NIGHTMARE IN LONDON

I have just been talking to my lovely Sister friend from my old home town  on the phone. I cannot believe this story and she said it was good if I can spread the word so here goes?

Her daughter booked a weekend in London for her, her  two  grown up daughters and her three Grand  children who are all toddlers.

The daughter booked it through a company called

Air BNB.

Read on before rushing off to book?

Off they went leaving the house at nine in the morning for their three and a half hour journey to the Capital.

When they arrived in London, it was going to be a long wait for a taxi, so with having the  young children, they decided after sitting on a train for so long, they would  take the twenty minute walk to the apartment which they were to  stay, booked through the above company.

Well the man who  owned the apartment, told my friend it was a twenty minute walk, and after half an  hour, she called his number, as they could not find the place.

There was no answer. They walked and walked. Two and a half hours later, they found the apartment. By this time obviously, the children, were crying.

There was no concierge, like what was told to them, so they had no way of getting in the apartment.

They for two hours had been calling and  calling but to no avail. No answer came from the person who owned the apartment.

It was freezing, they were all stressed. The area which they were told was lovely, where the apartment was, was really not?

So after hanging around trying to see if anyone could help, they went to a nearby East  End pub.

The pub, was  called

The Eleanor Arms.

1.   Find us | The Eleanor Arms | Bow Pubs | Shepherd Neame

 

The propiotor, couldn’t have been nicer. The welcome that my friend and family received was absolutely warm and stunning. You know what it is like, when you are so afraid and don’t know who to turn to, then, an angel comes your way and offers answers?

Well everyone all the locals in the pub, took out their lap tops and let the children watch cartoons, whilst one of my friends daughters went to buy food from a nearby carryout.

The owners of the pub allowed them all to eat in their pub and gave them a nice table to sit at.

They even sent a taxi for the third  daughter who was making an independent journey to the family. As she too had got lost, and it was night time, dark and the girl was walking as remember, only twenty minutes away from the station, was the apartment.

So the third daughter was in some distress and as my  friend explained the story to the owners of the Eleanor Arms, a cab was kindly sent to the girls rescue.

All that time, my friend had been on the phone to the company, she found out, she was calling America on her mobile.

After my friend explained to the person on the other end,

“We booked this apartment. Spoke to the owner of the place some days ago, he told us there would be someone to hand us a key. No one was there no one was answering the phone, had three small children.”

To cut a long story short, they told her she would have to wait two hours then she would have to call them back. She said

“To America?

They gave a UK number, the, in the classic  American way, said

“Have a nice day?”

 I won’t tell you what my friend said to that?

Well two hours later she called the UK number and guess what? It rang, then averted back to the States.

Then she was told she would receive an email telling her what to do? She told them she had no email in the middle of London in a pub, as her mobile did not have this luxury.

They basically told her there was nothing they could do.

Stranded.

  But she said she could not believe how very warm and caring the people in the pub were, and she left the children one and a half hours away, with the third daughter, as she has a one bedroom  apartment, as she lives there with her Husband. My friend and her  two  daughters, found a hotel. The next day, my friend told the receptionist, of her trauma. She asked if there was a large family room.

The very considerate receptionist, told my friend, not to worry or stress, she would sort it out.

 She did. They  got a beautiful huge room, at no extra charge. A happy ending, my friend was  distressed about it all, I told her, if she had ended up going to the apartment, she could not have met those lovely people in the pub an kind receptionist. It was a lovely hotel,

The Best Western in Bromley London.

1.    Best Western Hotels GB

 

Who knows what could have happened if she had of gone to the apartment? Or as she said, what if Hub and I had booked it, she was all over London?

I think she had a lucky escape? Really I as you know Bloggets, believe in things happen for a reason? Her eldest daughter who lives in the Capital, was going to look after the babies in the apartment they rented, whilst her Mum and two sisters went out for the night.

What if something had happened whilst the girl was in the apartment, or if my friend and the girls could have got into some sort of trouble?

An angel was looking out for them I am sure.