Review by sue on 17th July, 2006

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Although the outside lives up to the blurb 'elegant, attractive building etc', the inside leaves much to be desired. Less apartment, more 1970s bedsit. Leaving aside the decor which clearly hasn't been updated for many, many years, there is a general sense of disrepair, not helped by the smell of damp that hits you as soon as you open the door. This feeling intensified when I entered my room and discovered that the net curtains were held up by a safety pin, and later tried to make a phone call - the handset was faulty. The former problem was rectified a week into my stay, the telephone was not repaired during the 2 weeks that I was there. It is in a good location, so stay there if you must but bear the following things in mind: 1. the laundry facility refers to a launderette 10 minutes walk away which has now closed down. So either find a launderette or pay the extortionate cost that Astons charge to launder it for you. 2. Satellite television extends to Sky 1 sports, Sky news, CNN. Channel 5 reception is intermittent. The picture quality on a matchbox sized tv is very poor. 3. The 'fully equipped kitchenette' consists of one very small pan, 2 plates and dishes and cutlery that looks to be about 30 years old. If you're thinking of cooking here be prepared to improvise! 4. The booklet provided by Astons which details local restaurants etc is largely out of date - possibly dates from the last time the place was decorated! So, had I paid £45/50 for this I would have been satisfied, but at an average of £100/night for most rooms this certainly doesn't provide good value for money. They are trading on the fact that they are well located in the heart of South Kensington, but this does not make up for the rather depressing poorly equipped and badly maintained rooms (I'm sorry but they are certainly not luxury apartments).

Date visited: 10/6/06 - 24/06/06