We booked a six day stay in a bright studio with garden views with wifi in Acton Town based on a nice photograph of an attractive studio. Th reviews were also very positive. However, less than three weeks before the landlord contacted me to tell me the studio was no longer available because he had received a more attractive offer and offered me an alternative that was not entirely to my liking on a take it or leave it basis. As we were already travelling in rarely remote parts with poor internet connection I did not relish searching for a new place to stay and accepted the offer. The landlord even offered to give me a discount, which he did - a discount of one pound. A bit of a joke. Before arriving in London, he contacted me again and told me he had a more suitable place that he could offer me. I accepted on the condition that it was up to the standard of my original booking.
When we arrived i London, we found Ajit, the landlord's name to be a friendly , charming and helpful person so it pains me somewhat to write this negative review. However, the fact is that Ajit is a professional landlord who will put his own interests first no matter what inconvenience he might cause his clients.
The studio turned out to be a room with a bathroom built into a cubicle in a corner with an impractical minimal cooking facility squeezed into a closet. The seating consisted of two folding wooden chairs not very comfortable for relaxing and reading a newspaper or doing a bit of social networking. The view was of Chartsworth Gardens - the street outside. To sum up, it was far from the studio depicted in the photograph on the airbnb webpage.
It was not such a dump that it spoiled my holiday but it was sufficiently dingy to make me feel cheated and disappointed.
I would be very wary of using airbnb again, especially in London. I would try to avoid professional landlords with several properties and would check out hotels in a similar price range - especially in London.I personally would never deal with Ajit again in spite of the fact that he is such a charming person.