ROYALE PLACE

Location was perfect for going to a game at Franklins Gardens. We were allowed to check in a bit early. Bedding was clean.

No glasses and only a few mugs, we had to buy tea towels and kitchen roll. Had to clean the fridge as something had spilled before we arrived. Not enough towels for our group, they tried to get us more but weren't able to. The double room would need a new mattress as it was very uncomfortable with uneven springs. The house could do with a deep clean as the carpets were stained, tiles grubby and lots of cobwebs around the ceilings.

The location was incredibly convenient, enough so that I would consider staying here again despite some of the less then stellar aspects. Train station is very close, and downtown and the University are a very manageable walk. Easy access to the greenway trail system at the bridge before the train station gets you off the busy road to a nice peaceful stroll to wherever you want to go. Bus stops are almost right out your door. The amount of space, and access to a kitchen and laundry was perfect for what we needed for this trip. Our friends characterized the neighborhood as "rough", but I thought it was great. Everyone I interacted with directly was very friendly, and I never felt unsafe there. I could have stayed there for several more weeks working my way through the culinary delights available at the Umrah market around the corner. Lots of other great businesses near by, including the DIY shop, the Eastern European grocery, the Coffee Press, and the Chinese takeaway place on the corner.

The house desperately needs a bit more re-invested into it. The mattresses felt like they were very old. The blinds on my bedroom no longer extended far enough down to block the light from across the way. The main drying rack for clothes was among the pile of broken things in the backyard. One leg of the dining table was missing a bolt, and so we had to be very careful not to let the table knock over while eating. Likewise for one of the dining chairs. Living room light fixture didn't work. Separately, the provisioning of the kitchen was pretty spartan. One decent skillet, a few other odd pots and pans, only two forks, no mixing bowls or measuring equipment. I ended up buying a dish drying rack, a rudimentary bowl, a french press, and a couple of storage tubs for leftovers which I left there for the next person to use. If someone is mostly just getting takeaway and reheating it, the kitchen is serviceable, but one would be hard pressed to actually cook much with what was there. Number one issue though is the neighbors. They seem to lack the ability to communicate with each other or their kids with anything less than full volume screeching. The also smoke like chimneys, and since they don't want to or can't smoke inside, they do it out back effectively right by the downstairs windows and right under the main bedroom window. Since they also like to watch TV while smoking, they open the window, crank up the volume, and watch their TV from the back yard. That puts the smoke and the noise immediately adjacent to the downstairs windows that open, and right under the main bedroom window. There's no air conditioning, so you have to open the windows for the temperature to be tolerable, so I was woken several times around midnight to a smoke filled room and the neighbor's TV blaring. At least they reserve most of their yelling at each other for the day time. I ended up buying a a fan to put next to the bed, which helped.

Everything

Nothing

We didn't stay, so we couldn't have liked anything.

I booked and paid for the Royale Green View House, Northampton, on 27th December 2022 for our stay of 31st December 2022 - 4th January 2023. On 28th December 2022, I got a message from Booking.Com informing me of cancellation by Royale Green View House due to overbooking, and offering an alternative which turned out to be Royal Place, Northampton. Though the overbooking was an issue between Booking.Com and Royale Green View House, I decided to accept the alternative arrangement without raising an issue on the unfairness done to me. On arrival at the property on 31st December 2022 around 6:45pm, we noticed material difference between the pictorial representation of the state of the Royale Place property on Booking.Com website, with the actual state. It was mouldy, difficult to breathe and in a deplorable state. My son has breathing allergies and was immediately showing signs of discomfort. I was, to say the least, shocked by what I saw. I did not believe it to be fit for health and safety needs of Booking.Com's customers. I immediately called Booking.Com and made a complaint. Rather than find me another place, I was offered "free cancellation" as a remedy and was told I could find another accommodation. Because I did not want to leave my family out in the cold while arguing with Booking.Com, I decided to book a different place. Unfortunately, while money was deducted from my account for this new booking, I never got a booking confirmation. I complained again to Booking.Com whose agents suggested I either find a way to contact the new property on my own for them to accommodate us, or I find some other place and await a full refund by the property after a few days. This was on a cold new year's eve when business activities were mostly wound down for the new year festivities. I chose not to expose my family to further suffering, and approached a rival of Booking.Com to find a solution. My needs were listened to and quickly sorted by this rival.

Cordelia is one superb host that Ive ever seen. The house had a very comfortable homely environment. All of the basic necessities are provided. Whenever I needed help Cordelia was quick to respond.

nothing

the property was not up to standard it was smelly flies in the kitchen outdated decor

Everything was perfect!

The comfort and peace we had was none to be compared. Their customer service is Superb. They are very polite, patient, sacrificial in their service and very understanding