Native Tower Hill

The apartment had what we needed, but the hard sofas really needed cushions. The area was so noisy at night that we couldn't sleep with the windows open. With them closed, the room got very warm, and the air con was broken. I reported it three times before anyone came to check, and although they said someone would come, I never heard whether it was fixed. I didn't want to keep chasing them. The customer service wasn't good. From booking to reporting problems, everything felt like hard work. The whole experience was impersonal, and I felt like an inconvenience instead of a paying customer.

The apartment was well fitted, with air con, good double glazing, and friendly staff. It’s in a vibrant area, close to the tube, and the location is great. The lift breaks down regularly, though, and the WiFi isn't great. As of 12/09/21, there was still a noisy building site next door, with work starting around 8am. A club around the corner stays open until 2, and people park outside the Native building and make a lot of noise when they leave, Monday through Sunday.

The location and cleanliness were good, but I strongly do NOT recommend this group of apartments. A restaurant downstairs sent strong food smells up to our seventh-floor room. When people smoked on the sixth floor, we couldn't open the windows. The internet was about 2mbps in the rooms, so video calls, working from home, and Netflix weren't really possible. The online payment system also caused a serious problem. The website showed an error and didn't pass the payment success flag to their system, but my credit card had been charged. They insisted my bank was at fault and that their systems were 100% fine. I spent a lot of time providing documents to prove what happened and even considered involving the police. It was a bad experience, so be prepared if you get stuck in a similar situation. A reply to Native's response, for future travellers: 1. I'm glad you now understand that payment systems can fail, but the way you and your staff handled it was horrible. 2. We never stopped anyone from coming into the apartment to fix the issue. The only troubleshooting was a speedtest, followed by being told you'd get back to us. 3. We didn't extend our stay by choice. We were stuck trying to resolve the credit card charge, and had to give up a very good offer in the City because of it. Explaining the situation and gathering paperwork also took a lot of time that we could have spent elsewhere, through no fault of our own.

The internet was good, and the place has the basics: a washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, iron, hair dryer, TV, and cooking utensils. The room size was okay, and the underground is easy to reach. It's a bit confusing to find, though. Look for The Rajasthan Hotel next door. There's no reception, so check your email after booking to get in. You can call their monument branch if you need help.