Marlin Apartments Aldgate - Tower Bridge

The construction work made for an awful stay. There was scaffolding at the building, and builders started hammering early enough that it sounded like they were right in the room, even with the windows shut. Definitely not worth the money. We stayed two nights in a one-bedroom apartment with a sofa bed. The supposed king-size bed was two singles clipped together, with a thin, lumpy, springy mattress. Just sitting on it made the wheels roll the bed around the bedroom, so you didn’t dare roll over in your sleep. The living room window wouldn’t open because its handle was broken, and the shower water was barely lukewarm. I told reception about these problems and was told maintenance would come, but nobody did, and the lack of hot water wasn’t addressed either. While standing with the concierge, I accidentally booked the same room for the second night again. He said he couldn’t refund it himself and that reservations would look into it in the morning. He emailed them, and I did too. In the morning, reservations refused a refund, saying my mistaken booking meant they couldn’t let the room to anyone else. That was incredibly annoying and unhelpful. The concierge could take payment but couldn’t issue a refund or make the apartment available to other guests. Reservations offered me another night if I paid more and they confirmed the booking, but that wasn’t what I’d asked about. The extra night was almost the same price as the two-night stay. I’d contacted them seconds after making the booking while I was already staying there, so I can’t understand why they wouldn’t refund me. It felt like I’d been robbed. Zero service. I’d never return.

The renovation work was still disturbing my parents even after they were moved to another room, and it hadn’t been mentioned before they arrived. Construction workers worked directly across from the room and repeatedly looked towards the windows. Nothing was done to protect their privacy or prevent them being seen, and it made them extremely uncomfortable. They told the hotel on site that they were unhappy and offered to pay only for the nights they’d already stayed so they could move elsewhere. The request was refused, and they had to pay for the whole stay. Nobody offered alternative accommodation or explained clearly how they could formally escalate a complaint while there. My parents don’t speak English, which made the situation even harder. The way this was handled was very disappointing, with little transparency, privacy or flexibility.

The flats are nice, and the kitchen has loads of space. My booked room had a broken washing machine, but after two days the staff kindly moved me to another room and gave me a complimentary late checkout.

We found the apartment spacious and clean, with a lovely view from the 9th floor. It was easy to reach the tube, Brick Lane, Tower Bridge and Shoreditch, and for us the stay was worth the money. We’d recommend it to other families. For six people, though, it would’ve made sense to have six chairs and a cutting board in the kitchen. There were only two dishwasher tablets for our three-night stay.