A guide to living in Stratford

We’ve lived at Coppermaker Square for around six months and, overall, the development has a lot going for it. The facilities are genuinely impressive, with a very good gym, pool/spa, shared workspaces and a concierge team that has generally been polite, helpful and responsive. The apartment itself is also a strong point: it is a good size, has plenty of storage, a useful dual-aspect layout and a lot of natural light, which makes it feel bright and comfortable to live in. That said, there have also been a number of issues that have affected our experience and make the development feel mixed overall. The biggest concern has been the heating and cooling system, which is tied to a district energy network and comes with substantial standing charges whether or not the service is working properly. During the recent heatwaves, the cooling has repeatedly failed or underperformed, and this has been particularly frustrating because residents have no real alternative provider. For a development of this price point, that lack of reliability is disappointing. There have also been a surprising number of building-wide issues in just the first six months. These have included the rubbish chute being out of action for weeks, a pipe burst that caused flooding in the basement, a period where water supply to apartments was interrupted, and a WiFi outage that lasted several days. On top of that, higher floors do not seem to receive much mobile signal, so when the WiFi was down it created a real inconvenience. The general impression is that the building is still working through some reliability and maintenance issues that you would not expect to see so often in a new development. The quality of some of the interior finishes and fixtures is also below what we expected. While the apartment is spacious and well laid out, some of the furniture and kitchen materials feel cheaper than they should. The worktops appear absorbent and stain easily, the appliances are an odd mix, the dishwasher lacks some basic functions, and the oven is more complicated than it needs to be. The extractor fan also does not seem to vent properly, which leads to condensation building up on the cabinets when cooking. The washer-dryer is also not especially user-friendly and feels like one of the weaker points of the apartment. In short, Coppermaker Square has a lot of strengths in terms of amenities, space and convenience, but the repeated issues with building reliability, cooling performance and the quality of some finishes mean it does not quite live up to the standard you would expect at this price.

My second year at CMS and it has been amazing so far. Great amenities and a genuinely helpful team. Special shout out to Manav from the front desk team, he’s got a great problem solving attitude and is always keen to help whether its day to day issues or something else. Keep it up!!

Modern and perfect Location is good and transport links Can’t really Fault it Would recommend to everyone Good for lifestyle as well very happy here and good sense of communities which makes people closer Made really good friends and family and been really happy

Facilities are amazing. The gym is very spacious and common areas are really varied. The exterior design is very eye catching. The windows allow for amazing views. Unfortunately the furniture is not up to standard. There no chests of drawers in a two bedroom apartment. It would be better defined as partially furnished.

Rondo is a brand-new development in Stratford. The amenities and overall design have clearly been well thought out. There is a well-equipped gym, a bookable cinema, and various spaces dedicated to working or hosting parties. There are also multiple terraces for residents to enjoy. The apartments themselves are spacious, although there is very little storage space compared with several other new developments in the area. Most of the flats come fully furnished, but I wouldn’t really describe them as such because only the essentials are provided. For example, there was no desk or chest of drawers, and the built-in wardrobes have no shelves, so you can only hang your clothes. The blinds also don’t seem particularly practical—it would have made much more sense to have curtains, especially in the bedrooms. The kitchen cupboards and bathroom flooring have a very delicate finish that shows every speck of dirt, even the smallest marks. It feels like aesthetics were prioritised over practicality. That said, the rent is competitively priced, and with a few additional pieces of furniture, you can easily make the apartment feel complete. The open-plan living room and kitchen are very spacious, and the large windows make the apartments feel bright and airy. As this is a brand-new development, there were a few initial issues with the apartment. However, once we reported them, the responses were quick, professional, and helpful. Finally, the reception team has been consistently friendly, welcoming, and very helpful, which has made the overall experience much more positive.