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Review 3235: Coach House London Vacation Rentals, BWE - Bermondsey Wall East

www.rentals.chslondon.com

Recommended. Review by Jill B from Australia

2bed/2bath apartment near Southwark Park, London

When

September 2006, One week

Location

Bermondsey Wall East is located on the Thames, east of Tower Bridge. It's about a 15 minute walk from Tower Bridge and 20 minutes from the Tower of London. The balcony sits over the Thames and the views are wonderful. The apartment is in a converted warehouse. There is another apartment on the same floor.

The area is a mix of trendy warehouse conversions and new apartments in amongst older style housing. The area itself is a bit seedy, but we didn't ever feel that it was dangerous. The apartment is a five minute walk from Jamaica Road, where there's a tube station and bus route. Bus 188 goes to Greenwich in one direction and the British Museum in the other.

From the apartment, you can walk along the South Bank of the Thames to various attractions. We walked one night to the Globe Theatre to see a play and to the London Eye.

Nearby Amenities

The nearest large supermarket was at Canada Waters, which is about 20-25 minutes walk away. It's too far to walk back with shopping bags, but the 188 bus stops there and goes back to Bermondsey Street, as does the train. Coffee can be had at Butler's Wharf, a 10 minute walk away, and there is a fantastic pub (the name of which I can't remember) right under Tower Bridge, where good food is served. The Mayflower pub is nearby, as is The Angel. Butler's Wharf has numerous restaurants.

The House/Apartment

The apartment is in a converted warehouse. I think there are eight apartments in total in the building, with two on each floor. There's a lift, which is small, but which does the job.

The apartment has an entrance hall leading to two bedrooms, one with a (small) double bed and the other with two singles. There is a fold-down bed for a fifth person. There are two bathrooms, one with a washer/dryer. The lounge/dining area is very comfortable, the plenty of seats and a television. There is an Internet connection in the lounge room (BYO laptop).

The kitchen opens off the dining area.

One big plus is that the building is very quite at night. One side faces the river and the only traffic along there is a few boats. The other faces a very small street, so there's very little noise at night.

Garden

Outside consists of a small balcony, which sits over the Thames. It's a great place to sit, with a nice glass of wine, and admire Tower Bridge and the river traffic.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

The furniture was very comfortable. The dining table seats six and there's plenty of seating in the living area. The apartment was clean.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

We had no complaints about the beds, but it needs to be noted that the double bed is quite narrow. It's definitely not a bed for large people. Having said that, we slept well in it, despite being used to a king size bed at home. The bathrooms were fine, with good water pressure (for London). The only issue for us was the carpet in them (something you'd never see in Australia and which came as a bit of a surprise to us), which tended to get wet and a bit smelly.

Kitchen

There kitchen was well stocked, both with cooking equipment and with basics such as cooking oils, flour, cereals etc. We cooked dinner there most nights. There were enough plates, glasses and cutlery for all of us, without having to wash up after each meal. The kitchen has a dishwasher.

Problems or Bonuses

When we first walked into the apartment we were stunned at the view. It is much better than it appears in the photographs on the website. Other than that, there were no particular surprises.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

We found the agency very helpful. We were greeted by Cedric, who had waited patiently for us for hours (after a mishap at the airport). He showed us around the apartment, provided maps of the local area, with the supermarket marked out and gave us a London Transport map. He also left us a bunch of flowers, which was a nice touch.

The description of the apartment on the website was accurate. The price was £145 per night.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

We loved staying in the apartment. The only issue was the distance from the main sights and shopping areas of London. It does require some walking each day, so if you are not reasonably fit or if want to be in the centre of the action, don't go here.

My three children complained endlessly for the entire week about having to walk to and from the apartment. However, we are going back to London in September 2008 and they are all demanding that we go back to the apartment again, because "it was so great." I would recommend it and, providing it's available, we will stay there again.

Things to do in this area

The Tower of London is a short walk away and is a must for any trip to London. You can also obtain free tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys (the locking up of the Tower each night) by writing to the Tower of London, if you get in early.

You should also catch a show at The Globe, if you enjoy Shakespeare, or even if you don't. It is a wonderful experience and the walk home along the Thames in the evening is brilliant.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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