This review comes from my very mixed experience during my 10 night stay!
On a positive note; the flat is located within easy reach of the town centre and Cabot Circus shopping area, where you can get bus transport to various surrounding areas/locations.
It is the top floor flat that has a lift available and is modern, bright and has some nice touches that make it feel quite homely.
When I first arrived, it was clean to look at, however, on closer inspection; it needed extra maintenance (I'll come to that!).
All the basics (and more) are provided, so as well as towels, toilet roll, soap, shampoo, hairdryer, straighteners etc, it also had a smart TV, fast and reliable WiFi access, an easily controlled central heating system, readily available hot water, cooker, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer.
So here's where my Cons list starts:
- The flat has single glazed sash windows, so it is REALLY noisy; I had to sleep in earplugs for the rest of the stay. On the first night, I thought I'd accidentally left the windows open because I could literally hear everything from outside. I hadn't, but could clearly hear the constant traffic noise from the main ring road, people in the street, cars/bikes racing about at all hours etc, etc. thankfully, the inter-connecting flat noise was minimal.
- The lack of window seals also makes it quite dusty.
- I ended up having to clean and maintain things on arrival and during my stay.
* I found used, dirty hand towels left in wardrobe. * Clogged, leaking sink in kitchen which I had to bleach and pour boiling water in several times to clear. * Crisp crumbs on sofa and floor - I vacuumed these on arrival. * Food left in an open container in the cupboard, lots of opened and half used jars of various 'stuff' and several food items left in the freezer (quiche dated Nov 18). * My clothes got trapped in the washing machine with an E18 error code displayed. A Google of this indicated that it was the pump filter, so in order to release my items, I had to manually drain the machine, remove the filter, where a huge clump of something spilled out as well as excess water. Thankfully after mopping up the excess, I was able to rewash my clothes and the towel I had to use. * Tumble dryer filter was absolutely full of fibres, so needed to be emptied and rinsed.
These kinds of cleaning and maintenance issues should not occur and be there for the guest to sort out. The management company offered to send out a cleaner again, but I'd already dealt with it, so there really was no point and it felt like quite an empty gesture!
I understand that this is beyond the hosts control but the only other thing I would mention is that it's not the greatest area at night and I wouldn't recommend being out alone.
The flats are at the top of the street and gated entry via access codes so it is fairly secure, however, the secluded end of Orange Street was used by gangs of youths in cars and on bikes to smoke drugs and drink. Broken glass bottles often littered the pavement in the morning.
All in all, I personally couldn't stay here again because the issues I experienced are what stop this apartment form being excellent. If I could double glaze it and move it somewhere else, then I would! :)
If you're a heavy sleeper who wants to be close to the heart of Bristol, then by all means give it a try.