Your Apartment Bristol – one night + four takeaways

How okay is it to go somewhere for a night away just to have more Deliveroo options?

I ask this in a purely rhetorical sense, because I’ve already done it, and it was amazing. It’s one of the downsides of living in an otherwise very lovely part of the country – that when you want a takeaway your choice is limited primarily to pizzas, kebabs, curries and Chinese food. That’s not to say I wouldn’t happily eat all of those things, but sometimes what you really want is just to have some sashimi delivered to your door.

When Your Apartment offered me and Belle a night in one of their serviced apartments in Bristol then, our first thought wasn’t ‘oh how lovely, the chance to enjoy the culture of a big city’, it was ‘yaassss! More Deliveroo options!’

In fairness, we did live in Bristol for about three years, so we have already seen plenty of what Bristol has to offer. It’s a fantastic city – small enough to feel manageable but with a vibrant food and arts scene. When we stayed for my birthday weekend at the end of April it was a little restricted in terms of what was open, but from our apartment in Cotham I was still able to walk down into the city centre and around the harbourside, which is always buzzing with people.

The premise behind Your Apartment is simple – serviced apartments that feel like home. They’re bright, colourful, clean and fully equipped with everything you need to create a home away from home vibe, including all the techy stuff like superfast Wi-Fi and smart TVs. They have apartments all around Bristol as well as in Cardiff and Liverpool, and Your Apartment Clifton Village even has its own exclusive co-working space – ideal for business travel to Bristol.

Your Apartment review

We stayed on the top floor of Rowan Tree in Cotham, so we had that sloppy ceiling penthouse apartment feel that always makes me feel kind of metropolitan and sophisticated.

The living area was open plan, with a large sofa, dining area and well-equipped kitchen. There was everything you’d expect from a standard kitchen and you could very easily shop and cook for yourself if you didn’t want to take advantage of the myriad takeaway options Bristol has to offer.

Your Apartment Cotham

Almost as soon as we’d arrived, after a very straightforward and contact free check in process, Belle was on her phone, checking out the bubble tea options.

‘When are we going to order dinner?’ she asked, scrolling through a vast selection of delicious foodie options.

I gave it some thought.

‘We could have two dinners?’ I said, hopefully. ‘One early dinner and one late dinner?’

‘Really?’ she said, in her ‘are you joking or can I be excited?’ voice. ‘Won’t that be expensive?’

‘Well it is my birthday weekend,’ I pointed out helpfully, ‘and probably not any more expensive than if we were going out for a big fancy birthday dinner and drinks somewhere.’

And so it was decided. Two dinners.

While I took my stuff into the second best bedroom, (I don’t know how this always happens, I’m such a soft touch), Belle chose her bubble tea from Jo’s Tea – takeaway number one. Bubble tea is one of her favourite things, but at the moment Bristol is the closest place to us to get it. I’m not saying I’ve never driven the two hour round trip just for bubble tea, (like I said, soft touch), but it’s not ideal, so we had to make the most of it.

She bought two.

Self catering apartment Bristol

I say my bedroom was the second best, but they were both lovely. Belle’s had the advantage of an en-suite, but I’ve always thought that in a two bedroom apartment, if one person has the en-suite then the other person just gets the bathroom, it’s not exactly a loss is it?

‘Oh woe is me I have to walk an extra foot if I want to have a wee in the night’. I can cope with that.

While Belle kicked back with two bubble teas and the smart TV, living her best life, I went for a walk down into the centre, just to work up an appetite for the two dinners. Rowan Tree is in Cotham, so it’s just a walk down St Michael’s Hill basically and you’re there. Coming back up is a bit more effort, but then TWO DINNERS remember.

I have always loved Bristol, and the harbourside and Park Street is one of my favourite areas. I have to say that on that sunny Saturday afternoon not long after the easing of lockdown it seemed to be everyone’s favourite area, and I wasn’t completely sad to head back to the apartment after my stroll. Entry is through an intercom system, which Belle has always wanted, and she enjoyed herself pretending not to know who I was etc etc before letting me in. We know how to have fun.

Once I was back it was time for dinner number one – a casual Itsu sushi platter, just to get us in the mood for main dinner. I absolutely love sushi and this was such a treat. We were already very much enjoying ourselves.

serviced apartments Bristol

By the time we’d finished our salmon and steamed duck buns we were just about ready for dinner number two, so we decided to balance things out with pie and mash from Pie Minister. This might not feel like a terribly exotic choice, but Pie Minister is so classically Bristol, plus I had a real hankering for mushy peas. Takeaway number three.

While we ate our pies we watched two episodes of Poirot. As I sat there, watching such lovely, comforting TV, tired from my walk but full of food, I had a real moment of contentment. It doesn’t take much to make me happy – something as simple as a night away somewhere new and good things to eat and I’m basically there.

We rounded off the evening with pudding from Creams. Belle had waffles and I had a strawberry ice cream milkshake, which is basically a fruit smoothie. Takeaway number four.

I woke up the next day to my birthday – hooray! Belle had very kindly wrapped all of the Amazon parcels from friends and family that had been arriving in the post, so I had a lovely big stack of presents to open.

I waited for Belle to wake up, because that’s more fun, but in the meantime I made myself a coffee with the fancy machine and read the papers in bed. I don’t often lie in bed in the mornings, so it did feel terribly decadent, especially with the hotel style bedding. At home my bed is half duvet, half cat hair, so it was a nice change to be 100% duvet.

Your Apartment Bristol

We had considered a fifth takeaway for breakfast but to be honest by check out time I was still full from all of the dinners. Instead we walked just around the corner to The Bowl Shed, who do the most beautiful açaí and smoothie bowls. Definitely worth checking them out if you like your breakfast Instagram ready.

Overall then, an excellent and extremely filling time was had by all at Your Apartment Cotham. The apartment was spotlessly clean, cosy and well-equipped, and brilliantly located for a city break. A fantastic option for business travellers and mini breakers alike.

Find out more about Your Apartment and book your stay now.

 

We were gifted a one night stay at Your Apartment for the purposes of this review.

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3 Comments

  1. Amy
    7 May, 2021 / 11:01 pm

    I do not know what a Bubble Tea is! Off to google it now.
    I went to uni in Bristol so it holds a special place in my heart.

    • Jo Middleton
      Author
      22 May, 2021 / 10:18 am

      Oh my goodness, you need to Google it and get down with the kids!

  2. 8 May, 2021 / 12:47 pm

    That is a lovely little space!

    Danielle | thereluctantblogger.co.uk

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