Exceptional Covent Garden Suites by Sonder

The flat was so quiet even though it’s right in a busy central area. It was spotless, nicely furnished and equipped, and the location was fantastic. Check-in was easy, and we paid to arrive earlier. We’d happily stay here again.

The location was the highlight of our stay at Sonder King Street unit 102, and the flat itself was spacious, super clean and pretty great. The appliances all seemed new, especially the refrigerator and dishwasher. We also appreciated having a decent sized washer and dryer, with plenty of soap pods supplied. I liked working at the desk overlooking the car-free shopping street, and paying a reasonable fee for a later, 2pm checkout was a nice option. There were a couple of small drawbacks: not many hangers, and only one of the two shower heads worked. Still, it was a great deal for a comfortable place in such a good location.

We paid top dollar, but the communication and interest in guests were so disappointing. The apartment and location were nice, though the arrival instructions were completely wrong and had changed just an hour before we arrived. We had to find internet and work it out ourselves. There was no working Wi-Fi at first. A sign said to log into the Sonder App, and we later discovered there were Wi-Fi extenders but no router connected to them. We called and were told someone would come look, but nobody did. After several more calls, nobody seemed to care. Eventually we found a router on the washing machine that hadn’t been renamed, and the extenders weren’t connected. We got it working on the second day. Figuring out what a UK router looks like shouldn’t be part of a vacation. In the main bedroom, the lampshades were down. The bedside lamps had no bulbs, and none were provided. The main bathroom had long black hair all over it when we arrived, and the lights in both bathrooms kept flickering. The lift broke after we got there, though at least it was fixed before we left. We reported the ignored issues and the promises to sort them out, but nothing came of it. Poor experience for that price.

The location is fabulous, and this was our third and final stay at our favorite London lodgings. We won’t be back, though. We asked repeatedly for three days to have the air conditioning fixed in our flat on King Street in London, and for $600/night I’d at least expect a reply. Does anybody at Sonder care anymore? FOLLOW UP: We did receive a $500 refund, but I’m still sad we won’t be returning.