Sonder JBR The Walk Apartments — Hotel in Dubai

The worst holiday experience ever, never staying here again.

Past 7 years, me, my family and all of my friends (and their families) have always stayed here, I’ve always recommended them. Always have been 10/10 for service and stay. This time around, an absolute nightmare and not a care in the world from the staff or leadership. Came to Dubai with my wife, 1 year old and 5 year old, spent around 4000 USD for the stay. They gave us a lobby room we arrived at 5am desperate to get some sleep. Upon arrival neither me nor my kids could sleep, a massive generator, cherry picker and construction (appeared to be) staff were in the lobby until 6am, loud engine noise, banging and clanging, after this, the music from the lobby was so loud, and got even louder at 8am… like there was a pool party going on, but inside! I asked the staff to move us to another room, they declined unless I spent another 3k with them for an “upgrade”.

Second night, same generator and machinery, until 6am, this time worse. The banging and clanging was so loud I opened to curtains to find a worker outside my window at 3:30am, both my kids crying now… I called Sonder head office, after an hour on the phone, they did nothing and requested I pay for an upgrade in order to be moved. At this point I went downstairs and demanded to be moved, or I’d be moving to another hotel. The staff moved me to another room which he called an “upgrade” at no extra cost. This room was away from the lobby, so It was quiet. However, less than half the size of the other, so I wouldn’t call this an upgrade by any means, if anything quite a substantial downgrade.

Day 3, and Day 4, no hot water. Hot water in the shower would last barely 5-6 mins before going cold, called engineers to the room and they supposedly fixed it. After multiple calls, an engineer came and said the boiler unit needs to be swapped out, and this would mean they have to “cut” a hole in the ceiling, 4 hour job. I had to take the kids out, thankfully my friend was staying at the Rotana, so we went and spent the day there and I was able to give my kids a shower in their hotel. I was told by the staff that I wouldn’t notice repair work, there would be no dust, and our room would be fully cleaned.

When I returned, dust was everywhere, all over the floor, sink, shower, and beds. No cleaning staff on site since they finish at 5pm. I had to try and clean it all myself. The next day I spoke to Chayanne (senior member of staff), literally in tears, I had had enough. I asked for the bare minimum to have a refund for the first 2 nights of my stay where I didn’t sleep. Not an unreasonable ask…

Chayanne assured me she was going to push for a 4 night refund, and built a case for senior leadership to push for this. She “seemed” very caring and supportive. I didn’t hear anything back from here until the last day, where her attitude was now completely different, she said unfortunately no refund, best we can do is 1000AED in credit, which doesn’t even pay for a single night in this place! She had zero care, and walked away after saying her bit.

I had to give my baby a was in the sink for the entire stay as that was the only place we had hot water. Even after this boiler replacement, the water was cold, an engineer told me the “pump is faulty”. I’d given up here.

I’ve never had such an experience like this, frankly they ruined our trip. I’d never stay here again. Be warned, this is supposed to be 5 star resort, let the above and attached evidence...

We booked Sounder JBRThe Walk in Dubai . We selected the one bedroom sea view room . What we weren’t told at the time was that the one bedrooms are only located on the 1-6th floor . We had used the chat on the sounder app and at no time were we told we would be on a lower floor , all they said at the time was rooms are not assigned until a few days before your arrival . That being said we did have a nice view of the pool and The Palm Jumeirah . There is construction going on beside the building but at no time were we disturbed by any noise . The residence is fully stocked meaning all dishes, cooking pots and pans and utensils are provided . They provided 4 coffee pods and a few sugars to start you off , as well as some green tea and honey . There was one roll of toilet paper in each of the two bathrooms in our unit . I did hear that they might top up the supply if you ask but we brought our own just in case . There was shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the shower in large bottles so no need to bring your own unless you want a specific brand . If you require garbage removal just call the front desk or leave it outside the door and staff will pick up . I preferred to drop it in the staff lobby service elevator on our floor Just to keep the appearance clean in front of our room . The bedding was comfortable with 4 pillows on the king size bed . There were 4 bath towels in our ensuite and we were told if we wanted them changed just call the front desk . We opted not to pay for a weekly cleaning as supplies were available for us to do it ourselves. You can request a sheet change at no additional charge but they will not put them on for you less you pay for a cleaning . There were two issues that arose during our stay and Sonder maintenance team were prompt to solve the issues . One was a broken ice maker , it took two days to fix but by the end of our stay were had tons of ice lol , second issue was a slight odour in the room ,it turned out to be a dirty air conditioner filter ,once cleaned we had both fresh air and a nice breeze from the A/C . Overall I enjoyed our stay , we used both the cook top and the microwave oven but didn’t need to use the oven . All appliances were in great condition and I have no complaints . There was a dishwasher with two pods and a washer / dryer with two pods for us to use. Our one bedroom configuration was a bit different than our other family members who also booked at this residence , we had two bathrooms which came in handy if anyone came over . Our kitchen was the biggest difference , online the pictures show the kitchen enclosed by glass , I assume to maybe keep food odours or heat from cooking to be separate from the living room , ours did not have an enclosure and it personally didn’t affect us . Overall we enjoyed our stay and I would definitely stay with them again . The prices for our room were a bit more than some other residences in the area but we enjoyed the freedoms of a self contained apartment . There were several grocery stores within walking distance to pick up supplies . Thank you Sonder for a...

Sonders experience it self was over all very good, there was 2 points which caused me unnecessary stress however.

1: Your system related issues, if you look through my chats I have had with your advisors and management it was all down to what your systems have done. For example when I paid for early check in and it was not showing on any confirmation other than a receipt but I was told everything is fine but to then find out a day away that it was cancelled by your systems and then refunded to me. I do have to say your staff were excellent but your systems are a cause for concern.

This is not Sonders related however as you provide access to the Azure and rixos pool area. I went down to the pool area with my pregnant wife and a 5 year old to use the facilities. We found a couple of loungers clearly free but then were told by one of the pool boys (Arabian looking fella with cap and sunglasses on all the time, looks like he needs a wash) that the lounger is not free and being used. We turned away to look for more to then see he was offering the same loungers to someone else (another Arabian looking fella) who clearly just arrived with fresh towels in his hands. The pool boy realised we was watching and then moved away quickly. I felt disgusted and very much angry at the situation. It was extremely hot and I just wanted to get my pregnant wife and son comfortably out the sun as there was literally nothing free. It was highly unfair and we felt discriminated upon due our ethnicity. As days went on I have found myself having to wake up 7 am to get a hold of loungers as the rixos staff hog the first 2 lines of all the loungers for people that "tip" them to do so. Which we withnessed with our own eyes. It all made sense after that. This didn't ruin my stay however it dampened our experience. Countless people were being turned away from loungers where rixos staff put towels on to pretend they were being used for hours on end so they can financially benefit when we have paid a premium for the experience at your facilities. It is something you may want to address as there was a host of people complaining about the situation around the pool area.

These are the only reasons why I would not come to Sonders on JBR again. To be made felt discriminated upon isn't something I wish upon anyone. However your actual staff are great especially Yassin at front...