I booked a two-bedroom apartment through Expedia, but what was not made clear is that these apartments are not actually part of the hotel itself. Ours was located externally, down a narrow alleyway beside the hotel, and did not feel like part of the main property at all. It also did not appear to come with the advertised four-star facilities, and there was no housekeeping. Overall, it felt very misleading.
I was travelling alone with my three young children and we arrived late. In the apartment, every time a light was switched on or off, the electrical consumer unit made a very loud clunking noise. Reception told me this was “normal,” but I have travelled extensively and have never experienced anything like it before. Given that the apartment was up steep stairs and had no obvious fire escape, I felt extremely uncomfortable and asked to move.
The hotel’s proposed solution was completely unacceptable: they suggested splitting me and my children across two different floors. My children are 11, 8, and 3, so that was never an option.
The next morning, after a lengthy complaint, I was eventually shown a room inside the hotel. I was told it would accommodate all four of us, but when we moved in, it only had three beds, leaving my 11-year-old daughter offering to sleep on the floor. This was despite the fact that we were paying close to £400 per night for the apartment.
To make matters worse, when I explained that I was unhappy with this, the manager became confrontational rathe