Citadines Apart'hotel Holborn-Covent Garden London — Hotel in London

Summary: 6 day stay in mid-November. Location is amazing and property has just been fully renovated. Unfortunately completely let down by the staff. Lack of central heating in the middle of November is not a small problem! Both effective response and service recovery were sadly lacking.

Pros: Brand new fully renovated apartment including bathroom, great kitchenette complete with pots and pans, dishes, cutlery. We arrived early and being an ASR member were able to check into an apartment. Location is unbeatable, across from Holborn tube, lots of supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, British Museum and Covent Garden just a short walk away.

Cons: Pillows for the sofa bed were stained and had many hairs from previous users. I had to call reception for new pillows. Many towels are old, frayed and stained. Central heating did not work and despite multiple calls and personal visits to reception, over a six day stay, this was not repaired. On the final night, we were given a small portable electric heater. On arrival, in-room safe did not work, this was fixed quickly. On arrival, we had no hot water, again after several calls, finally on day 3 we had hot water. Almost all staff were unhelpful or clueless. Multiple calls about lack of heating were not acted upon, requests for room change if heating could not be fixed were met with excuses like - at 6.10pm one evening, “Oh the engineer finishes work at 6.30pm so if he doesn’t go to check your room by then, call back and I will see what I can do about a change of room.” That was already my fourth call that day from early morning to evening. Shouldn’t the staff be more pro-active in following up rather than having us spend our vacation waiting in vain and shivering at night? Lola at reception tried to lie that the engineer tried to visit one evening but found we had the “Do not disturb” sign on, which (1) we did not, and (2) I’d been told a previous night that engineer leaves at 6.30. On our final morning we were offered free breakfast to make up for the lack of heating. Selection and service were poor, with the two attendants standing by but clearly trying to ration the food by not refilling empty stations, until more guests came. Many tables were left unbussed while the two ladies just stood by. There was a long hair in the omelettes. We would not pay £15 per person for what was on offer. There was a lack of information given by front desk at check in, as well as zero signage in the room, about how to dispose our trash, where to get fresh towels, that there is a gym etc. We didn’t even know about the laundry room until the last day when my husband peeked into one of the ground floor rooms behind the breakfast area. A dish drainer needs to be provided in the room. I requested late check out as a small compensation for the lack of heating, was told we could have extended check out until 1pm, but the next day, our key card stopped working at 11am (normal check out time).

Conclusion: Staff training really needs...

I stayed in citadines Holborn Covent Garden for 5 nights during covid 5-10 October as I was having major surgery to my back, they knew this along with the fact I am disabled. When we first got there, our 1 bedroom apartment had cold chips and other food things on the floor under the table from previous guests that was cleaned quite quickly when Pointed out, unfortunately there was also a lot of cereal stuck under the settee which dropped down when the settee was moved. The curtain was partially off it’s track and part of the curtain missing so it was quite light in the lounge when curtains were drawn. The vents in the lounge and bedroom were extremely noisy at night time preventing anyone from sleeping well. The floor in general was absolutely filthy. It looked like (apart from under the table) if may have been swept, but it certainly hadn’t been mopped Or washed in a very long time! My daughter’s partner had a shower and the soles Of his feet were actually black within 15 minutes of the shower from walking around. He wiped the floor in front of the kitchen and the white tissue he used came up black! The ceiling had numerous water stain marks from previous leaks, on the ceiling in the corner by the broken curtain It actually looked like mildew!!! We showed the desk staff the video and after the maintenance had been and confirmed it needed repair, They moved us to 2 studios and honoured the price of the one bedroomed apartment but they knew I was having surgery and the filthy room is disgraceful especially during Supposed Covid extra cleaning measures so god knows what it is like when not under covid measures! The shower chair in the replacement room had black like mould marks in it so I had to use a hand towel on the bench as I refused to sit on it without something on top. The cutlery And Plates Etc within the kitchen cupboards All needed to be washed before use as the majority seemed dirty with smudges etc on them. In the lounge area down in reception, There were 2 workmen In high viz clothing that appeared to wonder in off the street On a daily basis to the coffee area while we were there and helped themselves to coffee etc and ate their McDonald’s at the tables. There were signs outside the toilets in the lounge area to say they were closed but we witnessed when passers by off the street asked if they could use them, they were told That was fine yet residents couldn’t? The front desk staff were friendly and greeted us, but the cleanliness and standards were appauling. Very very disappointed! I will never stay in a citadines again If this is what to expect, neither will my daughter and her boyfriend who also stayed there. I doubt if their failure to comply with basic cleaning Standards is even legal under the current climate and I strongly suggest they retrain their domestic staff and update and maintain their near non existent COVID...

This place was staggeringly poor. Arrived and had to change room because of the disgusting smell and rust covered bath. Changed room, however its was still smelly. Couldn't call reception as the phone didnt work, so had to go to reception to complain again. Couldn't change rooms, so had to go out and buy candles and air freshener. Room was freezing, so had to ask for a small heater. Heating on the air con system wasnt working properly. I asked for someone to come and take a look , but that never happened. With regards to the heater I asked in the morning and said could you please send it to the room....I returned after being out for 5 hours and they still hadn't done it. I asked for a few things for the room which resulted again in a combination of wrong items arriving and some just not at all. I asked for a bowl for cereal...as it as a 1 bed apartment only to receive a huge fruit bowl. I asked for 2 mugs as the ones in the room were chipped, only to receive huge water jugs. I'm not sure if it was incompetence or they just didnt care. Right outside the lift...that's the lift that you had to press up to go down, there was a leak in the ceiling, resulting in towels and a bucket in the middle of the floor for the whole time we were there. I was in the place for 8 days, in winter..it was smelly, cold and dirty with poor standards and seemingly pleasant staff that didnt listen.. I wanted to leave but I imagine it would have been like banging your head against a wall to get a refund. I stayed here 4 years ago and it was just fine...that's why we stayed again. I suspect not one penny has been spent on the upkeep of this venue. I travel and I know the service industry as well as many years in hospitality and hotels, so I will be very interested in what reply ( if any) I receive and if you do reply please do not insult me by starting with...we are very sorry you didnt enjoy your stay but..... I will also save you the time in saying that you are in the middle of or about to refurb the hotel ( which again does not help me does it) Please say something interesting and original, if not for me but for the other people reading this, because if I read my review I would rather sleep outside than stay in your venue. Also when you say to a member of staff that things are poor and they reply...tell me about it and another time you see a customer bringing a staff member to tears, well you know things are right. Owners/ management...you should be ashamed taking...