Park Lane Apartments — Local services in London

I stayed at Parklane Furnished Apartments for 8 days, and it turned into one of the most unsafe and stressful travel experiences I’ve ever had.

On the second day, housekeeping came while we were out. When we returned, we found that our belongings had been tampered with. Every jewelry box had been opened, three separate locked suitcases were forcibly broken into, and a pouch containing over £400 along with our passports was rummaged through. Some personal items, including a belt, were missing. The management did not respond to calls, the porter claimed he was “in Italy,” there were no security cameras, and the police never arrived. We were left feeling unsafe and unprotected for the rest of our stay.

From there, more issues piled up: • The water boiler broke, leaving us without hot water for 4 days — meaning no showers for most of our stay. • Beds were uncomfortable, couches were old and hidden under blankets, and floorboards had exposed staples that could injure someone. • Lighting was outdated; the spiral staircase had no light, creating a dangerous situation. • The main apartment door lock was broken and could be opened from outside with a master key. Bedrooms had no locks at all, removing any privacy. • My brother’s room was so cramped the door barely opened, with no AC and no bedside table — his essentials sat on the floor. • Furniture was in poor condition: wobbly table, damaged steps covered in leather, mismatched kitchen ceiling, and dirty/stinky entrance carpets. • Windows were either stuck shut or blocked by a portable AC pipe, leaving only one usable. • The fridge smelled bad, the master bedroom TV didn’t work due to a remote issue, and cable management was messy with visible satellite box wiring. • Some outlets used a 3-pin circular design, making them unusable for standard plugs. • The fuse box on the staircase had no protective cover — a serious electrocution risk if someone fell and grabbed it.

Positives: The apartment is in a good location — within walking distance to Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, with a Tesco and a nice café nearby. It is furnished with couches, tables, beds, and basic kitchen appliances. Housekeeping is available (though we stopped it after the theft incident).

Final verdict: While the location is convenient and the apartment comes furnished, the severe safety, hygiene, and management issues make it completely unacceptable. The lack of security, broken locks, dangerous electrical setup, poor maintenance, and the unresolved theft during our stay make this a place I would never return to...

RUN — Do NOT Book These Apartments!

I booked 3 apartments for 9 days, paying around £14,000, expecting a premium experience. Unfortunately, our stay was full of problems and very disappointing.

• Broken shower took 24 hours to fix

• Bidets and extra bed were promised before booking but missing on arrival; bidets delivered late (one broken), bed arrived at 11 PM in poor condition with a spider inside

• One AC broken and never fixed, another bedroom had no AC at all

• Bathrooms had empty soap bottles, one tap barely dripped water

• Only one set of keys per apartment for 48 hours

• Poor security — AC hoses hanging from open windows with no security bars, easy street view into rooms

• Water cut off for hours in one apartment

• No lobby or reception, so you have to call staff every time you need help

When I asked for a refund on the first night, I was told to speak to the manager, who did not respond until the next morning. He simply said it was non-refundable and to speak to the staff again.

For the price paid, the service, maintenance, and professionalism were far below expectations. I cannot recommend this place and would strongly advise others to think twice before booking. Update after owner’s reply:

Their response contradicts itself — claiming the apartments were “fully functional upon check-in” while also admitting to addressing “maintenance issues” during the stay. If everything was functional, why were repairs and missing items an issue at all?

My review remains factual and accurate to...

We were highly disappointed. Most serious was the daily problem with the shower/bath tub. The fundamental structure of converting from bath tap to hand shower to head shower was faultily designed. It stopped working each day, was led to maintenance calls each day and despite visits and repairs, the same problem reoccurred five times during our seven day stay. Secondly, assistance was provided grudgingly as if a favour was being done to us. Thirdly, despite three complaints the television was not repaired and functioned on a ratio of five minutes viewing time for every one hour of black out. Fourthly, hirers of the flat are not forewarned on the website that no cleaning facilities are available either on Saturday or Sunday, leading to extreme clutter. Fifthly, a flat of this size has extremely small bedrooms and only one bathroom for two bedrooms. Given London's temperature exceeding 35 degree centigrade, it was frequently torture to be inside the flat at all. Last but not the least and especially since there is no air conditioning, there should have been atleast four powerful fans supplied instead, only one standing fan was supplied. And a second tiny apology of a table fan was given. For 90 percent of our stay despite open windows, movement within the flat was unbearable.

We would highly recommend NOT to...