Covent Garden Piazza by Stayo

Stayed in a studio where everything was in a single open-plan space with a separate bathroom. The room was clean and the crockery and cutlery was sufficient for two people. We had to ask for washing up liquid, dish cloth and tea towel as these weren’t there when we arrived. We could have used the dishwasher but for a couple of plates and mugs, it wasn’t worth it and anyway, we needed a cloth to wipe down the surfaces. We got the washing up liquid and dishcloth promptly but the requested tea towel didn’t appear. The television only provided a few terrestrial tv channels. We found that the Ariel cable had fallen out of the wall socket because the connector was broken. We pushed it back in and wedged it there by running the stiff cable upwards touching the back of the tv. We were able to retune the tv and get all the channels. We reported the faulty cable because if the tv is moved, the cable may fall out and channels will be lost again. The flat was hot because of the weather and the fan supplied worked well although it had evidently been dropped as the base was broken, which we reported as soon as we saw. Construction on a complex opposite was very noisy but didn’t start until 9am on work days and was finished by 5:30pm. The noise and heat meant a balancing act whether to open windows for cooling or close for peace and quiet. Outside construction hours, the flat was very peaceful, even with windows open. If the apartment had been on the other side of the building, the heat and noise would probably not have been an issue at all. The location was excellent for Kew Gardens and public transport was very easy. The link to videos to see how to find the apartments was good. There were a few tea bags and coffee sachets provided and the cooking facilities and wifi were fine. Would we stay there again? Yes, but we’d ask ahead that dishwashing facilities were available before we arrived as that’s just a basic requirement if you’re self-catering in a rented property.

The room was ideal for my wife and I, with excellent facilities (although instructions on how to operate the washer-drier would be useful). The site was convenient to walk to Kew Gardens and public transport into London, with two pubs close by - but is in the middle of a massive building site. The computerised booking system is rather opaque for an older person, but on the phone the staff were wonderfully helpful and kind.