Stayinn Reviews 20

Avoid Edinburgh Hawkhill My Stay Inn Apartments

If I could give 0 stars I would

We had a stay booked for 5–7 December costing over £700. Our flight was cancelled due to severe weather — completely outside our control. We contacted My Stay Inn immediately to request a refund or to move the booking.

Their response? A copy-and-paste message stating that “transport issues (e.g., cancelled trains or flights) are not considered force majeure when the property remains safe and accessible, therefore the guests will not be entitled to any refund.”

The property may have been “accessible,” but how exactly do they expect us to get from Belfast to Edinburgh in a storm? Fly by a kite in the wind?

They refused a refund and would only allow rebooking within 30 days, up to 5th January, which is totally unrealistic right before Christmas.

We are now £700 out of pocket for a trip we physically could not get to.
Customer service was dismissive, rigid and showed zero understanding.

Do not book here. Avoid at all costs.

I am writing to formally express my dissatisfaction regarding my recent experience with Edinburgh Hawkhill My Stay Inn Apartments. I had booked accommodation for the weekend of 5th December – 7th December, with the full payment of over £700 made in advance.

On the evening of Friday, 5th December, our flight was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions—an issue entirely outside of our control. The only alternative option offered by the airline was a flight to Glasgow on the Saturday evening, which would have defeated the purpose of a weekend trip. As soon as we received this information, we contacted My Stay Inn via WhatsApp to explain the situation and request a refund.

Despite the circumstances, we were told that a refund was not possible because it was already the check-in day. We then proposed a reasonable alternative: to move our stay to a weekend in the New Year. This request was refused. Instead, we were informed that the booking could only be rescheduled within 30 days, meaning the latest date available to us would be 5th January. With Christmas approaching and existing commitments, this was simply not achievable.

As a result, we have lost over £700 just three weeks before Christmas, despite doing everything we could to communicate promptly and in good faith. The lack of flexibility, understanding, or goodwill from My Stay Inn was extremely disappointing.

Based on this experience, I cannot recommend Edinburgh Hawkhill My Stay Inn Apartments. The customer service was unhelpful, rigid, and offered no consideration for genuine circumstances beyond a guest’s control.

I strongly advise others to stay well clear and to consider accommodation providers with fairer policies and more professional customer care.

I booked a last-minute one night stay in London, thinking I’d found a decent deal at £140 for the night. What I walked into instead was a stressful, manipulative, and downright shady experience that ballooned into a £490 nightmare, with zero accountability from the company involved.
Let’s break it down:
* £140 booking cost- fair enough.
* £100 “security deposit”- actually charged upfront (not just a hold, which is standard in hospitality). I've worked in the industry for years, and I’ve never seen this handled so poorly or opaquely.
* After filling out their clunky portal and being told all “welcome checks” were completed, we arrived at 3PM, our pre-arranged check-in time. But now, magically, the portal had changed — suddenly claiming we hadn’t completed the necessary steps. No explanation, no clarity. We then had to stand outside the accommodation for 30 minutes while attempting to deal with their shoddy attempt at a customer help line.
* We called their so-called customer service, only to be hit with a last-minute demand for an additional £250 “security deposit”, with zero acknowledgment of the £100 already taken.
* The representative was completely dismissive, unhelpful, and frankly disrespectful. When we asked for clarification or assistance, they simply didn’t care and regurgitated the same statement asking for more money.
* Then, the icing on the cake: they hung up on us and subsequently ignored all further calls, leaving us completely stranded and incredibly distressed.
Let’s be crystal clear: this is not a deposit policy- this is a trap. What started as a £140 stay instantly became a £490 expense for ONE NIGHT. And because the room was non-refundable, we had no real choice but to pay up or lose everything. The timing and tactics of the added £250 feel deliberately exploitative — designed to catch people off guard and push them into a corner.
This whole operation is untrustworthy, poorly managed, and completely devoid of basic hospitality standards. Even if it looks like a good deal on Booking.com, do not book this place. The risk isn’t worth it. You’ll end up stressed, out of pocket, and furious.

Absolute fraudulent company. Asked for ID before staying which they had over a week and then refused us entry. Are refusing to refund monies so will be taking to the small claims court. Avoid this place and even this company at all costs. I suggest you read the other poor reviews before booking too. Ridiculous amount for a deposit which has to be paid by bank transfer. It sadly appears that we are not the first ones to have this happen too. It's a shame that Trustpilot insist you give any marks as this place deserves to be negative.

DO NOT EVER BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY THEY ARE DISGUSTING AND DO NOT HAVE A KIND BONE IN THEIR BODY. THEIR MANAGEMENT TEAM DO NOT TAKE PHONE CALLS! HOW IMPORTANT THEY MUST BE! HOW DARE THEY TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY THEY DO AND GET AWAY WITH IT. HOPE THEY ENJOY THE MONEY THEY STOLE FROM US! COMPANIES LIKE THESE SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO TRADE. YES EVERY COMPANY HAS RULES AND REGULATIONS I GET THAT BUT TO NOT EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO SPEAK TO A CUSTOMER, THEIR AGENTS ARE TRAINED TO LIE AND DECEIVE. IF YOU BOOK WITH THEM, BOOK AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

Please note that the StayInn Hotel Manchester and Stay Inn apartments in London are two different and separate companies/ completely different ownership. They are not linked in any way! The Manchester company has no properties in London.

We stayed at the Stay Inn Hotel in Manchester which was great value for money compared with other 3 star hotels and we had excellent access into the town.

If I could give no stars I would. This is an absolute scam of a company. How have they not been closed down yet I do not know. First of all they demanded us to bank transfer them a £500 deposit for an apartment that we’d already paid for through hotels.com. They wouldn’t take a hold on a credit/debit card and told us as long as the apartment was left in a suitable state they wouldn’t return the money within 10-15 days. First red flag 🚩
Second one that we needed to update passport / driving licence id to a secure portal (stupidly did that) second red flag 🚩
We got to London and approx 1.5 hours before our check in )hadn’t sent the money but also hadn’t been given any instructions on how to) only to receive an email to call them as there’d been a medical emergency with a guest the night before and that the emergency services were still at the apartment. When I actually looked at the reviews (my big mistake for not looking before) it appears this is their go to excuse for all cancellations - I’m wondering is this to be able to sit on someone’s money in their own account for 2 weeks before returning it almost a fortnight later 🤷‍♀️
And now a week later after telling me that a refund had been issued I’ve had to chase down hotels.com to get our money back.
The site should be shut down and hotels.com should not affiliate themselves with these scammers

How I wish there was a 0 star option , these people frustrated my sister and myself in London yesterday the 22/12/24 , after paying £434 for two nights ,sent our id’s and ID’s for potential visitors during our stay , upon arrival they asked us to pay £350 for deposit through bank to bank transfer which has never been mentioned before the bookings,after several attempts to call them , the guy who answered the phone asked us to cancel the bookings which we never did lucky for us we paid using PayPal , we are now chasing our refund , people can be very mean out there .

They are scammers! Fraudulent company! First they ask you for identification, passport or id copies of guests, to be emailed 3 days before booked date. They message bck, asking for id of guests that might visit property even if it was just for 5minutes. We needed accommodation for 1 night as we were taking my sister to airport the following day. We would also be having a meal out with my son from Uni that evening. I emailed his id too, stating; "potential visitor".
On the day, on our way from train station to property we were messaged that they cannot accommodate us, as we are breaching policy rules. I called, they answered after several attempts. Apparently under 25s are not allowed at property according their policy. I confirmed as per email that he was a potential visitor. As a matter of fact, he took a later train from Bristol and won't be within 2 miles from property. We are meeting for a meal and a show then he'd be bck on train. They insisted, forcing, that I cancel on bookings.com, they assured me that I will be refunded within in 5 days.
12 days came and went, no refund or getting through to them. Receptionist keep referring me to email management. No answer. Afterwards, when she heard it's me she puts phone down. I contacted bookings.com. They reiterated their policy for cancelling less than 24hours and not checking company's policy. I paid with credit card thankfully and asked bank to chase it.
Customer service sucks!!! Company hides scam under policy. If they were a genuine company they would make their policy known in listing. They had 3 full days to inform me but they waited for last minute, forcing you to cancel, lying that they will refund you, then avoid any communication with you.

The worst Apartment I’ve ever had! At the first glance everything seemed fine but when you looked closer the apartment was in a disgusting condition. Everything was dirty the floor, the kitchen and even the sheets had stains. When I complained I got a second apartment that was just as dirty. When I complained again they just were not helpful and clearly wanted me to cancel which I did expecting a full refund.
DO NOT BOOK THERE!

0 stars, Avoid at all costs, they care more about taking your money than offer customer service, push you to do a refund expecting some sort of funds back then give you that no refunds policy excuse. Fraudulent place

I wish 0 stars was an option, customer service is poor. I am convinced it is a front for dodgy activity. The property cancelled my booking and gave a flimsy excuse and ignored my emails for a refund. Had to escalate further to.get it resolved. DON'T BOOK THIS PROPERTY!!!

First impressions of a dingy hole found in the back streets of a favela in South America.
Place smelt of heavy bleach on arrival, as if it had just been cleaned up from a mass orgy or worse.
Checked in at 3pm only to find excessive angle grinding and drilling going on in the apartment next door.
When calling the booking agent, nothing was done to rectify the situation nor attempt to move us to alternative accommodation. The staff are rude and insolent! After speaking to three different booking staff from Stay-Inn, none were going to even try to rectify the disappointing experience even after having just checked in after an hour.
The general state of the apartment was run down and seemed to have been used as a regular knock shop for the area.
On attempting to amicably find a solution with Stay-Inn staff, I was shunned aside and told to deal with the construction noise for 3 hours in the evening and then would surely be woken in the morning by more of the same !
As I travel for a living and stay all over the world, 3-4 different countries each month for the last 25 years, I have never been treated with such disrespect and with such appalling service.
My wife and I left the premises one and a half hours after arriving due to persistent drilling and angle grinding and checked in at a clean and noise free hotel and left the apartment as found.
The staff from Stay-Inn refuse to refund my payment and am still waiting on my £250 deposit. Unbelievable…

*AVOID* *REPORTED TO WATCHDOG* Book at your own RISK! Phishing scams have been operating from this entity. Also *READ THE TERMS* I’ve booked to go here soon and will document the whole terrible experience of the scams. They’re happy for people to lose money. Check back for more reviews so others learn not to stumble into scams and appalling services. They offer ZERO customer service and will hide behind the platform T&Cs. * DO NOT BOOK Non-Refundable Rooms* Please consider this fair warning. They ignore all phone calls and emails too. By all accounts the rooms are terrible yet they still want an additional payment BEFORE you arrive and your PASSPORTS. Not to be trusted willingly. I will post more when I arrive to premises with photos. STAY AWAY if you don’t want to be scammed as booking dot com can’t help you either.

CAREFUL! StayInn may SCAM you!

On the 8th of December 2023 I‘ve arrived in London and wanted to check in in the Stay Inn apartment. The day of arrival I got a call from the StayInn team telling me that the deposit must be made from an UK account. This wasn‘t possible, as I do not have an Account from the UK as a Swiss citizen. After several calls trying to find a solution (they strictly wouldn‘t accept credit card or cash) they didn’t let us check in and we had to look for another hotel. We were stranded in the city, standing before the apartment at the London Monument Apartment (the one in EC3R 8BU) and had big luck to find a cheap hotel last second after several hours of searching.

I tried getting my £575 back afterwards, but even after many calls and e-mails (which mostly got ignored) I only got short one-sentenced e-mails saying that „I booked without refund“. Booking.com was so kind to try to help, but they didn‘t even get a answer themselves from the StayInn-Team and they refuse to pay me back. Not even partially as I desperatly suggested. They just didn‘t care.

As they cancelled my booking (because they didn‘t let me check in), I‘m not able to give a review on the app. Sadly, there‘s nothing I can do anymore and they show no sign of trying to help me as a customer.

I hope this doesn‘t happen to much more people or that they get banned from booking.com!

Stayinn St Pauls
They requested that I upload my ID using a link sent via email for pre-check-in and also required a £500 deposit via bank transfer. However, I am hesitant to comply with these requests because there was no prior mention of the check-in process requiring a bank transfer or ID upload on the Hotels.com page.
They said they stated that on Booking.com which requests £350 pounds 7 days before your booking and a refund 7 days after it for others feedback it can took much more longer than that

I recently had a terrible experience with StayInn during my trip to London. I had booked the Trafalgar Square apartment as my base for my birthday celebration and only needed a place to sleep as I was meeting friends in Soho. However, I was unable to access the apartment and after almost two hours of receiving virtually no assistance from StayInn, I had to book another hotel. With money being tight, I had to settle for a Travelodge, but in hindsight, I should have booked this from the beginning.

I contacted Booking.com to report the issue, but unfortunately, it was not much help as StayInn claimed that I never even turned up. I sent them phone logs of my three separate calls, but they still insisted that I should have called them on the Sunday. However, I didn't see the point as I was already late for my birthday dinner and didn't have time to wait for them to let me in when they felt like it. To make matters worse, a lovely French couple from the apartment below also had trouble accessing their apartment and it took them over two hours.

Now, I am £139 down as StayInn refused to refund me, and Booking.com will not do anything because I didn't call them on the day of check-in, although there was no mention of this requirement on the confirmation paperwork. In conclusion, I would not recommend StayInn or Booking.com as they were both unhelpful in resolving this issue, and I will not use either of them again. I hope someone finds this review helpful.

I am staying at the Stay Inn Apartments in Blackwall London. I arrived on Saturday 4th of February. I notified the Stay Inn team immediately of the below issues. to date nothing has been done. I was offered a $70 refund after paying almost a £1000 for the accommodation for 8 nights and a £250 holding deposit.
It is now Tuesday Night. This is absolutely shocking!
Poor Internet connection (Have spent £30 on Data to use my mobile to be able to work properly)
NO REMOTE FOR T.V. STILL
FREEZER HASN’T BEEN SORTED OUT (Freezer door wont close)
NOB STILL MISSING OFF THE LOUNGE DIMMER.
Can not understand why there has been no response, or nothing done about this.
I expect a response or refund for this stay
Sincerely
Bruce Gerber

Worst hospitality i can imagine.
Worst check-in process
Worst service
Dirty apartment
And you have to make a deposit for 400 pund

Stayinn = stay away

Please do not book with them or through Booking.com!

Their policies are opaque and not apparent on your web page but one booking day out Stay Inn ask for ID of all people staying. And a hefty cash deposit circa £250 per person.

This is not clear especially if you go through Booking.com.

The detail of those staying is only requested so late, that you will find it almost impossible to deliver the ids - for example to get hold of other people's passports. When you cannot give that they refuse entry - after you have paid for the nights stay.

They must pocket quite a lot of cash, and no one actually stays in the place at all. See Tripadvisor reports too!