The House of Trade

Staff replied quickly when we contacted them, which was helpful, and the location is great. We booked The House of Trade - Suite with Balcony, though, and regret paying that much for it. The bathroom is out in the stairwell, so you have to leave the room to use it. There were cobwebs, a large window without curtains and another with a broken one. The bathroom windows and toilet seat were broken, the toilet looked decades old, and there was a dead spider, other grime, and random rubbish. The interior looked nothing like the photos and felt tasteless.

Getting to this top-floor apartment means hauling bags up more than 60 stairs. Once there, it’s airy and spacious, with a great king-size bed. The kitchen loft opens onto a lovely terrace looking out over the city spires. It’s near the edge of the tourist area and easy enough to reach. There’s nowhere to hang a towel, hardly any silverware, no cookware besides one large pot, and no closet or clothes storage.

The location is fantastic, Caroline was helpful and easy to reach, and the beds were comfortable. We were three adults in the ground-floor apartment, with enough room, but the layout was really impractical: the shower and toilet are in the kitchen, and the toilet area isn’t even fully enclosed. It was clean when we arrived, though scuff marks were everywhere and the towel rail was broken. We got just two coffee capsules for three people over two days. Both central and underfloor heating were set far too high and hard to adjust. The lounge light switch was outside the apartment by the main stairs, so the light kept switching on and off as other people came into the building. It’s okay, but could use more care and thought. I’ll probably look for somewhere else next time I’m in the area.

Great location, and my bathroom was very nice. It wasn’t attached to my room, though, so I had to go down the hall stairs and back each time. The TV didn’t work, and someone came to try to fix it. It only had Yoda, an app linked to YouTube that barely worked. I didn’t spend much time in the room or really need the TV, but it would’ve been nice to put it on to fall asleep.