It was a good start to the visit as it was a surprisingly bright and hot afternoon when we arrived in Bath.  My partner and I had never visited this historic location before and as we navigated the car through the one way streets, we were amazed to discover we had already stumbled upon the SACO apartments.

The serviced apartments are extremely well located right in the heart of the city centre, an easy short walk from the train and bus stations. Although the apartments do not have parking facilities on-site, there are several public car parks situated close by costing approx £12 for a 24 hour stay, probably a bit pricey if staying for a while, but for one night it seemed reasonable.

The St James Parade building itself is very impressive.  It is a converted Georgian terrace, built in the flattering warm, honey coloured stone that many of the buildings in Bath favour. In fact, my first impressions were that it is rather understated in comparison to a hotel - no signs outside, just a board in a window with the Saco name on giving a clue to its use.  It is certainly not obvious that this is a hotel of sorts considering it advertises itself on the internet as 4 star accommodation.  I was intrigued.

There are several grand front doors as you walk along the parade; apparently some of the 43 apartments, (spread over 4 floors), have their own front door which makes for a more authentic, homely stay.

Once inside the main entrance, it’s a modern affair, very different to the regency exterior.  There is a small reception desk and I was greeted by an extremely helpful host, welcoming me to Bath. I was handed a vast and slightly daunting selection of tourist leaflets and magazines to read, but thankfully she took the time to personally recommend a handful of restaurants, walks and historic sights to take in for this short visit, or the next that she was sure I would make!  I was also given a very handy map of the city centre, on which she kindly highlighted the various car parks and places of interest – Bath is a surprisingly compact city, considering how much there is to it.

Our room for the night was 106, a one bed superior room. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect - this being my first experience of a serviced apartment.

The superior room was a whole apartment.

On entering there was a roomy hallway - all wood flooring and cream walls.  The living room with its galley kitchen along one side, was a good size, again with wooden flooring and cream walls. The colour scheme is browns, dark wood, maroon and taupe.   There were three enormous windows with blinds and drapes that looked out onto the street. In addition to the dining table with 3 dining chairs,  there was a modern oatmeal coloured two seat sofa, which we found a tad small for both of us, it would have been nice to have had a larger sofa to curl up on, but if you are on your own it wouldn’t be a problem.  A matching armchair and cushion, dark wood coffee table, floor lamp and a dark wood storage unit for books (handy if you were staying for a while) completed the furnishings.  All in all, a very nice room with some nice touches such as bowls, rugs, prints etc., that gave it a more finished feel. It felt like a home. 

The entertainment system included a flat screen television with a DVD player and mini stereo, plus there was a telephone.    We had brought along our own DVD film to watch, but as it turned out we could have selected one from the library of DVDs they keep and the televisions each have Freeview set up. They also have an X box games console you can borrow and there’s Wi-Fi (for a small charge unless on offer).

The kitchenette was very modern and being an old fashioned girl, it took me a while to work out how to open the cupboards as they were totally smooth with no handles (all you do is push them in and they click open!). There was everything you could need for basic day to day use, oven, hob, sink, fridge (no freezer), microwave, kettle, washing machine and even a dishwasher.

A ‘Welcome’ tray was left on the counter with breakfast goodies, which are meant to see you through your first night in the apartment.  These included: one pint of semi skimmed milk, one litre carton of orange juice, two mini boxes of cereal, two croissants, mini packets of biscuits, tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar sachets.

In the cupboards there was a tea towel and various cleaning items, cutlery and crockery for four people, scissors, vegetable peeler, oven gloves; to be honest pretty much everything you use in your own home.

In order to test the facilities we had decided to veto the many tempting restaurants and fetch our own ingredients to prepare dinner using the kitchenette. We soon got to work with our meal; the only problem I found was the grill pan for the oven was missing its handle (I did mention it when leaving and they said that they would ensure it was replaced immediately for the next guests).

At the end of the hallway, situated away from the street was a large, very softly furnished, light and peaceful bedroom. Even my partner who doesn’t have much to say on the matter of soft furnishings agreed it was nice!

This had a cream carpet, an armchair, a large floor length mirror, an oak coloured wardrobe with drawers inside and a safe. There was a matching dressing table and chair with a smaller flat screen television on it. There were also two windows which,  on first impression, were tall like the living room ones, but I realised they had cleverly covered up the fact that as this is an old building, the windows are different heights in the bedroom and so the drapes for both fall to the floor, diffusing the light and giving the illusion of longer windows.

The comfortable King sized bed was made up with white cotton sheets and a pale blue blanket.  My only gripe would have to be that they have put two single mattresses together, rather than using one large one, so there is a groove down the centre of the bed. That said, it was a pretty good sleep, although I have read reviews for the apartments where the bedroom overlooks the street (and local pub) over the road and they have found it too noisy.  We did not find this a problem from the bedroom or livingroom.

The bathroom (no window, sadly) was nicely kitted out with white tiling, white suite (shower in bath) and a heated towel radiator. There were two sets of lovely, heavy, fluffy white towels and a few Molton Brown goodies (mini soap, shower gel and shampoo/conditioner) to see you through your first night’s stay.

Overall,  the apartment was very impressive, comfortable and incredibly clean.

Some of the main differences for staying longer term in a serviced apartment is that the apartments are cleaned once per week, not daily. The welcome goodies in the bathroom and kitchen are a one off, for the first night only. You also have your own buzzer for visitors to get into the building and it feels rather like you are house-sitting for someone, which I personally liked.  You can comfortably invite guests round for a drink or dinner, although be warned, I found myself constantly wanting to tidy up and keep it nice as I was playing ‘house’!

The prices compare favourably against hotel prices.  You would be hard pushed to get something for a similar size and price. Prices per night for a one bed apartment start from approximately £138, and of course the longer you stay,the lower the rate becomes.

There are studio and 2 bedroom apartments, so something to suit most budgets. Having had a look at their website they also have regular offers for weekend breaks.

Whilst I was there I asked the receptionist if this was a popular place for people to stay in Bath.  She was very enthusiastic in her response and, as it turned out, they were fully booked that weekend. Having stayed the night - I can see why.

Understandably you need to book reasonably in advance to secure a room but it is worth the planning.

I would certainly recommend this for work and leisure. The SACO Company have locations throughout the UK and also franchises Worldwide.

For Business Travellers I think it probably would appeal more to women. It feels safe having a 24hr staffed reception desk and it is much more than just a hotel room. The location is superb; you are in the midst of everything, so if you travel by train you can easily walk to most destinations.

All in all, it is well worth trying, it really could change the way your colleagues travel!