Old Street by Excel Apartments

They basically stole our money Absolutely the worst accommodation experience we have ever had. We booked a 2-night stay at Excel Apartments Old Street through Booking.com. On the day of check-in, they delayed the process and asked us to upload IDs for all guests. After uploading everything, customer service was extremely rude and unprofessional. The agent shouted at us on the phone and told us to wait while they checked the IDs. We were left waiting outside in very hot weather with a 3-year-old child, who nearly became dehydrated because of the long delay. Customer service would only respond every 20–30 minutes, making the situation even more stressful. Eventually, they told us we were refused entry because two members of our group were under 25 years old (ages 21 and 23). We then offered a solution: the two younger guests would find separate accommodation, and the guests over 25 would stay in the apartment. Despite this, they still refused to help or provide a clear answer. Booking.com also failed to properly resolve the issue and only focused on requesting a refund from the property. We were told by the apartment staff to wait until 11 PM while they “spoke to the manager” regarding either allowing the older guests to stay or giving us a full refund. Instead of helping, they delayed the decision until late at night and then simply emailed us saying we were refused entry and would not receive any refund. To make matters worse, the Booking.com app showed the reservation as a “no-show,” even though we were physically there waiting outside for hours. They kept our money for two nights, denied us entry, ignored reasonable solutions, and left us stranded with a young child. I would strongly advise others to avoid this accommodation due to their terrible customer service, lack of professionalism, and unfair treatment of guests.