Nice, clean, modern apartment - fantastic location
Nice, clean, modern apartment in a fantastic central location. Only downside was that the bed was not the most comfortable I have ever slept in. Apart from that I couldn't fault it. I will definitely book again.
Let's start off with the good, this apartment was well equipped with everything a family could need from a reasonably stocked kitchen to a washer dryer combo. The location was also great. The place was comfortable and had plenty of room for a family of four. In York I think it's hard to find a hotel room this size.
However, this is not a luxury apartment, it's comfortable but I wouldn't describe it as luxurious and it is not a hotel so if you expect hotel service you will be disappointed. I also had a bad experience checking in with one of the owners David. We arrived in Heathrow around 1pm and expected to be in York by 5pm at the latest but hit a huge traffic jam and not knowing the roads we didn't get there until after 9pm. I had texted the owner and told him we were stuck in traffic and he told me to just text him when we got there so he could meet us and let us in. Well that's exactly what we did but when he got there he lectured me about the check in time being no later than 5pm and we were lucky he even made it there to let us in. At this point I had been awake for 36 hours and had been stuck in traffic for hours. And to top it off the parking is a 10 minute walk away.
Once I got over this though overall I was happy with the apartment but it would be better served being advertised as a rental not as a hotel so that your clear what kind of service to expect especially at check in.
Fab apartment right in the middle of York. You overlook the Coppergate area. All visitors attractions are with 10 mins with the York Cadtle museum being 3 mins away. The flat itself is warm and cosy. A great place to stay
Well what can I say! Photos of the apartment looked fab but was very disappointed on arrival, the car park at Novotel was 15 minutes walk away so bit of a pain carrying the luggage, the apartment was much smaller than expected, it was very tired looking definitely NOT the luxury apartment I was hoping for, the cleanliness was appalling! Cob webs above the bed and in all the windows, dust on all the mirrors and tops of TVs, bathroom had not been cleaned still splash marks on the mirror shelf from previous guests, the shower head had pink mould on it, the air vent was covered in dust and to top it off the I had to wash all the glasses before we could use then as there was still dried drink in the bottom of them!
When we went to get the cars the hotel charged us ÂŁ11 per car space and they had no recollection of the luxury apartment owner or the agreement of ÂŁ5 per car space!
I contacted the owner, sent him photos of the apartment of the lack of cleaning, he said he was going to look in to the matter, he then text me saying that the parking was my fault as I didn't pre book the car space on Expedia and would send me my booking,
As you can see I booked with hotels.com I didn't appreciate his attitude and when I mentioned I'd seen other reviews consenting the same things as me I was then told to take it up with hotels.com!
Over all definitely not a luxury apartment and extremely disappointed!
Positives
Location is fantastic, right in the heart of York and close to Christmas market.
Bathroom and kitchen clean
Negatives
As a single female traveller I didn't have a photo of the building and couldn't find it or the person meeting me. I ended up ringing the owner (who I think was abroad, due to my phone bill and ringtone) trying to gain information. I was told to look for a man by a green gate. Not very reassuring for a single female traveller. The building has no name plate.
Solution - provide photo of external building
Free parking information didn't say it was a 10-15 minute walk away. As Im recovering from cancer treatment my energy levels can fluctuate. I booked the apartment so I didn't need to walk far. There is a paying car park near by, the stay cost me an additional 42 pounds.
Solution - Be transparent in details provided, before people book.
There were 3 long hairs on the bed, which made me question if the bedding had been changed, the quality of the bedding added to my suspicions.
Solution - provide new, quality bedding and have a cleaning checklist.
Many of the reviews mention problems the external door, I did have a couple of issues, as there seems to be a knack to opening the lock. However I understand that its beyond the owners control to rectify the matter.