Location

Bed

Great location, close to everything within the city, excellent eating places everywhere.

The location is good as were the breakfasts. If staying for more than a few days would suggest it skipped the breakfast deal as there are plenty of places to eat and the same breakfast can get dull.

The Swainson feels like an apartment that the owners have abandoned, leaving just the furniture they didn’t want to take. The cupboards have bits of what looks like disassembled bed. There is an old massage chair that doesn’t work properly, a door to the balcony that does not lock. The noise has been mentioned in a few posts, but it is worth highlighting. The loudest comes from the pub across the road, followed by the vibrations every time a truck travels along the main road that is just outside the apartment. The vibrations are more effective than the massage chair. Following that is the noise from the other tenants. It is a solid building, but somehow the noise just gets in. It means you cannot leave any doors or windows open fresh air and watching TV or listening to music is a waste of time. With the windows closed the apartment becomes musty very quickly. This is not helped by the lack of effective air conditioning. Worst is customer service or lack of it. The bulk of the communication was through SMS, the last (from Lyn) when I questioned an extra charge that appeared on my account ended with –DO NO REPLY- are you kidding? There was nothing rude in my SMS, just a request as to why the extra charge. The timestamp on the email she sent later indicates that she is from another country, perhaps standards of politeness are lower there. The additional were due to the key not been back in the lockbox which, when we left was not there. We both looked and even had the poor security guard (who has nothing to do with Swainson) look, but it was not there, so rather than miss our flight we put the key in the mailbox and sent an SMS telling them so. There was also a few dishes left in the sink.

The apartment was so spacious! Great to have extra room. So close to city centre and bus stops we were requiring were so close. Ear plugs provided for traffic noise. Fabulous balcony area.

Bath plug didn't fit. Screen door locked but not sliding door.