StayLux Waterloo

This company persuaded me to book with them directly rather than via AirBnB, then canceled my stay at short notice, causing me great inconvenience. They have now gone completely silent over the GBP850 that they owe me, despite repeated attempts to contact them.

WARNING! DO NOT BOOK WITH STAYLUX! They have stolen my money, as I can read here has happened to many more. I booked with free cancellation on Booking and they imediately charged my card the whole sum. When I cancelled they have yet to repay me my money several months later, and they blame technical issues. I will file a Police report.

Our stay was in apartment 5, level 3. Great location near waterloo station and places to eat. Security was also very good. Apartment was spacious and generally clean. The floors had been vacuumed but clearly needed to be washed. There was significant cracking in one of the windows. The bed in the main bedroom was small, most likely a double and not a queen or king. There was no safe to put valuables. The lift was not working upon arrival and we had the challenge of carrying heavy luggage up 3 floors of stairs. Thankfully a cleaner was able to help and this was greatly appreciated. This was in contrast to a call with management who said they could do nothing to get the lift fixed on a Saturday. Problems also arose during our stay when we were advised that workmen needed to enter our apartment for a full day to carry out ‘urgent’ maintenance and get access to the balcony. We responded by saying we do not consent to any strangers entering. We were on holiday and paid for this apartment plus there was no security to put personal items if we were not in the apartment. An email arrived stating the reason for the maintenance and we restated our wishes which included a days refund if the intrusion occurred given the fact we would not want to there if strangers were in passing through. Our request for privacy was ignored and an offer of compensation was clearly subpar. It was also clear that the maintenance had begun before our arrival and we should have been consulted beforehand so that we had the option of getting a refund and making alternative arrangements. I would consider the behaviour of Stayo to be unreasonable and unprofessional. Although they acknowledged our concerns, their actions did not match the rhetoric. We escalated the situation to our travel agent who strongly reiterated our concerns. This did not appear to be acknowledged. In the end, no maintenance men arrived at our door and we were not advised that they wouldn’t enter our apartment. This situation could have been managed much better by Stayo. It’s a shame, as we enjoyed our week in London and the very convenient location but the angst of dealing with Stayo left a bitter feeling.