StayLux Waterloo

Very stressful experience. As we arrived the window in one of the bedrooms was completely smashed. When I rung the office they were very relaxed about the whole thing and said they were aware already and that it was safe. However no one thought they should inform us or even better put us in a different apartment with a window that didn’t feel dangerous! We stayed in two flats during our two night stay and both were absolutely filthy. Mouldy and unclean showers. Crumbs all over the floor and the blind was broken. My white socks had to go in the bin because they were black from walking on these floors! Boiler kept failing meaning we were left with no hot water. This would have been enough to make the stay a negative one. However on our second night the Carbon monoxide sensor failed so we had to move fiats at 7.30pm after I had already put my baby to bed. And to make it worse all the smoke vent sensors in the building say fault so didn’t feel very safe. I do have to say that Nicola was always very quick to respond to emails and had explained they were only moving us as a precaution and not because there was definitely carbon monoxide. However with a 3 month old baby this made me incredibly anxious that we had already been breathing some in. I then had a very sleepless night because of this. When I asked if there was anyway we could have a slightly later checkout due to all these issues I was told no and then the cleaners were banging on the door at 10am. They con you into paying £25 instead of £250 refundable deposit. Which we fell into after reading reviews about the difficulty of getting refunds. So wish we hadn’t as they got extra money out of us for an awful stay. When I suggested that this should be given back to us I was told this wasn’t possible as they had moved us for our safety and it wasn’t their fault. It’s a real shame because the location is perfect so could have been a very positive stay.

Our stay was in apartment 5, level 3. Great location near waterloo station and places to eat. Security was also very good. Apartment was spacious and generally clean. The floors had been vacuumed but clearly needed to be washed. There was significant cracking in one of the windows. The bed in the main bedroom was small, most likely a double and not a queen or king. There was no safe to put valuables. The lift was not working upon arrival and we had the challenge of carrying heavy luggage up 3 floors of stairs. Thankfully a cleaner was able to help and this was greatly appreciated. This was in contrast to a call with management who said they could do nothing to get the lift fixed on a Saturday. Problems also arose during our stay when we were advised that workmen needed to enter our apartment for a full day to carry out ‘urgent’ maintenance and get access to the balcony. We responded by saying we do not consent to any strangers entering. We were on holiday and paid for this apartment plus there was no security to put personal items if we were not in the apartment. An email arrived stating the reason for the maintenance and we restated our wishes which included a days refund if the intrusion occurred given the fact we would not want to there if strangers were in passing through. Our request for privacy was ignored and an offer of compensation was clearly subpar. It was also clear that the maintenance had begun before our arrival and we should have been consulted beforehand so that we had the option of getting a refund and making alternative arrangements. I would consider the behaviour of Stayo to be unreasonable and unprofessional. Although they acknowledged our concerns, their actions did not match the rhetoric. We escalated the situation to our travel agent who strongly reiterated our concerns. This did not appear to be acknowledged. In the end, no maintenance men arrived at our door and we were not advised that they wouldn’t enter our apartment. This situation could have been managed much better by Stayo. It’s a shame, as we enjoyed our week in London and the very convenient location but the angst of dealing with Stayo left a bitter feeling.

I tried to book a stay with this property a year out. They took a deposit from me of almost $800 US dollars that was supposed to be returned. It has been a THREE MONTH NIGHTMARE trying to get my deposit back. I didn't even stay here. No one has bothered to make any effort to connect with me meaningfully by email after multiple attempts. Travelers, BEWARE!!!