This is the third time I have lived in Dolphin Square and it will definitely be the last! The first time was under the old management and then, it was amazing and I couldn’t believe my luck. The management team were lovely, helpful, organised and they encouraged an inclusive and friendly neighbourhood. The second time was a few years back when we were between properties and then it was OK but management not great.
This time has been nothing short of miserable for me right from the beginning. The process of getting contracts sorted etc, was chaotic and inefficient. Since living here, I have had to complain about noise so often I am now keeping a spreadsheet as seriously considering legal action. My first two times here, I never had a problem with noise at all, so not sure why this time is so different. But to put it into perspective, I spent most of this last weekend in my bedroom because the neighbour downstairs had a party one night and his music on a loop the next. I can’t say it was loud-loud, but it was loud enough that I couldn’t listen to the TV without turning the volume up really high, in which case I would have been annoying neighbours around me. I called security to ask them to call him (there’s an internal phone system) and ask him to keep it down, but they did nothing to help – and yet it’s their job to do this! In the end, I gave up and went to bed at 8pm on a Friday night!
Workmen turn up as and when they please, drilling and banging for hours at a time. Under tenancy agreements, you are supposed to be given notice of any works going on in flats around you, but the management team show no courtesy and do not let you know in advance work is going to be happening. I’m not unreasonable and l know work has to be done in a development this size, but why a little bit of consideration cannot be shown to residents is beyond me. I was on a video conference today when interrupted by drilling on the other side of the wall. How is this acceptable?? Had I been told, I could have made arrangements to go to the office or a friends house, but wasn’t given the chance to sort anything.
I can honestly say, there is barely a day goes by that I’m not disturbed by someone.
The building is actually lovely to look and the gardens are beautifully maintained. Someone else on this site reviewed DS as modern but it is not – a lot of the fabric and workings of the building are not fit for purpose. For example, the water tanks in one of the buildings broke down a couple of months ago – we had weeks of tankers arriving at all hours – once at 2.30am in the morning – pumping water into the basement for 1-2 hours at a time. There are supposed to be 2 working lifts per building, but in at least one of the buildings, the lift hasn’t been working for almost a year, so you have circa 100 flats sharing one lift!
These days, Dolphin Square is overpriced for what it is and the management team frankly need to sort themselves out.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Pimlico is lovely – is fairly quiet, even with the Academy across the road and not too much traffic once you’re off Grosvenor Road. Plenty of small restaurants (Tapas place over the way is amazing!) You’ve got a local Tesco and a large Sainsbury’s within walking distance and post office. Parking is fine – I’ve never had a problem finding a space and permits are reasonable from Westminster Council. There’s also a decent bus service and the tube is very close. I can’t fault Pimlico – it is lovely, convenient location and has everything you need.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I’d definitely recommend not to take a flat around the outside of the building, and only take a flat overlooking the garden as the noise from lorries, vans and cars is pretty constant, plus you have rubbish trucks arriving to empty the bins every morning which are quite loud. The best side in my opinion would be the West Side, overlooking the gardens, which would avoid so much noise and also, as the flats do turn into saunas when the sun comes out, you would avoid overheating too.
And live on as high a floor as you can get.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
I’m afraid it’s all words and no action. They make promises to deal with things but don’t – it is either left to drag on and you’re chasing for weeks or you are ignored completely. I went into the tenancy office a couple of months ago to enquire about something, only to receive a sarcastic response.
