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Review 4088: Owner, Westminster View (#198258)

www.vrbo.com

Recommended. Review by Calypso from USA

1bed/1bath apartment near Lambath Palace, London

View from our apartment terrace, photo by Myself

When

April 29 - May 3, 2009, 4 Nights

Location

The London flat is located right along the Thames by Lambeth Palace. The closest tube stop is the Vauxhall station which is a 10 minute walk from the property. The building is a fairly new modern structure standing next to a hotel so access to taxis was very easy. The surrounding area is composed mostly of high rise business offices so although it was busy during the day, the crowd of people dissipates after work hours. The area is very safe, quiet and not touristy at all which we preferred. Although not very touristy, you can cross the Thames to get to the action and the Victoria station area is not very far.

Nearby Amenities

There were not many restaurants close by but a short walk past the Vauxhall tube stop yielded some take out restaurants and a big Tesco, which helped us cook most of our meals at the flat. On the building's ground floor is a convenience store which had almost everything you'd ever need, even the converter plugs to the UK outlet. We were regulars at that store and the owner was very helpful. Access to ATM/cash machine was very easy, there is an HSBC next to the hotel next to the property building.

The House/Apartment

Like I mentioned earlier, the building is a new, contemporary building composed of four buildings. The building had a concierge who was most helpful in giving directions and other information. The building itself was properly maintained, clean and everything was functioning as it should. There were probably around 100 flats in the development (maybe more) but at no time did we feel noise coming from any of the other residents.

Garden

This was the surprise. After the owner gave us a tour of the flat, he led us out the door and onto the hallway and opened another door across from our flat. It was an outdoor terrace/patio with the most amazing view of London!!! We could see the Parliament building from that terrace and many other attractions. This was part of our rental and there were chairs and a small table for us to use to hang out.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

Everything was in great shape, well maintained and cleaned. The flat is plenty spacious at 570 sq. feet and you don't have to worry about bumping into each other a lot during your stay. The flat also had a computer, which didn't work but it wasn't an issue since we brought our own laptop. The owner lent us a Vodaphone USB key for Internet access, which unfortunately wasn't very fast so we only used it when we had to search for places on the map online.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The bedroom was equipped with access to a private terrace which was also connected to the lounge. The bed was comfortable enough and we really had a good night's rest after all the walking. It was decorated nicely and a dresser was provided.

My only comment is the convertible sofa bed in the lounge wasn't as sturdy as those I have tried in France/Italy. When used as a sofa bed, the mattress dips in places where it's not supported by the steel support.

Kitchen

We used the kitchen a lot! It had a great hob, full working oven, microwave, kettle, pots, pans and a washing machine/dryer. Everything looked brand new and clean and I liked the safety feature switches on all the appliances. Storage was also plentiful and well planned. The dining table sat four comfortably and was of good quality. If I were to stay at a vacation rental for more than a week, this is the type of kitchen I'd love to have as I can cook anything and save money.

Problems or Bonuses

There were no surprises with this rental, everything was as explained to me prior to arrival and I like that! :)

Agency and Representatives (and price)

I rented the property through VRBO thinking that the contact was the owner. It turned out that my contact was just a third party broker that handled some booking for the owner as he owned 20 flats in the building and was just too busy to take care of it himself. From the beginning, my contact at VRBO was quick to respond to emails and prior to me sending the deposit, I called him on the phone and spoke to him about some concerns. He was very helpful and that made me feel more confident about the rental.

I paid £150 per night for a total of £600 for the four night stay plus a £50 cleaning fee. I paid a deposit of £140.00 and then two weeks prior to my arrival I paid the total amount via Paypal (optional). This was favorable to me since I didn't want to travel with too much cash on me.

Upon arrival I met with the owner of the flat (I never met my VRBO contact) and he was just the sweetest landlord! He explained how everything worked and even lent us extra UK travel plugs since we only had one. He lived in the flat next door to us so we always felt safe and we only had to knock on his door for any questions. He left for a business trip before we checked-out and his brother (just as nice as the owner!) took care of checking us out and gave us the deposit the night before we left without even looking to see if we broke anything (we didn't).

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

Absolutely, positively! Very, very highly recommended and planning to take family here in the future.

Things to do in this area

We crossed the bridge to get to most places as the immediate area of Lambeth is pretty low key. Good thing the Vauxhall tube stop (Victoria line) is just nearby and right in front of the hotel next door is a bus stop with the 360 bus line that takes you straight to the Kensington Museums.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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