City Hall Penthouse Duplex - Incredible Views & Sleeps 8 & Balcony & Very Modern and spacious

Great location and easy check-in/out process

The lift was broke which made it difficult to access with cases. We did report this to the host who assured us it had been reported and we understand this was out of their control

Absolutely nothing. I never even entered the property. My experience was solely with the host’s communication and Booking.com’s handling of the situation — and both were nothing short of appalling. I made a genuine mistake, realising within five minutes of making the booking that I had selected the wrong property. I immediately reached out to the host and to Booking.com to explain the situation and cancel the reservation. Given the speed of my message, the fact that this was the day of arrival, and my Genius Level 3 status with Booking.com — reflecting years of loyal custom — I fully expected a degree of understanding and goodwill. What I received instead was a series of cold, automated, and repetitive responses from the host and zero human intervention from Booking.com. It felt like dealing with a machine rather than people, which is unacceptable when genuine human error occurs.

Where to begin. The entire experience has left me questioning how a property like this remains listed on Booking.com. The host displayed no flexibility, no empathy, and no professionalism whatsoever. Despite me reaching out within minutes of booking — before arrival time, before check-in, and before any inconvenience could possibly have been caused — they refused to even discuss a resolution or partial refund. Instead, I was met with automated, impersonal messages that made it abundantly clear that money, not service, was their priority. The tone of communication was cold and transactional, lacking even the most basic courtesy. At no point did the host take the initiative to contact me personally, pick up the phone, or make any human attempt to resolve what was an easily rectifiable situation. To make matters worse, Booking.com — who I’ve always trusted for reliability and guest protection — were equally dismissive. Despite clear documentation proving I contacted the property immediately, their support team simply echoed “non-refundable policy” without consideration of the specific context. Policies are important, yes, but so is integrity and discretion, particularly when it comes to long-standing loyal customers. In over a decade of travel and countless stays across five-star hotels, boutique properties, and independent rentals, I have never encountered such a poor standard of customer service or such blatant disregard for fairness. The host’s handling of this situation was rigid, money-driven, and utterly devoid of hospitality or common decency. If this is how they treat someone who never even stayed — I dread to imagine how they treat paying guests with legitimate issues during their stay. It’s a real shame, as this type of behaviour reflects poorly not only on the host but on the Booking.com platform as a whole.

Everything

That I couldn’t stay longer

Facilities were generally good apart from the shower ....poor

Great difficulty in finding the keys to enter. A small box with the keys was about 20 yards from main door positioned in a corner ,almost impossible to see. We walked around getting wet for over an hour. Disappointed

Good location and spacious Netflix available

No light on the hallway, felt like a horror movie entering into a house with no lights and trying to use our phone to find any lights switches , with 2 small kids being scared of the dark Poor light in the house in general, light bulbs were weak/poor and not that much natural light on the bottom floor Not cleaned, probably wasn't vacuumed properly in a while, our socks got very dirty after walking around the house. Bad smell in the bathroom Wet towels were left on a clothes rack, in a small closet room. 2 days later when we left, still wet. Bedsheets all wrinkled (at least I hope they were washed before we arrived, however not entirely sure.. Not child friendly, glasses were left on the bottom shelves of the kitchen cabinet , my toddler almost cut herself on one of them. Also other things i.e. cleaning supplies left on easy reach of children. Green blanket on the couch was dirty, needs a wash. Outside terrace is linked to the other apartments so if you forget to close the door, others could get in to your own apartment Old house in general, dust and cracked walks. Overrated on booking.com!