SACO Covent Garden - St Martin's

The apartment was impressively spacious, very clean, and had a fully equipped kitchen. But communication was poor. On the way there, I got a call to take a deposit and confirm where to collect the keys, even though I’d replied to the email days earlier. The room was too hot, and the two fans did little to help. I’d have loved to open the window. The website photos showed a balcony, but I guess that must be another apartment. There was no WiFi, the bedroom door jammed against the floor trim when closed, and I had to fiddle with the loose shower thermostat to get any heat. I called several times and left messages, but got no reply.

We arrived from Spain after a 5am flight, and had paid for early check-in at 2pm. There were no keys when we went to check in, so we had to walk back to the room and meet the cleaner. Then we had no hot water. We waited nearby in case the building manager needed us to let the plumber in, but after messages all afternoon and evening, it turned out we’d have no hot water until the next day. By 10am there was still no hot water, and we had to go to a family event unshowered. The building manager said we’d get a refund or rebate for that day. We’re still waiting and have followed up several times.

The apartment itself was a good size, had decent shower pressure, and came with the usual appliances for a weekend. Its location was excellent. But there was no Wi-Fi at all during our stay, which would have seriously affected work if I’d been travelling on business. I also couldn’t get a reply to my email sent at 5 pm on 11 June 2021 asking where the apartment was. It turned out to be a 15-minute walk from the key collection point. There wasn’t really any service, and the extra security deposit was requested on the day we checked in. The whole arrival process was a hassle. I’d choose one of the similarly priced places nearby next time, and would have booked elsewhere if I’d known.

We were in apartment 9, a recently redecorated, very roomy place with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was spotless, and both bathrooms had L'Occitane toiletries. The check-in email arrived several days ahead; the directions to the other Cove apartments were clear, as were the keybox instructions. That walk from the St Martin's apartments took about five minutes. The only issue was a broken latch on the main bedroom window, so we could hear some outside noise. I’d still book it again.