Virginia House by City Living London

We slept well on the comfy beds and felt secure in the building. There are stairs, but that wasn't an issue for us. The location made everything easy, with food and transit close by and straightforward trips to places farther out.

A compact, nicely located flat with good facilities for cooking your own meals. Holborn Tube is about a five-minute walk, and theatres and other places are easy to reach on foot.

Getting around was the strongest point: the central area felt safe, with major sights, buses, the subway and the Elizabeth line nearby. There were also plenty of affordable cafes and restaurants. The building was kept up and had secure entry, but there was nowhere to leave luggage, and the stairs are steep, especially for Units 5 and above. There is no elevator. The flat was clean, though the furniture felt cheap. The plumbing was awful: the old shower barely worked, the toilet took a lot of effort to flush anything substantial, and the sink clogged and nearly overflowed after a couple of minutes of running water. It felt like a three-star motel that hadn't been maintained in 20 years. Management was little help. They said check-in instructions would arrive a week before the trip, but sent them only two days ahead. My request for an earlier check-in because I was travelling with an elderly person went unanswered. The room access directions were confusing, and nobody was available by phone on Monday afternoon. I contacted support three times about the clogged sink and never heard back.

The flat was spacious, clean and in a fantastic spot. Sleep was the problem: the rooms were warm, and a very loud air conditioning unit on the outer wall of the main bedroom ran all night. It belonged to another property, since this flat had no air conditioning of its own. Fix that noise and it'd be a perfect place to stay.