Loved our stay, would definitely return
Submitted: July 3, 2012
Stayed: June 2012
The bottom line is that we really enjoyed our stay here and wouldn't hesitate to come back again.
The location was very convenient for exploring London - we had our choice of tube lines (Piccadilly and Victoria), each about 10-15 minute walk from the front door. We were met on the first day by James and Charlene's assistant Helen, and she was very nice, even though we kept her waiting for our arrival while we navigated the Underground for the first time with small children. She had given us her phone number a few days beforehand, so we were able to text back and forth to let her know how close we were.
We had 5 people (my brother, my wife, myself, and our two children) and had plenty of room to stay. The place was very clean, there were lots of towels and kitchenware, and we made extensive use of the clothes washer. We put the drying rack up in the loft, where it was warmer, and it worked very well. One minor quibble might be that the water heater had a little trouble keeping up on the last morning with the adults showering one after another - it would start to alternate between very hot and very cold by the end, but it was not a big deal.
There was a Tesco Express down the street that was open until 11PM that we used regularly, and my brother and I went to the pub around the corner one night and helped close it down.
There was a handbook detailing how to use the combination oven and television set - neither appliance was intuitive but the book had detailed instructions, including pictures, so we had no problems.
One early point of confusion on our part was the term "cottage" - I think most Americans would instead call this a townhome, and while this may be a difference in language, our friend that's lived in London her whole life agreed with our view on the terms. It was clear from the pictures that this was not a freestanding building, so we knew what we were getting into well before we signed up (thank you, Google StreetView!), but perhaps the wording in the listing could be made clearer.
One thing I really appreciated is that we left early Monday morning and by Tuesday morning our security deposit had been refunded in full - this was much speedier than I had expected.
We really enjoyed our stay in London and having this space was a big part of it - we would definitely look to stay here again rather than at a hotel. This was our first time using HomeAway or any VRBO, but we will be back.
Helpful votes: 16/16
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