You know what struck me first about this place on Circus Road West? It actually feels like a proper London home, not some sterile hotel room with generic artwork. I mean, sure, it’s technically a flat rental, but the way it’s set up – you’d think someone’s just popped out for groceries and will be back any minute. The two bedrooms are genuinely spacious (rare for London, honestly), and there’s this lived-in comfort that makes you want to brew a cup of tea and settle in for the evening.
The location is pretty brilliant, actually. Wandsworth gets overlooked by a lot of visitors who stick to Zone 1, but here’s the thing – you’re literally a few minutes from Battersea Park, which locals know is one of the best green spaces in South London. The flat sits on this quiet residential street where you can actually hear birds in the morning instead of just sirens, but you’re still close enough to Clapham Junction that getting anywhere in the city is dead easy. I walked to the station in about twelve minutes, and honestly, the route takes you through some lovely Victorian terraces that make you feel like you’re discovering the “real” London. There’s a brilliant little café called Flour & Grape just around the corner – proper coffee, not the tourist stuff, and the locals queue up for their sourdough on weekend mornings.
What really won me over was the attention to detail that you don’t get in chain hotels. The kitchen is actually functional (shocking, I know) – full-sized fridge, decent hobs, all the bits you need if you want to grab fresh ingredients from the Northcote Road market and cook something proper. The living area has these big windows that flood the space with light, and the furniture feels chosen rather than ordered in bulk. Sure, the bathroom could use a slightly more powerful shower – it’s perfectly fine, just not the rainfall experience you might expect from a 4-star rating – but the overall feel more than makes up for minor quibbles. Parking can be a bit of a dance with the resident permits, but the host was really helpful about explaining the system, and there’s usually space if you don’t mind walking a street or two. The 8.8 rating makes complete sense when you factor in that you’re getting genuine local living rather than hotel anonymity, plus the value compared to what you’d pay for similar space in central London is honestly pretty remarkable.