Airbnb in Marlylebone or Shoreditch

Yes used a couple of times but these days I stay at Premier Inns.

Yes. Spent three nights at an Air BnB close to Barons Court station in early May. Nice host, cute flat. Are you looking only at the locations in your subject line?

Edit: I don’t stay at Air BnBs super often, but when I do, I filter by Super Host properties and read the reviews for consistency.

Yes. I think AirBNB is basically the same the world over - there are fantastic places and not-so-great places, and even if you choose verrrrry carefully, stuff can happen. We had a couple of absolutely outstanding London stays with superb hosts, and two stays that were a tad traumatizing (a big rat in one flat, and a water line burst in another: different hosts).

We have also stayed at a place called Bob W, which was a cross between a hotel and a serviced flat. It was tiny but had everything we needed, including a compact kitchen with a hob, fridge, dishes and cooking implements, etc. Bed was superbly comfy. Place was spotless. They have 10 locations: https://booking.bobw.co/properties

Are the neighborhoods in your subject line the only ones you are interested in?

Why are you thinking AirBNB vs. hotel? Do you want a kitchen in particular?

Lots of folks here swear by Premier Inns - there are others who stay in serviced flats, and will have great recommendations.

When the three of us went a few years back, I was very hesitant to use an AirBnB bc of a horrible experience I had in NYC. I was hoping for a larger space, though, as we stayed for over a week and wanted the experience of staying in a proper London flat.

I used a short term letting company, www.ivylettings.com, because I wanted to have an established company overseeing our stay in case something went awry. They were wonderful to work with and we did need to call them after hours on a weekend to fix an electrical fan problem. The maintenance gentleman was there in a half hour. I felt more secure in making a reservation through this type of accommodation organization than through AirBnB. If you use the ivylettings website, you can filter through the various London neighborhoods to see properties you are interested in. I also emailed them several times about individual homes, too, and was given a lot of specific information very quickly. They seem to know their inventory well.

Anyway, just another option. Good luck in your search!

If you’re asking about those two areas in particular:

Marylebone (note spelling, and pronunciation varies but can be MARR-le-bone) is a centrally-located area. Part of it has a really nice village feel with good shops and restaurants but it also encompasses the very busy area around Marylebone Road and Baker Street. Great transport links by bus and tube and train, but it’s difficult to be precise about what the area is like as Airbnbers can be flexible with location names.

Shoreditch is further east: interesting, artsy, a bit hipster, gentrified in the last twenty years or so. Also a good location for transport links but a very different vibe to Marylebone.

However with Airbnb it’s really all about the property itself rather than the vague area names.

I’d have no hesitation staying in either of those areas, but I might have some hesitation staying in certain Airbnbs.