Shant’s apartment’s bare bones are really nice but there has been no upkeep in a very long time. From the significant stains to the broken curtains, to the broken AC and heater, to the broken door to the balcony, to the unchanged water filter in the fridge, to the broken dresser drawer, to the crack in the hallway wall, to the unclean linens, to the overall dirty condition in which the apartment was left - it was all a huge let down.
But what was worse than the condition of the place was the way Shant went about being a host. Shant is the least responsive Airbnb host I have ever had. He lives countries away, so he does not make Airbnb his priority.
I felt trapped in a situation where I needed long-term housing (long-term by Airbnb standards, over 4 months) and relied on his place, and where it was hard to find anything for a decent price anywhere else once I moved in. I told Shant about all the problems in the house the day after we moved in and for over four months he strung us along and kept telling us he would fix things in the house - and things continually were breaking down from a lack of maintenance. He never fixed ANYTHING, and he had a pattern of saying he would and then getting frustrated when we followed up and would mention how he gave us such a good deal on the place, so fixing stuff would be difficult. We did not want to have Airbnb take action and contact him because we were afraid of retaliation. We could not afford to lose our place we were living in. It really is a bummer though because we did not get the place listed as it is listed and were in no position to be able to fix the AC or heating, so we just froze some nights.
The location of the apartment is far away from the main attractions in London, but not too far. I liked the quiet location slightly away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The nearest mode of transportation is an overground station which does not have trains running nearly as frequently as the underground and which often seems to have changes in schedules or trains not showing up.
The really nice thing about the location is the fact that there is a Tesco and a few restaurants right below where the apartment is located. Getting food is very convenient. There is also a taxi line right across from the Tesco if you do not want to take the overground or a bus.
If it were not for the condition of the apartment presently and the way Shant conducts himself, this would be a wonderful place to stay. It really is a shame, and I hope no other travelers get stuck in the same crummy situation we did.