Unit 3, 11 Grenville St.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
We stayed for 4 nights.
Good:
Spacious for 2 travellers
Items and appliances appear new (dishwasher, fridge, washing machine, oven, stove top…)
Decent size smart TV (Samsung)
1 full bathroom off the bedroom
1 smaller bathroom with toilet and sink off hall
Owner/manager(?) tried to respond quickly when asked about missing items like coffee/laundry soap
Master bed was comfortable enough. Might be an excellent idea to buy better bigger pillows along with higher quality sheets and covers (a modest improvement makes a difference).
For us, it was a very convenient location in terms of transportation access, the nearby university, the British Museum and restaurants and café (really enjoyed a great meal over at the Cypriot Apollo restaurant and highly recommend it).
Bad:
Items/cabinet tops were dusty, could have used a better cleaning to some extent
Broken wire on laundry rack
Shower set up over the bathtub with the handheld shower is somewhat poorly set up because of functions, spray over tub to floor and wonky glass protector door/shield (actually we have something like that door at home in one of our bathrooms but fixed in – and it is also a pain.
No rubber bathmat for that tub; remember how common accidents – good ideas to place one there
No safety handle for getting in and out of the bathtub
Clean carpets in the place, and in the external hall properly vacuumed, and shampooed. They were a bit nasty.
No laundry dryer: and in a place like London that gets so much rain etc, it takes a long time for clothes to dry (so put in a small dryer).
Bathroom amenities are leftovers from other guests; best to provide a proper collection
Towels were provided; but better-quality towels, bathmats would be recommended if we compare to other apartments and houses, we have rented. Oven mitts would also be a helpful addition. .
One of the bedroom storage closets should be in better order (proper storage bins?)
The sofa bed mattress is a thin one – why not grab a good thick topper for it? We see others have commented on that problem as well.
How about some computer plug ins for recharging to help international guests?
Ugly
I see other guests have commented on the “keys” problem. Key for the entry door to the building and a key for the Unit 3 apt. Highly recommend putting in a better system – eg. A keypad code system like many places now use.
Picking up the key set at some location different from the apartment location is inconvenient – especially when one arrives with bags etc., in the midst of exhaustion after long flights. People do not want such a hassle.
In our case we also ran into some ‘miscommunication’ about keys and apartment access /times. Upon enquiry we received a text that the keys were ready for pickup – BUT – the apartment had not yet been cleaned. So, we dropped our bags off and left the apartment (saw a messy apartment and wondered what was going on) … then… upon getting another text message – to return the keys! That whole misunderstanding could have been circumvented with a better access procedure and clearer communications. This is really annoying for guests who just fly in, are exhausted, and want things to run smoothly.
We had to text to request missing supplies which would be considered an obvious oversight. The owner/manager responded – using Deliveroo – but in the first instance they just left the bag of items at the outside street door AND of course they quickly disappeared AND we were never made aware the items were delivered. So, it all had to be repeated, and the deliverer met downstairs etc. That kind of error of missing supplies can be easily avoided if the apt prep people use a proper standard item checklist. This all seemed rather haphazard.
Where is the address number of this building ? 11 Grenville? Other guests were spotted wandering around as well. That could be easily remedied by putting a number on the entrance door.
NOISE? Seems a few guests have complained about that (at a different review site). First, we were unlucky enough to have a herd of cattle in the apartment above us. Terrible soundproofing or essential no soundproofing. Thump, thump, thump. Also – frequent noise, echoed up from that back alleyway (/) by the bedroom. Very loud for some reason. So, the noise was a major drawback – for jet lagged guests – trying to rest. Proper soundproofing, window glazing etc. might help remedy that obvious problem.
Garbage? Not sure about the rules for garbage disposal are for this street. No proper bins for this building? Each bags were left on the curb, birds tore them apart, garbage was strewn about. Maybe something better could be done so guests do not what through garbage remnants to get up the steps to the building. I actually cleaned it up a couple of times.
Overall we had a pleasant stay. And it helped to overcome our jet lag, after a very long flight. Thank you
It were such nice hours to spend with Mike on the tour. I learned a lot on photography and made some really nice pictures. He’s very knowledgeable about the area we were, and he took me to a lot of interesting places.
I would recommend anyone to book a tour with him and learn more about photography and hear interesting stories!
A delightful tour through many features of the West End. Some photos were of typical tourist sites but many creative and unusual shots that most tourists wouldn’t notice or think about. Mike provided lots of gentle advice and encouragement on using the camera to make the most of the opportunities! A wonderful experience with terrific photos to take away.