Overview
First Impressions
The Retro apartment moments from Battersea Park sits on a quiet stretch of Battersea Bridge Road, and honestly, you’d walk right past it if you weren’t looking. It’s one of those converted Victorian buildings that doesn’t shout for attention — which I actually appreciated after dealing with the chaos of central London. The entrance is understated, tucked between a corner shop and what looks like a residential building, giving you that “local secret” vibe before you even step inside.
The Apartment Experience
This three-star place gets the retro theme just right without going overboard with the vintage stuff. The apartment I stayed in had this perfect mix of mid-century furniture and modern necessities — think teak sideboard meets decent Wi-Fi. The kitchen was surprisingly well-equipped for a short-stay place, with a proper fridge and even some basic cooking supplies. You know what caught me off guard? The little record player in the corner actually worked, complete with a small vinyl collection.
Location & Neighborhood
Here’s the thing about Wandsworth that most tourists miss — it’s got this village-y feel despite being Zone 2. Battersea Park is literally moments away (hence the name), and I mean a genuine two-minute walk to the main entrance. The park becomes your morning routine pretty quickly, especially the Peace Pagoda area if you’re into that sort of quiet contemplation. Getting into central London takes about 20 minutes on the train from Clapham Junction, which is a pleasant 10-minute stroll through residential streets.
The Room & Comfort
The main room felt more like staying at a design-conscious friend’s place than a typical hotel setup. The bed was comfortable enough — not amazing, but I slept well — and there’s decent storage space if you’re staying more than a couple nights. The bathroom’s compact but functional, with one of those rainfall showers that actually has proper pressure. What I really liked was the big windows facing the street; you get nice natural light during the day and it’s quiet enough at night since this isn’t a main thoroughfare.
Why Guests Appreciate It
Look, this isn’t going to blow you away with fancy amenities or concierge service, but that’s sort of the point. It’s for people who want to experience London like they actually live here for a few days. The local pubs are genuinely local (try The Gondoliers around the corner), and you’ll find yourself shopping at the same Tesco Express as the neighbors. The 7.2 rating makes sense — it delivers exactly what it promises without any pretense, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need after a long day of tourist activities.
Guest reviews
U
Uppal
United Arab Emirates
8
"Love love love! Feels like a home away from home."
Love this apartment, it's our second summer renting it out. And it's been absolutely wonderful staying so close to the river and park! I loved that we had a room each to ourselves, a living dining area and separate kitchen.
What could be improved: Staff is always a bit last minute wlth check in instructions. Self check in both times (which I do not mind at all) however, instructions were sent only a few hours prior to check in (while I'm still in flight mode)
28 August 2024
"Will be great once the maintenance issues have been resolved"
Location perfect for Royal College of Art Battersea or visiting Battersea Park. Nice to have additional kitchen etc facilities compared to staying in a hotel. Good shower pressure. Domino's pizza downstairs/next door if you're a fan.
What could be improved: Some of the electrical sockets didn't work (had to leave my phone in the living room to charge overnight but wasn't too far that I couldn't hear my alarm in the morning). The sky TV had problems (no satellite signal) although could watch freeview channels/recordings when the internet was working (had to restart the router a few times at the start of the week but seemed to fix the issues). Streetlighting outside seeps through the window shutters (could do with blackout blinds/curtains) - doesn't affect me but my wife doesn't sleep well if there's too much light. Was notified there had been some maintenance carried out to the shower on the morning of our arrival, although work appeared incomplete (had been resealed internally, but the external seals were poor and the floor tiles were cracked/loose). Was too hot on the first night, radiator valves were difficult to adjust but able to resolve by turning off the boiler (had been set to 24/7). These issues have been reported so hopefully they'd be resolved before I need to come to Battersea again.
23 November 2023
"Apart from the above it is a lovely cosy apartment and our host Octavian was most welcoming and help"
The front entrance badly needs to be cleaned both on the street and inside. The stairwell is very dirty and needs to be painted and hoovered more regularly. The fridge and dishwasher has not been cleaned before we arrived.
What could be improved: The shower is difficult to regulate and goes from very hot to cold quickly.
19 December 2022
"Well-appointed apartment in great location!"
This apartment is in a great location, with quick links to public transport and only a short walk from the lovely Battersea Park and the Thames River.
The surrounding area has cafes, pubs, and shopping, all within walking distance, including the Battersea Power Station, with a large range of shops.
The apartment was well appointed.
What could be improved: I would not recommend this apartment for friends travelling together unless you are willing to sleep in the main bed together. The sofa bed is extremely uncomfortable, and despite asking for a mattress topper (and a clothes airer/rack) multiple times, my request was not fulfilled. This resulted in an uncomfortable 8 nights.
Also, while I advised upon booking that a sofa bed was required, it was not ready upon our arrival. We found a linen pack in a cupboard which was used to make the bed, but when I requested the mattress topper, I was quizzed about what linen I had used to make the sofa bed, like I had done the wrong thing.
4 July 2025
"Great apartment, felt immediately at home and the location was perfect for us."
Cosy but will plenty of space. Well furnished and equipped.
What could be improved: There is a lot of traffic on the bedroom side. Despite double glazing still audible. Not close to a tube station but well supplied with buses.
8 April 2025
"Superb"
Clean, well furnished, everything worked and was easy to use. Excellent location and easy to get to central London.
What could be improved: The heating was constantly on and we didn't figure out how to turn it off, so it was very warm.
20 May 2024
"Passable"
The location
What could be improved: Noise
Too small
Stair is too narrow
19 July 2023
"Not recommended and not going to book again"
1. The location was good.
2. The team were polite, answering the phone and trying to help, apart from ignoring further communication regarding refund as below.
3. Fans made hot weather more bearable.
What could be improved: 1. Old dirty place that needs deep cleaning and change of furniture / bedding .. etc
2. Bed sheets were dirty on 1st day, had to call the team and ask for cleaning and changing of bed sheets
3. Oven had no instructions, no mention of user manuals being available in the kitchen which required a call to maintenance team who arrived late causing more frustration and wasting a morning of a 7 day holiday
4. Mouldy bits in the bathroom
5. Shampoo & shower gel bad quality
6. Very noisy environment caused disturbed sleep all nights, but understandable as part of central location in London
7. Felt like a fraud as photos and reviews on the advert are not similar to reality and not close to it
8. The stair carpet is so dirty and smelly, probably not been cleaned for years
9. The main door lock is too loose and always felt going to beak at some point
10. Complete neglect to a request of leaving the place as not met expectations mentioned on the website, I was only told the request was sent and that's it, felt ignored.
15 August 2025
"Very good"
Grand appartement a un prix raisonnable. Beau quartier avec arrêt d'autobus près. Parfait pour un couple.
What could be improved: Divan lit peu confortable. Les communications passe par une agence. Il ne réponde pas au demande faite à booking. Ce n'est pas fluide la communication.
25 August 2025
"Good"
Charmerende hjemlig indretning med bøger og kunst.stedet ligger godt. Med flere restauranter i gå afstand. Gode busforbindelser og themsen plus battersea park som nabo
What could be improved: Badeværelset trænger til renovering.lidt u flexible indtjening da man skulle mødes med en person et bestemt klokkeslæt på adressen.
20 October 2023
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