2-bed City Abode With Swimming Pool, Gym & Views

The pool had cigarette butts in it, and some of the reception staff were rude. We also had trouble with the air-conditioning. It kept switching back to heater, but staff said it was working. If booking through a travel agent, get them to put everything in writing.

The location is excellent, very central, and the city views from the lovely large terrace were great on warm evenings. Staff were friendly and helpful, but the administration and maintenance need work. We paid $3,300 for eight nights for three people in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, and at that price I expected better basics. There was no printed list of facilities, and unless you know how to use QR codes, there’s no way to find out what the hotel offers. We only found out as we were leaving that there was a heated pool. I also never saw anything about breakfast being available. The TV only had channel 9, with no Sky or Netflix. The kitchen was poorly equipped. The pots seemed like they might have come from a charity store, and there was no coffee maker, just instant coffee. After two days, a kind young man at reception brought a French press, apparently after needing to go and buy one. They supplied instant coffee, tea bags, sugar and tiny long-life milk sachets, but no salt or pepper. We had to buy dishwashing liquid because only one tiny sachet was left under the sink. In a central Paris apartment I rented years ago, previous guests left things like cooking oil and condiments for the next people, and I did the same when I left. That could work here too. We used two apartments because of our travel arrangements. One had no sink plugs. In the other, the kitchen tap barely ran, and the terrace sliding door was very hard to open and close. Reception said the maintenance man was on sick leave, so I wonder how long the water issue had been there. Clients need to report apartment issues to reception. Compared with a cheap motel in NZ or the one we used in Beaudesert, where basics like decent pots, frying pans, salt and pepper were provided, this place could do better. Would I return if the administration problems were improved? Yes. The position is perfect, but administration and maintenance aren’t up to scratch.

The location was fantastic, close to transport and lots of restaurants. The room itself was large, with a good-sized balcony and living area, but the property needs some care. The second bedroom was hard to sleep in because of constant nighttime noise and bright sun coming in from 5 or 6am. It really needs blackout blinds and better soundproofing. The bathroom needs renovating, and the air-conditioning seemed to work only in the living room.

The one-bedroom executive apartment was spacious, but the tea and coffee setup was worse than what I’ve had at three-star camping or cabin sites. There were four freeze-dried Aurora coffee sachets, four Aurora black tea bags and no milk. Reception brought milk up when I asked, but for an expensive executive apartment for one night, I was disappointed there was no coffee pod machine, despite what other reviews had said. I arrived at 5:50pm and nobody was at the desk. I was in a virtual work meeting, so I had to sit and wait 15 minutes for someone to return. The lift was being repaired or upgraded, with plastic sheeting over all the walls.