Charminster Vacation Packages

The hotel appears to be recently renovated. Our room was clean , quiet and decently, especially for Europe, sized. The bed was pretty firm but surprisingly we slept well. My only complaint, for which I substracted one star, was about towels. They were thin(not a big deal for me), but once they were used just one time, the smell was awfully musty. Otherwise, great location, easily walkable to all attractions or public transportation. Having the coffee shop in the lobby was nice really convenient.

I booked a specific place due to the sleeping arrangments, knowing how specific my neurodivergent kid is, needing to sleep in her own bed. Not until we were in the air already flying from the US to London, I was sent a message that they changed us to another apartment, tried to say it was an upgrade. The sleeping arrangment was ruined and 2 kids had to sleep on the couch. The towels weren't any bigger than hand towels and they gave us 5 for 5 people the whole week. Water went all over the floor because the shower glass is very difficult to close enough for the 1st 2 panes without the 3rd one all the way touching you. And since no other towels in the whole place, it was ridiculous. Not even kitchen towels, napkins, or paper towel. Also, while there was a washer/dryer, no detergent and no idea how to work it. And there was nowhere to put anything in the bathroom, there were holes and rust marks where they must have had shelves, but they weren't there anymore. We spent most of our time out of the apartment, thankfully, but disappointing.

Lovely and well maintained room, but hotel lobby is very small and staffing appeared somewhat basic. When I arrived there was a bunch of scaffolding stacked up by the entrance and the lift wasn't functioning (this should have been communicated ahead of time in case there were mobility issues). The staircase is in need of updating as well. But good experience overall and very well situated.

For checking-in, I was supposed to collect a key from a shop and was sent an address + a code to pick up from. They ended up emailing me the wrong address and/or code so I was unable to pick up my key at check-in time (3pm), I had contacted the support who then gave me a different code, which didn't work, then another different address, which didn't even exist. I then called up the support once again, from which it was escalated to a manager who AGAIN gave me the wrong address and/or pick up code. I only managed to collect my keys at 9pm (6 hours after check-in!) ONLY because the shopkeeper helped out UrbanChic's support as their support staff (all 3 that I talked to) were completely incompetent. It was bad enough to expect someone to collect keys from a shop (which wasn't stated before I paid for the place), but to email someone the wrong address and check-in codes + have the support not pick up my calls with no place to go along with my luggage ruined the whole stay, I missed my plans that I had to attend to that evening and was not offered any sort of compensation whatsoever. The property however was quite pleasant. Would recommend the property, would never touch UrbanChic ever again.