My family of 4 booked this apartment as we like to have plenty of space and separate rooms. Communication through Sykes was spot on.
After finding a parking space (Lawrence Street - no restrictions) we entered through the big blue door and were greeted by a shabby dirty looking staircase with a heavily soiled blue carpet - not the first impression I would want to give personally. No real problem though.
The flat is up 4 lots of stairs on the second floor, once through the door we were amazed by the high ceilings and space in each room! Lovely big lounge with plenty of comfy seating, nice period furniture and uncluttered.
Kitchen opposite had everything needed for self catering, although no facility to dry clothes. Dishwasher was an added bonus.
Bathroom, which is just off the kitchen (not my cup of tea) was ok - No bath which is a shame as seems plenty of room to have had one. No shower gel provided so I'd suggest taking your own. Also no where to put shampoo or shower get once in the shower. No toilet brush - really needs a toilet brush.
Bedrooms were spot on, Master bedroom with lots of storage for clothes and a couple more very comfy settee's. The bed was a bit of a let down, a very low double which we found a bit uncomfortable. A king with a new mattress would be much better and the room would more than allow for it.
Twin room was excellent, again plenty of storage and the beds were comfy. Not a great view of the filthy dirty roof top from the neighbouring establishments.
Towels were plentiful and along with the bedding were clean and smelt fresh. Cleaning products etc were all also provided.
Unfortunately this apartment is sandwiched by 2 Asian restaurants so the smell of food is unforgiving. As stated by the owner in the welcome paperwork the building is grade 2 listed, so how the Chinese next door have been allowed to take part of a window out and put a big dirty extractor in is beyond me! The extractor fan is constant from around 10.30am - 11pm every day which makes having the lounge window open a nightmare.
The other problem is street noise - Friday night was shocking, screaming, shouting, boy racers, motor bikes and extractor fans made for no sleep until at least 2.30/3am. This is obviously not the owners problem, we can see the secondary glazing in the bedroom has helped but it's not going to be the solution as its still very loud. The summer months when the apartment is busy will be very challenging for both guests and owner as their is no chance of having any windows open!
Sunday night was ok, so maybe Sunday to Thursday would be more peaceful?
I would have given 3.5 if allowed but I've gone 4 as its such a spacious place with plenty of storage and the facilities are pretty good.
The shortfalls can not be helped, unless the master bedroom is moved to the rear of the building with the twin.
We wouldn't stay here again if I'm honest as the noise was truly shocking, their should be a warning to other guests before booking.