Ridley House Apartments - Yarm

Karen C.

Apartment is an unfinished building site, bath empties onto floor, shower not fully fitted so is unusable, toilet doesn’t flush, taps on sink spin round and leak under sink, unfinished tiling, no blind at bathroom window or on any windows, electrical wires hanging out of ceilings including bathroom, none of the radiators worked and leaking, tv unusable, no washing machine as stated, stairs uneven and dangerous, only seating and crockery for 4 people to eat (6 person let), only utensils in kitchen 2 large spoons, windows don’t have latches so can’t be fully closed. Was told we would get a full refund which has not been honoured. Gareth the host stated a refund was contingent on us giving a positive review

The E. B.

BE WARNED SCAMMER AND LIAR
** See Gian's review below - we were the next people in the same apartment

Paid £507 via Airbnb for a “3 bedroomed / 6 person LUXURY 5 STAR apartment” listed as having a washing machine and TV.

What we got:
A COMPLETELY UNFINISHED BUILDING SITE
• 2 bedrooms with a sofa bed in lounge area, not 3 bedrooms as stated on Airbnb.
• Building materials and dust everywhere.
• Shower cubicle not finished being fitted (spacers still in place) no shower head or mixer valve.
• Bath plumbing discharged all water onto the floor and into the gap in the floor under the bath into the apartment below.
• Sink taps spin on sink and leak under sink
• Toilet didn’t flush
• Tiling in bathroom unfinished
• Light in bathroom hanging 2 feet from ceiling with exposed wires, lights hanging out of ceilings in other areas too. As a zone 1 area this is highly dangerous and if there was any kind of official sign off of the property would have resulted in immediate closure on safety grounds.
• No blind at bathroom window next to toilet and bath (we had to hang a towel in the window to be unseen using to toilet).
• Radiators fitted but not working, valves and boxes the valves came in on the floor next to them.
• No washing machine
• Fridge still with all delivery packaging inside.
• No closure catches or locks on windows
• No blinds on windows in any rooms including bedrooms / sleeping area
• TV unusable and still in packaging – no cable to plug into an aerial and not a smart TV
• Strong smell of paint
• Stairs into the property were extremely dangerous each of an uneven height and depth and some were not level and with unfinished edges
• 4 plates / bowls / cups / glasses and 4 places to sit at a table in an apartment listed as for 6 people
• Welcome text stated house rule “MUST NOT FRY ONLY USE AIRFRIER” – no air fryer
• Only utensils in the kitchen were 2 large spoons - no knifes, chopping board, bottle / tin opener, etc

We phoned the host – Agent Gareth, who’s first instinct was to say he was having a really bad day and then lie to us – he said a stag party had stayed the night before and pulled the shower off the wall and broken the TV. See Google review of the guest who stayed there (for only 1 night having paid for 5) in the days before our stay, clearly describing an unfinished building site as per our experience. We sent him pictures and videos of the state of the property. He replied a full refund was in his own words “only fair” and repeatedly stated that the owners are “good people” and “honourable”. After being strung along for 2 weeks that the owners were away over Christmas and New Year, then a week later, he was having a meeting with them later in the week to get their agreement to the full refund. Then finally he said that they would give a refund only if we wrote a positive review for our stay!! We replied that we were prepared to not write a review if we received a refund as promised but were not prepared to write a false review and lie about the property. We have not received a refund and feel that there was never any intention on his part to provide one, rather just his intention to lie and string us along until we gave up.

YOU CANNOT TRUST ANY DESCRIPTIONS OR REVIEWS ON PROPERTIES GARETH ACTS AS AGENT FOR

Gian M. D. B.

Dear Gareth in Italy we say dishonesty never pays, and you in fact are a scammer.
We booked the Lotus apartment with you in November and you pretended to be paid 800£ by BACS in advance refusing to be paid by credit card. We booked the apartment for 5 nights while we were staying in Yarm to visit family over the Christmas holidays. You very well knew that we would come from Italy to visit our family and you very well knew we are honest people, not like you! On Saturday you contacted my sister who lives in Yarm in the morning stating that the apartment was getting tidied up so possibly it could had been a bit later than agreed before it was ready for us.
Then in the afternoon you asked for an extra hour and finally at 6.30 you sent codes to access the property, at which point we were in my sister’s house having tea. Just to clarify on your website you state that check in is available from 3pm. Well that was not the case for us after a long tiring journey from Italy. In hindsight we think you did all of that on purpose to avoid showing in person the mess you reserved for us. It is not possible to rent a house that still smells of paint, is not yet ready to be let , with no heating and with a bathroom that doesn’t work and has just been tiled and hasn’t even been finished! There were exposed electrical wires coming out of the walls! I am not sure you know anything about health and safety laws. The shower was missing the head and the mixer. The bath could not be used as the drain was flooding on the floor.
There was no toilet paper and our bath towels were abandoned on the floor that was covered in grout.
How do you think people can stay there?
From my point of you not even animals could be stabled in such a mess.
How do you think we were going to have a shower during our 5 days stay there?
Talking about the rest: wardrobes were not put together yet and the refrigerator was off and with shelves and instructions to unpack inside.
You left our towels thrown on the table and on the floor as a welcome!
The heating was not working either, and radiators had their valves left on the floor next to them.
After a very miserable first night there we had to move out and book another accommodation that we obviously had to pay .
You didn’t answer our calls and did not reply to our messages , the way you handled this was disgraceful and shocking and you ruined our Christmas.
You disappeared like a thief with our money without giving any explanation!
Is this the way you usually welcome your guests or was it a special treatment just for us? You are a disgrace in a lovely town like Yarm and everyone must know about it and be careful about coming to your apartments.

Federica A. E. S.

My boss’s family came here to enjoy their holiday in Yarm; however, they had problems with the Ridley House apartment. The maintenance of this apartment is horrible, and when someone does come, the repairs are half-done or ineffective, which I find concerning. I do not recommend anyone go to this apartment in Yarm, as there are better ones. Also, the worst thing about it is that the management is unresponsive and unprofessional, making it difficult to get any issues addressed.
Additionally, the heating system is unreliable; it’s either freezing or unbearably hot.

Hazar M.

Fraud and scam take care people when you make reservations. Our friend from Italy had a terrible experience that the apartment was not ready even to be used. My boss at work who is the brother of this friend from Italy tried to contact them to solve the problem but no response.

val M.

BE AWARE! THIS IS A SCAM!

The owner is renting out a property that is not finished and if you try to communicate with them, they won't answer calls. The house doesn't have a working heating system, either shower or hot water from thhe sink. Even though the works on the premises are not finished, they are renting it out advertising with pictures of other flats.

Kitty B.

Bath overflowed onto floor, shower didn’t have a head, toilet didn’t flush, tiling unfinished, windows have no latches or blinds, radiators didn’t work, exposed electrical wires in bathroom, tv didn’t work, and all the steps were uneven etc. The host Gareth gave excuses, then offered a full refund which he never honoured.

Trevor R.

Fabulous place if you’re planning to stay in Yarm. Great location on the High Street with private parking. Most rooms are set back from the High Street so you don’t get any High Street noise. Rooms have been fitted out to a high standard with no expense spared. Great value for money. Gareth is very friendly and very accommodating. Highly recommended place to stay.