Little Garden View

Lovely private space, Spacious open plan living and dining room. Good quality shower. Decent bed. Comfy and large sofa. Smart TV, we used Prime for a couple of films which was great (a few wifi drop outs though). Clean and plenty of heaters in the unit. Your own entrance and small garden. Location was great, quiet area, good parking availability, 5 mins walk from a parade of shops and King William IV pub. 20 mins walk to town centre. Maria, our host, was excellent at communicating quickly when we had a couple of issues, and an odd question. I'm sure this is not always available, but we were also kindly allowed a late checkout time.

The shower took circa 5 minutes to get warm for first use. It would be helpful to know this can be the case, in advance. We had an issue where the bathroom locked itself so we couldn't get into it from the outside. Managed to sort it, after speaking with Maria over the phone, using a kitchen utensil! Hopefully this is sorted and not an issue for future guests. It would be good to get a message from the host the day before arrival, as we initiated the contact to ask for check in details, on check-in day.

Despite stating there was parking on site this was incorrect! The panel heater in the kitchen was making noise all night, I had hardly any sleep. The mixer tap on the shower also didn’t work properly.

St. Albans is an expensive small city to stay being located in the commuter belt to London. You can spend a lot of money for a place that you effectively only sleep in if you are visiting so this property was more budget friendly than most that I had looked at. The kitchen/living space was perfectly agreeable and the property was quiet. The sofa bed was comfortable. Nearby there was a pub (William IV) and as you walk into town the Jolly Sailor which were both perfectly reasonable. The walk was not at all arduous to do to get into the centre of town.

Communication from the host could have been a lot better. I had to request the check in instructions as they had not arrived by the time I was leaving my previous destination and for a traveller, at least myself, I like to be organised. Some better directions as to where exactly to find the accommodation would have been helpful. It is listed at 2 Marshall Avenue but there was also a 2A and 2B and although now it is clear to me where the gate is to access the property it was not when I arrived there and I rang the wrong doorbell at 2A for a kindly lady to point me in the right direction. There was no communication whatsoever regarding leaving instructions so I left the keys in the lockbox as I have done for other properties I have rented previously. The bathroom is a tight squeeze (not that unusual in UK rentals) and the shower water pressure was weak but tolerable. The property is agreeable enough but these instructions along with information about the area and where to find the bedding for the sofa bed for those of us not familiar with it would all enhance the experience. The property was advertised as having off street parking but as with everything else there was no communication as to where I was expected to put the car (I think that I do know now where but it was an awkward space which you could get blocked in by a car parked on the street in front of you as you had to mount the kerb to access this spot which was made more awkward by the presence of a pole that narrowed the space). As such I parked on the street which which turned out fine but when I am driving with a hired car I like to protect it as much as I can and this was an appealing advertised aspect of this property which overstated things in my view.

All perfect for our needs

Garden and garden chairs needed a bit more love and attention, but hey, it was only March!

Nice quiet location, good parking, well equipped, cosy & warm

Soft mattress, just a preference I know, but too soft for me! Hot water took forever to arrive, so not a great shower

Comfortable.

Further from city centre than expected

Very clean very nice inside easy to get to and to check in and out no problems whatsoever

Nothing

Decor was warm, welcoming and inviting Very new and comfortable. Modern facilities in kitchen Spacious Staff responded quickly to queries

Radiator sometimes made loud banging noises Toilet seat has a mind of its own and wouldn't stay up Toilet paper can't be flushed down the toilet

Convenient and secure

Bathroom was small, no extraction fan