Apartment 307 at 117 on Strand

YAMI at reception was such a pleasure to deal with, and I hope I’ve spelled her name right. She was professional, welcoming, and exactly the kind of person you want greeting guests. The place is clean and stunning, and you can walk to the ICC from here. Highly recommend!

When you book through airbnb, visitors aren’t allowed. They also won’t collect parcels while you’re away, and the security staff were rude. Staying here made me feel like a prisoner in my own place, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Update: I’ve only just received a response to this review almost a year later. Don’t tell me to contact the owner when the whole apartment building has a 3-star rating. Take the reviews seriously or you could lose more business. Have a NICE day.

The apartment was quiet, and having Pick n Pay downstairs made it easy to grab small things. We also liked how tight the security was. Reception answered calls and questions quickly, even late at night. The fire alarms went off over the weekend, possibly because of the earthquake, but we still enjoyed our stay. We were in unit 1512. There was a lot of dust and tissue under the bed from previous guests, so it clearly hadn’t been cleaned properly. The towels weren’t as soft as we’d have liked either. Hopefully next time the cleaner moves the bed and does a better job, and maybe adds some stay soft when washing the towels. I’m certainly coming back otherwise.

I had a great landlord, which made the stay bearable and helped make up for a lot. The facilities were poorly managed, though. Corporate users seemed to get priority, so residents and guests often had their needs overlooked. Parking was expensive for guests, and the payment machines were unreliable. With both problems, guests could struggle to leave the building when they needed to.