The host is charmless and not engaging. Possibly a bit of a ****ing moron with her 'Gary Glitter' comment. Not as vomitous as Dowling, but unpleasant. They both speak as though they think the audience is mentally handicapped.
As has been said, it's pretty clear they're grabbing elements from different international variations of the show. The US-style HoH position is a huge amount of power to be granted as a reward for a UK-style beginning of answering a ringing telephone. I like both guys on the block, so I'm glad there's a possibility of both staying. Emmett would be my early pick to win, if he can avoid being the first out.
I agree that the house looks really good, possibly the best BB house interior I've seen. They don't have a real backyard, and will be locked indoors for 10 weeks apparently, so that makes it the worst overall (tied with India's Bigg Boss for the same reason).