Urban Stay Lovat Lane Apartments

The apartment was reasonably clean, though I found crumbs and rubbish between the couch cushions. The building itself was quite dirty and in poor shape. The shower wouldn’t drain, and nobody replied when I reported it. I also left something behind, but they made little real effort to get it back to me. Service wasn’t good, and the place felt less than clean overall. Everything uses key codes, with no proper locks, which didn’t make it feel very safe. An average to below average stay.

The location suited us well for my wife’s birthday, and we stayed in apartment no.4 with the Shard view on 13 September. But the stay was pretty poor. The bed and living room sofa were uncomfortable, and the kitchen didn’t have much in it. For what I paid through booking.com, I’d have rather stayed at the Premier Inn across the road. There was a strong curry smell in the area when we arrived, and it drifted into the apartment. With no air-conditioning, we only had one fan to cool the bedroom. Opening the windows brought in both traffic noise and that smell. The bedroom wardrobe also had the boiler system inside it. In the bathroom there were rust stains, and the walls needed painting. WiFi equipment was left on a hallway shelf with cables hanging down, which was a hazard. Even the entrance and stairway walls were stained. The place had potential because of its location, but it didn’t feel appealing.

We chose no.3 at 19 St Mary at Hill for three nights during London marathon weekend 2025, and the location was brilliant: the route goes right past the window. Sadly, the flat was so run down that the stay was much less enjoyable than it should have been. The photos don’t show the whole story. It felt filthy and neglected, as if it just got a quick mop and bin emptying between guests. There was grease all over the kitchen and everything felt sticky. We bought cleaning products before making any food. The oven and hob badly needed attention, but I didn’t want to use them. The ensuite shower was leaking badly, with water coming up through the grout when you stepped on the floor tiles. It had spread to the bedroom laminate and door surround, which were visibly swollen. The threshold strip had come loose and the door no longer fitted properly. We couldn’t use the other shower either because its door was missing. I tried to tell the property about the problems, but there was nobody to reach over the weekend. A day or two after checkout, the only reply from the company was, “we shall inform the cleaning team”. Very disappointing, and it gave me the impression they didn’t care. After they’ve taken your money it seems almost impossible to talk to anyone about an issue, a clever business model with no comeback from customers, I suppose. I wish I’d stuck with the hotel I first booked.

Megi and the team were attentive and quick to respond when anything came up. They cleaned the space every week, and the view of The Shard was great.