ARK Canary Wharf — Hotel in London

As a long-term resident of this hotel for the past few years, my experience may differ from those on a short stay. Overall, I can say that this hotel was an excellent place to stay during the COVID-19 pandemic because of how it fostered a sense of community. However, the cost of living crisis seems to be affecting the quality of services provided.

One of the main issues I have noticed is a decline in building maintenance quality, as amenities such as the golf simulator, pool, jacuzzi, steam room, and sauna are frequently out of service. These issues detract from the overall experience of staying at this hotel. Additionally, the events offered could be improved. For example, the hotel used to host cooking classes, Sunday breakfast, coffee on Mondays, and other events, but these have been discontinued, and some extra charges for the hotel's events have been introduced. This is not ideal for long-term residents who are already paying a high monthly rate.

Not long ago, the hotel introduced an app that requires all residents to use it. Unfortunately, the implementation of this app was pushy and unnecessary, similar to a local pub or restaurant requiring customers to use their app to place a basic meal order. Most long-term residents prefer to use WhatsApp or other messaging apps to engage with each other. When someone needs support, they go directly to reception, so it is unclear why the app was implemented in the first place. Upper management should have questioned if an app was truly needed and if they were solving urgent needs of residents or if they were building an app first and thinking later about what problems to solve with it. The money spent on this app could have been better used to address more pressing needs, such as building maintenance.

Despite these issues, the hotel has some positive aspects, such as its excellent location for people working in Canary Wharf and good connections to Central London. The hotel also offers the convenience of not having to pay utility bills and other expenses of renting a flat by aggregating all the expenses in a single monthly payment. Another excellent benefit is the hotel's gym and swimming pool. The hotel also offers a good range of facilities, such as a golf simulator, steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi. When these facilities are working, they are excellent and provide a good way to relax after a long day at work.

In terms of customer service, some staff members like Deen and Sara are outstanding and always willing to help. They deserve recognition for their excellent job performance. However, other staff members, from credit control to reservations, have not been as helpful, requiring multiple contacts to resolve issues. Additionally, some staff members are not very friendly, which is not ideal for a hotel that aims to be welcoming and foster a sense of community. Management should address this issue and be aware that happier staff members are more likely to provide better customer service.

Overall, I believe that the management should address the perceived decline in the building's quality and services, given the possible increase in rates to cover the rising costs of living. Despite the hotel's positive aspects, the negative aspects detract from the overall experience. Based on how things are currently and how they seem to be going, I do not think it is the best value for money option to consider for living long-term.

Some long-term residents who have left the hotel reported not receiving their deposit back on time as stipulated in their contracts. As a long-term resident myself, I hope to not have the same experience when I leave soon. I have always paid my rent on time, and I do not understand why I would not receive my deposit back on time. I will update this review accordingly.

Edit: I confirm that it was quite straightforward the return of my deposit and it happened two days after moving out. Excellent job from credit control for...

Avoid this place – Not worth £100 per night!

I stayed here for £100 per night, and it was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had at a hotel. • On the first night, I found bloodstains on the mattress, which immediately made me question the cleanliness of this place.(a staff who helped me in the night was so kind btw) • I was moved to another room, but the mattress was so old and sagging on one side that I could barely sleep due to back pain. I managed only two hours of rest. • The third room I was given had the same issue – a completely worn-out mattress. At this point, I realized switching rooms was pointless.

Additionally, there was a door tag indicating that housekeeping service was available, so I hung it up and left for the day. However, when I returned, nothing had been cleaned. When I asked a male staff member at the front desk (working on March 2nd, with a beard and darker skin tone), he rudely told me that this is a “residential apartment” and they don’t offer housekeeping. When I questioned why they even have the sign in the room and why this wasn’t communicated beforehand, he just looked annoyed and showed no willingness to apologize or explain properly.

If this were a £20-50 stay, I might have let it slide. But for £100 a night? This place is a scam. I will never return, and I strongly advise others to reconsider before booking. Sleeping in pain and discomfort for this price is absolutely ridiculous.

I will post all documents i paid and i will post as much as i can and whoever consider to stay here, please take out her from your options.

NO afforable PRICE , CUSTOMER service, ROOM cleanliness. PERIOD

RESOPOND

Since you’re questioning why I was unhappy, let me explain it again—clearly and in detail.

From the very beginning, your team failed. You didn’t prepare enough room keys. That’s not a “technical issue,” that’s just poor planning. I had a confirmed booking. I paid for my room. And yet I was told I’d have to wait until the next day to get a key? That’s not just inconvenient—it’s unacceptable and unprofessional. How many guests were you taking in without being ready for them? Give me an amazing first impression of your hotel.

You say there was no delay? At 4AM, I went to reception in serious back pain. Your staff said there were no available rooms, but they would leave a note for the next shift. The next day, my wife went down—your staff claimed they didn’t know anything about it. So I came again after work at midnight, asked the exact same staff member, and guess what? They were actually helpful—but even they were confused why no one handled it earlier. I had to wait two more hours in the lobby in the middle of the night to finally get a proper room.

So yes, if you want to know how bad the experience was, I can go on. But don’t act surprised that I was frustrated—you gave me every reason to be.

And just to add one more thing—

I lost an item during my stay and asked your staff if it had been found. They said they’d get back to me. Guess what? Nothing. No call, no message, nothing. Just empty promises.

I called four times. Four. Every time, I was told, “We’ll get back to you soon.” It’s been months. Still nothing.

At this point, what exactly am I supposed to expect from your team? You’ve made it very clear—your staff are incredibly consistent… at doing absolutely nothing. Truly amazing

Thank you. If you wanna hear more, let me know . I will let you know...

First and foremost, the staff were absolutely horrible - extremely lazy and very nonchalant. Check in took a while even though there were 3 people at the desk. 2 were chatting away in my presence, while the 3rd was deliberately being slow.

The studio apartment itself was teeny tiny considering the price but that in itself wasn’t a problem. The air conditioning was turned off on one of the hottest days of the year so the room was absolutely boiling. And although there was air con/comfort cooking, there were no controls for it in the room. To make matters worse, there was no room phone to call reception to get it sorted. I tried calling the reception number off their website a few times to contact reception for help but there was no answer. Odd considering there were 3 people at the desk earlier. I would have had to go all the way downstairs to speak to them directly to sort it. Given the attitude of the staff at check in and how very fatigued I was, I wasn’t willing to do that, so I ended up suffering the heat the entire stay, even after opening the 1 window that was there. So didn’t sleep much that night.

By the morning, I just wanted to get out. Went into the shower and discovered the shower door was broken. I had no choice but to manage it as best as I could.

After getting ready, I went down to check out. I was just going to drop the keys and be off given my terrible experience, but I didn’t want someone else to suffer the same fate so I decided to wait to feedback re: the broken shower door and poor service. One of the ladies from the previous night was at the desk and decided to walk off at the same time I was approaching the desk even after seeing me heading there. I held my tongue and waited. After about 5 mins, the lady who had checked me in the day before came to the desk and asked me for my room number. As I reached into my bag to retrieve it, she walked off and did not return.

I had to wait another 5 mins before the previous lady at the desk returned. She then proceeded to ignore me and attend to another person waiting who had arrived after me. When I complained, she said she had done that because I had been on the phone even though the call had been brief, and was only made because I was kept waiting for them. At that point, I chucked in the keys in the fast checkout box and started walking off, mentioning that the shower door was broken as I left. That finally caught her attention. She now wanted to know what room it was, so I walked back, told her the room number, mentioned the poor service and walked off again.

I got out of the building and started walking to my Uber point only to see the lady who had asked for my room number and walked off. She was sat outside having a smoke break!!!!!! She left me waiting at the counter to go smoke instead.

Never in all my years of using hotels/services apartments have I had such appalling service. Especially after shelling out over £200 for 1 night. I have never had to write such a long review before so this is certainly one for the history books.

My advice - avoid this place like...