I would have given 5 stars, but we had some significant issues during our stay, unfortunately. Here are the good & the bad:
Pros:
- A beautiful flat. Spacious and modern.
- Great location near many restaurants, bars, shopping and tube stations.
- Quiet. Although the flat is above the trains, you can hardly hear it.
-Co-host (Ash) was very responsive upon my booking and leading up to our stay.
Cons:
- Toilet not working in master bathroom: toilet did not work for a total of 3 days/nights. It simply did not work! The 1st day we were there it wasn’t working, but it was resolved the next day (this was fair & appropriate timing). During the repair, we were given instructions on what to do if it happened again which tells me this is an on-going issue. Then it happened a 2nd time ! We were told nothing could be done bc it was a Sunday and bank holiday. So we were left without a functioning toilet for the last 2 days & nights. I requested 1 night credit which I thought was fair considering we had a non-working necessity. The owner refused and then falsely accused us of breaking it ourselves (we did no such thing!!!) and said that because we had another bathroom it was no issue. We had other guests staying with us using the other bathroom and quite frankly concerned that the other one would go out too! Plus we paid for a 2 bed, 2 bath flat. He then offered 1 night stay for a future visit. I am in London once a month and would gladly stay again had this not happened, but I would not book here again. Airbnb mediated and settled on a lesser credit of what I requested because the owner refused again, but it was better than nothing.
- Scheduled real estate viewings to potential buyers during our stay: the owner booked 2 appointments with a real estate agent to show the flat to potential buyers without asking us first. This was not indicated in the description prior to booking. Had I known it was being shown, I would not have booked here. We tried to be accommodating and helpful, even though we felt we had to leave the flat for these appointments and not to mention our belongings are left inside with strangers coming through. The first appointment was 40 mins late and I had to turn them away because I was on a conference call that could not be interrupted. I learned this is an Airbnb security violation and I've been told they have been spoken to about this.
- Check in: we were not provided the building number or name. So it was very difficult to find. And the phone number provided was non-responsive so we were unable to reach anyone.
- Cleanliness: some of the areas were not clean - kitchen drawers and cabinets were dirty.
- WiFi/Internet: spotty at times. In the evenings it was impossible to stream.
It could have been a 5 star experience, but unfortunately I’ll have to give it 3 stars because of the issues we had :( Like I said, this was a very nice place and if things were handled appropriately we could have had a better stay. All of my Airbnb experiences have been 5 stars so far and I’m disappointed this wasn’t the same. I sincerely hope that this doesn’t happen to any future guests.