The Ashcroft Apartments

The Ashcroft Studio Apartments felt overpriced, poorly managed and nothing like the online marketing or glowing reviews. Our room was dirty when we arrived and badly maintained. For the money, a local hotel would likely offer more dependable cleanliness, service and basic standards. I regret booking and wouldn’t return. The caretaker, Colin, was unpleasant and unprofessional throughout our stay. He wasn’t helpful or approachable, and dealing with him made an already bad stay more uncomfortable. I’m writing on our behalf because the booking was under another name and my friend doesn’t use Google reviews. I stayed there too, thank you very much. How did I know Colin? He smelled very strongly of alcohol. You’re rated 3.8 on Google for a reason. Save yourself the frustration and book a hotel instead. It should be better value and more comfortable.

We had a lovely stay over Christmas. The room we got wasn’t the one originally planned, but it suited what we needed and was clean and tidy. Colin was helpful, and the owners had a nice touch in checking our arrival.

The fire doors and signs made us feel safe, and we had seven lovely nights here. Matthew made booking easy, and Colin helped us check in. The building and grounds were spotless, with ongoing improvements inside and out, including new planting by the gardeners and a recent paint job. The bed and bedding, towels, shower and loo were all pretty good. They even had loo rolls and washing-up liquid, plus a TV, microwave, kettle and bedside light.

The kitchen was so well equipped that I could cook meals from scratch, with good knives, bottle openers, glasses and Tefal pans. The apartment was spotless when we arrived, the toiletries felt luxurious, and the two en-suite bathrooms had showers and fluffy clean towels. There was a hairdryer too. Public transport is a 15 minute walk away, and Sainsbury's is only a few minutes down the road. My partner booked for the four of us a few months ago at a great rate. We travelled with our teenagers, and the caretaker brought a folding bed because my partner had accidentally booked a place with two double beds. We really appreciated that. It’s our last night and we’ve enjoyed the stay. I’m sorry I couldn’t find the outdoor bins, but I’ll try to leave things tidy. A little brush and pan in each flat would be handy for crumbs. Hopefully we’ll come back. I recommend staying here. All the best x Edit: when I asked, the caretaker showed me where the bins were. I accidentally left some mushrooms, butter and milk in the fridge. I hoped someone could use the coffee and unopened bottle of cream soda. Luggage always seems heavier on the way out! Apparently we were the only ones emptying the flat bins, though the main bin had been emptied. I suppose I was brought up well x