Manchester Apartments by Bevolve - City Centre

Our first trip to Manchester from outside the UK went really well. The apartment was clean and comfortable, and the location was fantastic. The customer service team made exploring easier by sending us a list of nearby restaurants and places to visit. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Manchester.

The apartment itself might be nice, but it’s run down and beat up, and the whole experience was appalling. Booking through booking.com was followed by a barrage of emails demanding an extra £250 deposit and a 12 page contract for a two day stay. They charge extra for everything. There’s no ordinary afternoon check-in, only after 4 pm, and they wouldn’t let me check in at 3. Instead of getting one human reply to my question, I got several automated bot messages. With no one on site and only a lockpad, I had to rearrange my evening to check in at 6. When I arrived, the code they’d sent was wrong, and their associate couldn’t get me in either. That meant rearranging my evening again. I spent half an hour on the phone with the associate and another half hour with booking.com, then a few hours later they said I could check in any time, even late. I arrived late because I’d planned a full evening. There was nobody there to help if I needed it, and I was already fed up with all the extra charges and hassle. The apartment smelled strongly of chemical air freshener. A week earlier, when I booked, I’d explicitly told them I’m allergic and have respiratory problems from it. They assured me there’d be no chemical fragrances or sprays. They lied. Their response was to say sorry and ask for a picture. I was there on business for two days, and they expected me to spend hours calling them, filling out forms and photographing problems in the apartment. The heater wasn’t working and the bathroom soap bottle was empty. When I asked how to turn the heater on, they sent a cheery “thank you for staying at bevolve” message, hoped I’d stay again and gave me a promo code. I wasn’t even checking out until the next day, though by then I was reconsidering. The chemicals had given me a headache all night and all morning, and their reply didn’t explain how to turn the heat on or even confirm whether the heater was broken. The customer service and the whole experience were appalling.

The house is run down, and I had trouble getting inside. I was sent a ridiculous amount of paperwork and couldn’t get through to anyone who could help. Maybe the girl didn’t understand English, but she just hung up while I was explaining what was happening and was completely unable to help. It’s expensive, with a myriad of hidden fees for every little thing, and all it gave me was stress. I can’t see any redeeming qualities here or understand where the positive reviews come from. Watch out, these scammers tend to try to get negative reviews deleted so they don’t show up on Google.

Great spot in Manchester. We really enjoyed staying here, and check-in was super easy. The online staff were very friendly.