Harbourside Apartment

The setting is lovely, and from apartment number 9 we had a wonderful view over the marina. The layout worked well for a long self-catering stay, with all the facilities we needed. Water pressure was good and access was secure and straightforward. Once we got past the problems, it was a fairly pleasant stay overall. The first thing we noticed was the state of the cutlery and crockery. The supposedly clean items had stains and bits of food on them, and everything in the drawers and cupboards was still damp. It looked like someone had just run the dishwasher and left it at that. The sink was filthy as well. The dining table and chairs were covered in crumbs, so we had to wash everything before we could eat or make tea. The kitchen hot water was barely lukewarm, which meant boiling the kettle, and there wasn’t a basin in the sink. One balcony door didn’t work. There was a yellowing notice taped to the glass saying it was “awaiting repair.” We also found the oven left on and the microwave set to two minutes. The fridge showed early mould, and it didn’t keep food cool unless we set it to 2 degrees to get a normal temperature of 4 to 5 degrees. Both fire alarms were two years overdue for replacement, which made us wary of using appliances other than the kettle. The bedrooms, like the rest of the apartment, were drab and needed fresh paint. The carpet had its share of badly cleaned stains. The thin, scratchy bedding felt like sleeping on cross-stitch, and the pillows and pillowcases were the worst, strange plastic IKEA things that deflated and gave no support. The towels came with a pubic hair and somehow smelled MEATY. Apartment 9 needs a thorough clean and freshening up, as well as a new fridge and replacement fire safety equipment. The cleaning staff need to be replaced with people who actually do the job. Until then, it’s serviceable for a stay in Whitehaven if you’re a slob or don’t mind cleaning properly yourself.