River Sands Apartments

The manager was pretty dismissive when we questioned the cost compared with the quality of the room. It was tiny, with chipped paint everywhere, and the road noise was very loud even with the door shut. The bathroom was minuscule, with a very narrow bath and sides so high you’d need a stepladder to climb in. For the same price, we found far better accommodation at the Holiday Inn. Go there. It’s lovely, better value for money, and includes buffet breakfast. This place isn’t worth the price.

The room felt homely, with books and board games adding a cosy touch. Off-street parking was convenient, and having laundry facilities made the stay practical. Check-in was easy, even outside regular hours. It was a comfortable, accommodating place that exceeded my expectations.

The cleaning was disgusting. Thick dust covered the walls, with old handprints and marks that could have been removed if the place had been cleaned properly. Dust hung from the ceiling in every room and from the bathroom vent. Even the carpet looked grey with dust where it met the walls. The bathroom silicone was all mouldy, and there was more dust and cobwebs behind the cane laundry basket under the towel rail. Cobwebs and small spiders had a little community in the bedroom around the wooden slat blind, which was long past its use-by date and didn’t keep the light out. This is a serious health risk for anyone with breathing conditions. I saw staff once when paying, and couldn’t give feedback at checkout because nobody answered the bell. Don’t expect a clean room. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

We’d love to come back, and sincerely hope the room is set up for everyone in our booking next time. We stayed for one night, 10/03-11/03, booked for 2 adults and 2 children, but the room had only been prepared for two people, which was a letdown. We’d all been up since 4am and had just come from a family funeral, so I wanted to raise it with management at checkout, but the office was closed. The location and room facilities were great. It was somewhat clean, though some extra dusting around the windowsills and blinds, and a check that the coffee cups were clean, would have helped.