Review: Edinburgh - 'Festival Apartments' - Do not Use them

Karmella

Hi - I'm just back from a week in Edinburgh and would like to share my experience of (and disgust with) the Festival Apartment company (festivalapartments.com):mad:

I booked a 2 bedroom apartment in Old Fishmarket Close, just of the Royal Mile last october and paid a deposit. The balance owing for the 6 nights was debited from my card 4 weeks ago as agreed (altogether it worked out about 200 euro a night - just shy of 1200 euro - and we had 4 people in our party). I spoke to them on the phone last week before we left and they told me that they moved us to a different apartment in the same block, but that it was 'exactly the same'. Only that I phoned them we would have arrived and been trying to get into the wrong apartment.....this was the first inkling that things were going to be bad.

Arrived in Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon, and after a disappointing experience at the airport (had booked a car but there was no cars left ... but thats another story - be careful with booking through HolidayAutos.ie/co.uk ), we arrived at the apartment and tried to use the code on the email to get in the door. No joy so I made the first (of many) phonecalls to them. We were given the code, got in and went up to our apartment but the door was locked (they usually leave the door open and the key inside). Phoned them again and got a phonecall back a few minutes later to be told that the cleaner had locked the door and gone home with the key. Their solution was that we could go downstairs to another apartment which was ready (and 'exactly the same'). So we trooped back down, only to find the dingiest place ever.

There was plaster coming off the bathroom ceiling (probably because the window was locked closed and there was no extract), There was no curtain or blind in one of the bedrooms, the TV did not work, nor did the DVD player. Only one other window in the apartment could be opened and it was very stuffy. We were seriously not impressed and tried to contact them again to no avail.

The following day a second member of our party arrived and he was equally disgusted with the place. We eventually got on to the office and my partner got really angry because he was getting no joy from the guy at the other end of the phone and eventually we were hung up on!

Eventually at lunchtime on the Friday we got a phonecall from their office saying that we could move up to the original apartment and that they were sending cleaners round to clean up the one we were in. From the phonecall I got the impression that we could not see them until 2 (as it was we were out having a meal when they called), so our 4th member of the party arrived, we went back to the building just after 2, straight up to have a look at the new place, figured, ok this is a bit better, and then went down to pack up our stuff and leave.

There were 3 cleaners and a guy inside the apartment and I just went straight into the bedroom to pack my bag - which was barely unpacked, and get a few things from the kitchen and bathroom, and the guy came over to me and said that the TV was fixed so we didn't have to move after all, but we were having none of it saying that we'd got the call to move and we were moving into the apartment which we had actually booked. He then said that they couldn't clean the apartment while we were out because our stuff was there and that we were now occupying 2 apartments!! I argued that we were told that we could come back at 2 but he was saying, no other people are going to move in here now and we haven't been able to clean it. Then he actually said that THEY were doing US a favour by coming out in the first place, that they didn't have to let us move, or fix the tv or do anything!!!! Thankfully my partner was outside bringing a bag up to the other apartment at that stage because I honestly think he would have completely snapped and lost the rag. I just said, look I got the impression from the call that we could move our stuff at 2 and not before, and at that I was carrying the last of the stuff out the door anyway.

So, the 2nd apartment was better decorated and had actual curtains which was better - but there were still issues with all the windows except 2 being locked shut, the plumbing in the whole place left a lot to be desired (everytime we flushed the toilet the whole pumping system had to start up which was very loud!).

I looked at their website again today and the pictures they put up of the apartments are not all of that apartment, so thats another thing to be wary of.

Long story short I was so glad to get out of there yesterday, I'd really had enough. They ruined the first 3 days of our holiday - well made a good stab at it anyway!! Thats my 2 cents worth. If you are planning a stay in an apartment in Edinburgh do not use this company. They advertise a lot of big apartments for stag or hen parties. I believe there are other rental companies though so maybe there'd be more luck with them. Or maybe just go with a hotel!!!


On a different note however - Edinburgh is a fantastic city. We really had a good time, despite the troubles. Food and Drink is so cheap and a special shout out goes to the Beehive Inn on Grassmarket. They have a brilliant beer garden, great food (and you can get 20% discount vouchers on their food if you go on one of the Open Top Bus tours (city sightseeing one)). Our last meal (at the Beehive without a discount voucher) was about 15 quid for 2 main meals and they were sizable, and a bottle of wine was 13 pound. Have to admit that out of the 6 nights we were in Edinburgh – we ate at the Beehive 4 times - in groups of 2, 4 or 5 and nobody had anything that they didn’t like. And considering how busy they were most of those days, the food service was really impressive. It tended to be a little bit slow at the bar ... but overall not much to complain about!