Charles Hope Cambridge

This was by far the worst stay we have ever had in Cambridge. The entire experience felt cold, unfinished and purely profit-driven, with almost no attention paid to guest comfort or basic hospitality. First of all, guests are forced to upload ID documents before check-in. Refusing is not really an option, because you would effectively lose the booking and payment. After uploading ID, we were then asked to pay a £100 deposit, despite the website clearly stating £50. Only after completing all of this do they finally release the check-in details through an extremely long and confusing email. We were told via WhatsApp that parking was available for £15. After payment, nobody replied anymore — no parking bay number, no instructions, nothing. The underground car park had no signal, no proper directions, and no signage showing which exit corresponded to which building. We spent around 10 minutes wandering around the garage trying to find the correct entrance. The building itself is equally confusing. There are almost no visible room indicators at the main entrance, and eventually we found the apartment number hidden away in a very obscure corner. The main entrance door on the ground floor was also broken and could simply be pushed open by anyone. Inside the apartment, the layout was bizarre and uncomfortable. There is a very long corridor lined with doors, and you genuinely feel like you are exploring a maze, opening random doors to work out where things are. There is nowhere practical to place luggage, coats or shoes when entering the apartment. The details were shockingly neglected: - the clock was still set to winter time - there was leftover water and heavy limescale inside the kettle - the dishwashing sponge was torn apart and stuck to the bin - only three English Breakfast tea bags were provided, while another random tea had six or seven - almost every mug appeared dirty and needed rewashing before use - there was hair in the bathtub - shampoo and body wash bottles were empty - the lotion bottle contained some unidentified liquid - towels were placed far away in a bedroom instead of near the bathroom Even the balcony was completely empty — not a single chair or table. The whole place feels like a newly handed-over property rushed into operation as quickly as possible to generate income, without anyone caring whether guests actually feel comfortable staying there. The surrounding area makes things even worse. Large undeveloped empty plots and unfinished surroundings make the entire environment feel bleak and incomplete. Cambridge hotels and serviced apartments usually have a certain warmth and comfort to them. This place had none of that. It felt less like staying in a hotel and more like being placed inside a cold, unfinished showroom apartment with no soul and no hospitality.

Thank you

This is not a proper hotel - it is a hotel-like business that rents out apartments in Cambridge's post-doc city. These are located in a big block which seem to contain also private apartments, and does not have a dedicated reception. There is a reception desk, which hands keys out on behalf of the hotel but is otherwise not affiliated with Hope. When arrived, the check-in desk was unoccupied and since there was no visible sign of Hope Hotel at the building, I walked around for 15 minutes before I gave up and called the number in the confirmation e-mail. I was told the reception should have been occupied and that I should have done a pre-arrival electronic check-in - which I did not do since I only received the e-mails asking me to do that whilst I drove; and an ******* chat bot had advised me that this is was not necessary. It took about 15 minutes for a receptionist to arrive, and after approx 40 min check in process I eventually arrived in my room. Once I had the key, things were actually pretty good - the apartments are beautiful and clean, but it was quite a walk from reception to my room. However, the weird arrangements with the reception desk showed again when I ran out of toilet paper (they had only provided 2/3s of a roll), and reception was unable to help me as they are not affiliated with Hope. So quite a mixed bag - however, when I travel to Cambridge next time for a shorter stay I will certainly return to a normal hotel...

Lovely new apartments. Quiet and a good view. Beds were comfy and bathrooms lovely and the kitchen well equipped. The need for key fobs to go thru every door was somewhat tiresome and a bit surreal. The concierge who carry out the check in for these apartments were helpful. I was somewhat disappointed as there was no hairdryer in the apartment. After a long hold on the phone I was told the housekeeper would bring one Saturday morning (we were going to a wedding) but it never materialised. Overall a good stay. Note - you have to park. I thought that somewhat unreasonable but parking in Cambridge generally seems very expensive and many properties have none. Apparently I can’t post the price 🙄 try this .. fifteen pounds

The property itself was done to a good standard but was very sparsely furnished and was not like the photos showed. The check in process prior to arrival is extremely tedious but once completed arrival was smooth

Really lovely apartment in a very slick building. Lots of great things about the place - the apartment was huge, all brand new appliances, nice balcony and great communal areas e.g. a chill room with lots of board games, table football, shuttle board cinema room etc. I used the gym, which has very good equipment. The estate the building is on has a market square with a big sainsburys, greengrocers, Argos, a few cafes and a couple of nice bars. We enjoyed taking the dog out in the evening for a couple of beers! The only thing stopping this being a 5 star stay was a couple of teething issues with the apartment being so new. When we arrived, none the appliances worked and there was clearly an electrical issue. After a bit of technical support, we managed to find the fuse box which had a couple of switches down. There’s a cracking set of sharp knives in the apartment but no chopping board. The knives were therefore unusable. There’s good tea and coffee facilities, but no coasters. We found we therefore couldn’t put our mugs down on the dining table or coffee tables. Very minor things they can sort for £10! Overall - a great place for a family (including dog) and you’ll be surprised how luxury the facilities are, for the price

Check-in process was a nightmare because they didn't