Calling this a “Large Family Home” may be the overstatement of the century. If you’re looking for a house to fit your family, look elsewhere.
Despite the misleading title, we made our home here, despite constantly bumping into one another, and were relatively comfortable.
***We were forced to cancel our stay here after a month due to a family emergency in the US (Hurricane Ian destroyed part of our home in Florida.) I tried to work with the host to make the situation a little easier, but I feel like she lied to us, and used air bnbs lack of support as an excuse to pocket an extra 30 days worth of rental from us. I really felt taken advantage of in a desperate time. We have paid over £10,000 to stay here for a month - which is not right.***
I reached out to ask Levina if it would be possible to change our dates (I was trying to be courteous, and change the dates to 2 weeks after we’d actually left) to avoid being penalized by canceling. First she lied to me and told me that I had to request this through Airbnb. I then did that, and was told that the ability to free up those dates for a change were exclusively in her control. When I asked again, the response I got from here was essentially a middle finger, saying she was unwilling to help.
The House:
As mentioned above, the house is TINY. It’s a 2 bedroom cottage, that measures 583sq/ft (54 sq/m) - I had to measure it myself, as I couldn’t believe how small it was when we checked in. The 3rd bedroom advertised is nothing more than an empty room with a desk, no heat, and an optional air bed kept in a locked closet. There is no bedding for this airbed either.

The house backs up to the railroad, and noisy trains come by every 5 minutes all day and night long. They don’t make it impossible to sleep, but you’ll definitely notice.
The 2 beds are fairly comfortable. One is firm, and the other is very soft, and the bedding is pretty nice.
The furnishings in the house may as well have come from a charity shop. Very poor quality and condition. There is one sofa, and one small chair. That is it as far as seating arrangements.
There is a small dining table which is in poor condition.
There is no TV.
The kitchen is quite small, but gets the job done. There are a few kitchen wares to use, but it’s not fully equipped. The range is in poor condition and overheats if you try to use more than 2 burners. You’ll eat a lot of take out if you stay here.
The refrigerator freezes in the back, and causes some food spoilage, and the dampness of the house has led to mold growing on the walls of the cabinets, which is probably harmless, but still pretty gross - wash your plates and dishes each time before using them.
You’ll be required to pay £30/week for cleaning. When we arrived our feet we made black by all the grime on the floor and rug. We were forced to clean this by hand so that our children would have a decent place to play. The housekeeper is very friendly, but not always available to come.
The Grounds:
The back deck is nice. it has two chairs and a small table, that overlooks a large garden which, during our stay, was rather unkempt. No attempt was made to arrange a gardener so that we could properly use the space. The listing also mentions a bbq grill, but there is no such thing, which is disappointing. It’s a nice space for watching the trains go by every few minutes….
There is a garage on the property which, when we arrived was full of trash from a previous guest. We were told this would be taken care of, but no one ever did anything about that (the trash is still there as far as I know) The doors to the garage are covered in overgrowth, making access difficult.
The Neighborhood:
The cottage is an easy walk to Upminster Bridge station, and a few shops and take away restaurants. 20 minutes in either direction you’ll find Hornchurch and Upminster.
The neighbors on either side are very friendly and quiet.
It is roughly a 20 minute drive to the M25, as Upminster/St Marys road traffic is terrible at most times of the day.
The Host:
The host is mostly non-responsive. We would wait several days for responses, where she would simply blame air bnb for not notifying her. Even during our crisis, as I was trying to manage getting my family situated and ready to travel on a moment’s notice, I was forced to wait for messages from her. When she did respond, most of the time, the messages came through around midnight.
When it came to asking for help with our scenario, she again blamed air bnb as her reason for not being helpful. I hope she enjoys the extra £5000 she took from a family who just lost their home.
Ultimately, this house may be good for a single person, or maybe a couple for a night, or a weekend. It’s not good for much else, and if you have an issue the host will not work to help you in any way. When we return to London after taking care of matters back in the US, we will not come back here.