the stairs. We used these quite a bit during our 24 hour stay. Basil had provided all of the consumables we would need.
Kitchen / Bath: The Kitchen was the main selling point for us with this flat since we would be staying for 25 days. The kitchen has all of the small appliances and essentials you will need. We made our Christmas dinner (roast Chicken, Goose fat potatoes, vegetables, and pudding there. Some new knives might be in order - but everything worked great for us.
Bath: The bath is small and off the kitchen. If you are a US person without much UK/EU experience the water pressure is on the low side of normal. Its perfectly normal for Europe though. There were multiple sets of towels that were high quality for us to use.
Other Amenities: Free WiFi. Worked great - we got oculus Quest headsets for Christmas and were able to play all of the Quest Star Wars games with no problem.
Cleanliness: The flat was perfectly clean when we arrived. Basil had plenty of cleaning supplies for us to use while we were there. Hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes were there. You could have eaten off of the floors.
Support: Basil was there to answer any questions. He loves above the flat and works below it - but you'd never know it there's zero noise.