The Butlers Pantry Apartment

Mar 19th, 2022

The reviews were superb but the property was far from it. I booked the apartment in March for one night and was under the impression all was well only to be told by the host about two days before there was a two night stay policy. He said he will still honour this which made me feel it was my fault and I shouldnt have booked it but I had no idea about the policy. Apparently booking.com failed to cancel our stay when I booked it but if he needed to cancel he had plenty of time to do so and instead contacted me two days before. Therefore, when we arrived and saw there was no toiletries or effort made to the appearance of the apartment it felt like this was our punishment for booking one night as they werent making their money. The owners should treat all guests the same no matter how long they stay, whether it be one night or 14 nights. We chose this apartment for us and our dog to use the communal garden but when we arrived we were told we couldnt use it as the owner had just bought a puppy. Therefore we only had a tiny patch of grass in the car park for our dog; we couldnt imagine having to cope with this for one week!! The kitchens only available tea towel was dirty and there was no kitchen roll or hand wash; this was shocking considering covid. Clearly we were not meant to bring our own kitchen roll as there was some left over from previous guests which had not been replenished. Two glasses were dirty and I decided I couldn't be bothered to search for a clean one. The twin room was horrendously thick with dust down the side and back of the beds; the plugs and mattress frames were also covered in dust. It was so bad I had to vacuum it which I have NEVER had to do on holiday to feel comfortable. The tiny bedside table was stained on the wood and baskets so I was afraid to look inside them. The alarm clock in both bedrooms did not work. The rest of the apartment was floored in the most cheap-feeling carpet which looked so unwelcoming. The living room sofas were tiny and severely uncomfortable with rock hard arm rests. There were stains on the back of the sofa and with further investigation there were remnants of food inside them which I had to vacuum. The two lamps by the fireplace were dusty and crooked. The table cloth was unclean and so we did not eat anything on it. When you opened the huge antique storage unit you were hit by a horrible stench. This actually was the same for all storage units throughout the apartment (wardrobes and drawers) so we kept all of our belongings in our luggage bags and did not unpack. In the hallway there was a mysterious locked door which we later suspected might lead to the owners residence which made us feel very uncomfortable if they could walk in whenever. The all-white bathroom had no character; although it was modern, it felt like a public shower room with an unclean shower matt. The instructional labelling throughout the apartment on the walls made it feel like an old peoples home and was far from homely. The double room lamp shade was old and battered, and the bed frame was dusty which I also vacuumed. The furniture throughout the apartment was so mismatched and felt like the owners bought the cheapest furniture to make the most money. Nobody wanted to use the strange 1940s-like outdoor toilet on the patio as it was covered in cobwebs, had no hand wash, and a weird sink on top of the cistern. The apartments huge windows looking into the communal garden felt like we were being watched by the owners. Overall, we were relieved we stayed for one night and honestly considering the level of cleanliness we couldnt wait to leave. It was shocking how unclean the apartment was with the covid situation. Moreover, as covid has negatively affected many peoples finances, it was disappointing to see how this apartment was so poor value for money. I think the owners need to seriously look at what they are offering as it seems they are charging the maximum amount for minimal effort.
Jan 5th, 2022