Amory Tower, E14

The building might look attractive with its modern design but the architects seemed to have focused on form before function. The sides of the buildings are lined with flaps that give it an interesting appearance but not only vibrate noisily in windy conditions but also make the building swing with high winds causing the interiors to creak more than a ship in stormy waters. South facing apartments become greenhouses in the summer and the climate control does little to cool it down. The windows open inwards and hence a light rain invariably will cause water streaming down the sides of the building to poor inside. The apartments are modern with high quality appliances but the design is lacking: expect water to splash out of the shower, doors to rattle at night with the wind and small parts of the apartment to quickly show wear and tear. The rubbish disposal system does not work and is collected in an area close to the entrance of the building giving the entrance an acrid smell. There is negligible parking space (via a car lift) so car owners are incredibly inconvenienced. The lifts are constantly broken down with long queues requiring a 5 minute commute from your flat to the building entrance on a daily basis. The pool and spa area is a nice plus but in comparison to similar buildings in the area is poorly designed being underground and requiring you to go outside across the little park to a separate entrance or through the underground parking to reach: a very odd design decision. The gym is small and not particularly well equipped and the common room and cinema are always full of students and rarely available and not particularly enjoyable. The building is poorly managed by JLL and the landlords are foreign shell companies and never respond to requests for repairs or other queries.

Not the prettiest tower on the outside, not the most inspired design but a nice, comfortable development with great views and amenities overall. The flats are relatively spacious with a good layout to maximise the available space. Most flats have great dock or river views. Building management and concierge are very friendly and welcoming. The facilities are nice, although the gym is fairly small and doesn't have any free weights: no dumbbells, no kettlebells, which is quite strange... Pool, steam and sauna are great (although a little bit awkward to get to as you need to go through the parking garage, strange design decision...). The flats do tend to get quite warm in the summer, the comfort cooling doesn't seem to be very powerful or effective. The other downside is that the DLR nearby is quite noisy, even on higher floors you can still hear it. But overall a very nice and pleasant building to live in.