We needed somewhere to stay in Shoreditch for a couple of nights, and The Beach Hut caught our eye. As a single Parent, with 3 teenagers, the sleeping arrangements weren’t perfect but The Beach Hut looked light and fun and very well-located for our needs. Our arrival wasn’t ideal, arriving well before 4 with suitcases and weary teens. I sent our Host a text asking whether early check-in was possible but heard nothing back. After a few hours spent in the nearby Church garden, a lockbox code that still didn’t open at check-in time and a failed phone call to our Host, I then received a text to say I needed to access messages via the airbnb app. As a technological dinosaur, I didn’t have the app downloaded and I’d run out of mobile data anyway. To cut a sorry tale short, our Host had messaged me back much earlier via the app to say early check-in was fine. There was also an email sent after we’d left home that morning explaining that the lock box had moved - so we’d been trying the wrong one all that time! Anyway, all was well and in we went.
After this slightly inauspicious start, everything fell into place. The Beach Hut was smaller than I’d pictured but was a perfectly sufficient space. The best thing about it, in my view, was the host’s creative approach to using this space to provide comfortable sleeping accommodation for 4. The Design Traveller is very aptly named! The beach hut and hammock were just great; and the sofa bed was extremely comfortable and plenty big enough for a non-couple to share. Everything else was fine too - though table seating for 4 would have been appreciated.
Yes, there was a degree of noise; but ear plugs were provided and this didn’t bother us. Fans were provided too - and these were very welcome, especially when you shut the windows. My eldest child liked sitting on the kitchen window cill watching the business of everything and everyone below and we felt very much in the thick of it, in a good way. We ate out at Pizza East, as recommended by our host, and this was a great success. Keen not to spend too much more of our free time with our suitcases, our host suggested several left luggage options for our day of departure that were all so much cheaper than the train station option. I hadn’t used any thing like this before, but the one we used worked really well for us and I was thankful for the tip.
So, all in all, after a trying start, we really enjoyed our stay at The Beach Hut, admired the imaginative use of space and felt it definitely offered great value for money. I would definitely recommend - even if you think 4 single beds might be preferable. Thank you host!