Brentford St Georges Church

The location and photos make this look like a lovely place, but after 12 nights here we were angry and deeply disappointed. We’re from NZ, and the amount of maintenance needed doesn’t match what they charge. We paid £2,300 ($5,000 NZD) and asked for a partial refund, but haven’t had any response. Communication was poor throughout. The flat was much too hot for us. The temperature was preset to 26 degrees and we couldn’t adjust it ourselves. Twice, staff told me to find a heating/cooling switch in the utility cupboard, but there was no such switch. The washing machine’s displayed time wasn’t accurate, and cycles took much longer. The dryer got dangerously hot, and the door stayed locked after the cycle. One night, with an early departure ahead, I was close to forcing it open to retrieve our clothes. Then, while I was in the bedroom and nobody was near it, I heard the unlock function suddenly operate. The iron was bad too, with its water lid broken off so it spilled while ironing and didn’t remove creases. They replaced it when they came to replace the shower heads, without us asking. Both rain shower heads sprayed outwards. The main bathroom became unusable within seconds, with water going over the ceiling, walls and floor. I asked several times for a repair. On the ninth night they wanted maintenance to come at 9:30 pm, and the heads were finally replaced on day ten, including the en-suite shower. The bedding was another problem. The two single beds had double sheets folded in half, so they couldn’t be tucked in and got tangled while we slept. The double duvet covers had single inserts folded inside them, and those ended up in a mess too. We were left with just one bath towel and a small hand towel for the whole stay. Servicing was meant to happen on day seven, then an email said “the next day,” but nobody came until day nine. We had to call and insist they arrive that day. The cleaner showed up at 5:30 pm with an attitude, spoke very little English and couldn’t help with my concerns. The service didn’t include more tea, coffee, soap or other basics, or even a new bin bag. The information booklet was inaccurate about rubbish disposal. I had to ask a stranger leaving the building where to put it. They kindly showed me, and it was nowhere near the place described in the booklet and email. There were no codes needed either, despite what the instructions said. The room safe was locked from the previous guest and couldn’t be used until I contacted them again for help. That should have been dealt with during the end-of-stay clean. Don’t be fooled by the appearance. The maintenance and service made this a very disappointing stay, and I wouldn’t recommend booking here.

Our weekend away has mostly been spent calling and emailing for help, and we still haven’t had a proper shower. There’s been no hot water since we arrived two days ago. An engineer came but couldn’t fix it because the boiler is broken and needs a gas engineer. While we wait for other options, they offered us a bathroom in another flat two floors down. Its tap is faulty too, and the water was far too hot with no way to adjust it. I called again this morning so we could get a shower and go out, but was told to wait because the person on the phone was handling another customer emergency. Poor quality and poor service. I wouldn’t recommend it.

The worst part was waking in the night to find that strangers had access to my apartment. A key-code mix-up meant another guest’s code opened my door while I was asleep. Mistakes can happen, but this was a serious and unacceptable breach of my privacy and safety. The apartment was filthy when I arrived, and the cleanliness was nowhere near acceptable. The area also felt unsafe, and the customer service team wasn’t helpful during my stay. I wouldn’t return or recommend this place. Zero stars.

We weren’t happy with the host, who was slow to reply and wrongly suggested we had checked out late. The internet was poor too. The apartment itself was clean and had hot water, but the beds were uncomfortable: two people were expected to share a stiff, 1.4-metre-wide mattress. It was also missing basic Airbnb supplies like oil, salt, sugar and enough tea. We were only partly satisfied with the place.