Tees Valley Apartments

The location was bad. Employees told me my van definitely wasn’t safe in the area, with drug addicts everywhere outside. I had to empty it at night, then put my things back in the van in the morning because I felt the apartment was just as much of a robbery risk. For around the same price, I could have stayed in an alright hotel. I wish I had, and I don’t often leave bad reviews, but sometimes people need warning. Cleanliness was awful: stained walls and curtains, dirt ingrained in the floor, dirty headboards, an unclean smell in the apartment and an appalling smell in the bathroom. Security was terrible too. The main entrance and apartment doors use mechanical keypads that can be hacked in under a minute. On my second evening, a hooded man wearing gloves knocked and asked for number 11. I showed him where it was, but he walked away without paying attention to number 11. I have no doubt the apartment would have been broken into if I hadn’t been there.

The only positives were the on-site parking and the location, but neither made the stay worthwhile. The studio had no suitable place to work, despite what the booking portal pictures suggest. Instead of proper chairs, there were two wooden folding chairs with no cushions. The curtains were so thin that daylight came in early and the parking lights came through at night. The wooden windows didn’t seal, so road noise continued all night. The corridors felt and smelled dirty, and there was a strong cigarette smell in the room despite the no-smoking signs everywhere. The shower head was covered in black grime and disgusting. I only used it because I really needed a shower. The drain was blocked too, so halfway through, I had to stop the water and wait for it to go down slowly to avoid an overflow.

Dirty, smelly, noisy and in bad condition. The bed was uncomfortable, the tap was broken, there was no smoke alarm or ventilation, and the security was poor. Strange people were wandering around the area. I didn’t finish my stay. Awful place, avoid!

I visited a while back while on a trip to see family. The rooms were very dusty and the sheets were dirty. Check-in is self-service, with no service available, and there isn’t much nearby apart from one grocery store. I guess that’s to be expected in Middlesbrough.