Do not rent from Pauline (who is really Abdul).
Here is the good news: the apartment was newly renovated and was very nice. It was located on a side street in SoHo, so it was right in the middle of all the action.
Here is the bad news: The listing was new so there were no reviews but what I neglected to do was read the other reviews from his other listings. I would never have rented from him if I had read them.
1)The listing was misleading. I am disabled and rented this apartment because in the listing (which I am sure he has changed by now) said NO STAIRs. While there are no stairs in the apartment itself, there is an entire flight of stairs to get there.
2) The entire building is being renovated so the staircase itself was unfinished, jagged, with nails and glass everywhere.
3) The smell of new construction was everywhere and gave us all headaches. While we did open the windows, the windows are located in such a way that anyone from the building next door could climb in.
4) If all that wasn't bad enough, Abdul met us at the building and seems like he was in a big rush. While the listing says that you will be asked for ID, Abdul insisted it be my passport and insisted on taking a copy. Since I felt so intimated, I let him do it, but like others who have left this same type review, I am reporting him to the London police.
5) Don't expect help from AirBnB. Because of the safety issues, we called them immediately. They state they have a safety policy but to date, 3 weeks later, I have not heard from them in over a week, was transferred several times and I doubt I will receive a refund.
We never stayed in that apartment!!! We were there for two hours trying to work with AirbnB but to no resolve so we left and found another place to stay. NO, AirbnB did not help us.
So, if you don't care about your safety or giving Abdul access to your passport, then go ahead and rent the apartment. It is nicely renovated.