Harewood Lodge Darlington Luxury Apartments

Lounge and kitchen ok

Bathroom dirty Window broke in bedroom which they did fix the following day On a busy road and not a desirable area

Location of property, near town centre was good but didn’t compensate for the overall poor state of the apartment.

Access to the property was dangerous with steep, narrow, unequal, extremely narrow and slippery steps. Smoke alarms covered with plastic covers, loose wooden laminate covering sewer cover that allowed foul sewerage smell into property. Lack of general cleanliness throughout property, floor not swept or cleaned (used cotton buds, crisps and band aid plaster). Overall the property didn’t appear to have been cleaned for several weeks. Specifically, bedding on one of the beds was soiled from previous occupier. Duvet also stained. Inappropriate pictures for a family apartment on bedroom walls. Broken table and bedside lamps in bedrooms. Holes in walls and generally staining on settees. Fridge shelf broken and left on top of fridge, all cutlery and utensils left dirty and required washing before use. Box for hairdryer but couldn’t find the hairdryer in property.

Anything one might like about this basement apartment is soon overshadowed by the inept and bullying managers. The best I can say about it is that it was clean inside.

Before arrival, I asked for directions. I'm happy to make the text exchange that ensued available to anyone and I have posted it on booking.com's message platform. It was rude, childish, monosyllabic, unhelpful and slightly threatening. This basement apartment is not a luxury apartment, it's a multi-occupancy place with extremely cold bedrooms, threatening artwork (see photos below) and really awful customer service. Have a look at the entryway photo and you will understand that luxury is somewhat imaginative as a description. Asking for directions and later asking if there was any way the temperature in the bedrooms could be turned up had me being described a "problematic customer". The responses to my request for directions were so bad that I asked if the guy texting me had had any customer service training. This resulted in a barrage of threats and abuse which eventually included being told that they would blacklist me from airbnb and booking.com, they would put their legal team onto me because I didn't provide photo ID and they therefore didn't believe I was a company director, they would phone the hotel that I moved on to, called the Blackwell Grange, and tell them what sort of guest I was etc etc. In fact, my business has a corporate account with the Blackwell Grange and they kindly found space so that I could escape this nightmare place. I left the apartment early the following morning after sleeping under two duvets to try to keep warm and asked for a refund for the remaining three days because this place is definitely NOT a luxury apartment. The refund, despite being supported by booking.com who read the terrible message exchange, was refused, but the abuse continued unabated. Luckily, it was all recorded and I will be taking legal action.

Apartment was central location for our event. Clean and equipped with all the essentials needed. Nicely decorated. Separate shower ensuite and bathroom. Easy entry to the apartment. Hosts communication was prompt.