Abysmal - is the one word that would describe the overall experience.
I live in London and needed a place for 6 days for me any my kids while in-between homes. I took Stephen's place based on the description, pictures and amenities mentioned. What is described as a "Luxurious & Modern 3 Bed" fell way short of the description.
There are many issues that make the apartment fundamentally unusable.
1) It is very poorly maintained and dirty - despite being a dark colour the staining on the couch is very evident; some duvet covers had ripped and stained red; kitchen utensils had food stuck on them; kettle looked like it had never been cleaned. The shower door had jumped its rails and jammed open. For most of our stay we had only one usable shower in a "three" bedroom facility. It was only on day 4 of a 6 day stay that a handyman came and provided a temporary repair (as a part was missing).
2) The third bedroom (with the bus bed) was filthy and unusable. Other than a small access path the entire room and area around the bed was stacked with boxes, linen, children's toys books and various miscellaneous items all covered in a heavy layer of dust. My son, who has a dust allergy was unable to enter the room much less use it to live/sleep in. Despite being advertised as a 3 bed there were only 2 usable bedrooms provided.
3) Many of the advertised amenities don't work or don't exist. The air-conditioning didn't work. The dedicated workspace doesn't exist. The kitchen was equipped with exactly 3 dinner plates and 2 flimsy knives. Advertised as a place for 5 people, it is actually impossible for them to eat together. Toilet roll holders were absent in the bathrooms requiring the need to balance them on the radiator or door handle. While seemingly a minor issue it is representative of the complete lack of attention and maintenance of the place.....not what one would call "Luxurious".
4) There is major construction occurring on the exterior of the building. When I raised this with the host, his team responded that the host "did not receive any work notice from building management". To be clear, this is not minor exterior aesthetic repairs but a replacement of all the external cladding - a major two year project that started about 5 or 6 weeks ago. The noise levels are off the charts. Constant hammering and drilling starting from 8am in the morning till about 3:30pm. Personally I don't find the host's claim that building management did not inform residents prior to starting a long, expensive and noisy construction project credible.
5) The check in process is shambolic. There was no remote to access the garage and after several hours were told by Stephen's team that the remote had been lost. It was then suggested that I pay the concierge for a new remote. For the duration of my stay there I did not have a remote and had to coordinate with the concierge to gain access in and out of the garage, a task that was inconvenient as there is no mobile connection in the garage. Further it was suggested by the host's team that I mislead the concierge by saying I was a friend and not to mention AirBnb.
All attempts to communicate with Stephen and his "team" were met with unresponsiveness or stonewalling. The "team" is an outsourced 3rd party company, likely overseas, who have clearly never seen the apartment nor are they equipped or empowered to address matters. The "team's" stock response was that they would look into the matter and get back as soon as possible ..... which they never did. Other than sending a handyman to repair the shower door 4 days later they did nothing. Attempts to contact Stephen directly on a UK mobile were futile. Despite the teams repeated assurances that Stephen would contact me, he never did. I spent a 1/2 day cleaning the place, moving items from the 3rd bedroom, setting up boxed fans that I found and making the apartment somewhat habitable. I raised the matter with AirBnb support and sent them pictures and videos. They tried multiple times to contact the host but he never responded to them either. His business model very clearly is misrepresent, mis-sell and ignore.
I was not aware that the average AirBnb rating is 4.7. Stephen's rating in the low 4's is actually quite bad. Based on some of the other feedback, it is clear that I am not the only one who has been subject to his business model. Expect to be disappointed if you book this host.