My husband and I have been using AirBnB for years now. We planned a trip to Buenos Aires in April of 2022. My husband knew he wanted to stay in the Palermo Hollywood neighborhood of BA.
He started looking for apartments in this neighborhood. We had decided on a loft apartment with a view for a slightly-higher than average nightly rate when we saw the ad for Paula’s apt.
In the pictures, it appears to be a corner apartment with a sweeping city view. Due to the location and the view, we thought we would splurge (apt is one of most expensive in area) for our three nights in BA and rent the apt.
The pictures of the apartment show a sparsely furnished, minimally-decorated apartment with touches of color. The pictures do not even begin to show the reality of this apartment.
As stated earlier, we have been using AirBnB for years, and this apartment is easily one of the worst apartment it has ever been our misfortune to rent.
To begin with, “Superhost” Paula is incredibly annoying with nonstop questions: “When are you arriving? Which flight? What is your flight number? What time does the flight arrive? When will you be leaving the airport? Let me know when you get in the cab to leave the airport. When will you be leaving? What time will you be leaving?”
While some of these questions are valid, she was leaving the key with the guard at the desk of the building so did she really need to know when we got in a cab?
We got to the building and picked up the key. We went to the apt and opened the door and stepped back 50 years in time.
It is hard to describe the stark reality of this apartment. A Soviet-era, Eastern-European communist flat would have more charm. Suffice it to say that Paula’s pictures are incredibly misleading.
We were met by varnished, stained concrete on the floor AND ceiling. Flat, drab white paint covers every wall in every room.
There is NO color…anywhere.
The couch is beige, the table is beige, the deteriorating drapes (complete with flaking backing) are white or tan. The carpet (shown in Paula’s pictures) has been removed. The colorful pictures on the wall in the LR/BR have been removed or replaced by a beige print.
The kitchen is bare. While there are appliances, plates and cooking/eating utensils, there is not a Nespresso maker as shown in the pictures. The water coming from the sink appears soapy as it is frothy and bubbly. The surface of the bar between the kitchen and LR is blistered and cracked. The kitchen counter by the stovetop is split and cracked.
However, it is the bathroom of this apt that truly stands out as the worst feature.
In Paula’s HIGHLY-filtered, misleading pictures, the bathroom appears to be white with fixtures/furnishings out of the 1950s. However, the truth is that the bathroom is tiled with stained grayish tiles…with fixtures/furnishings out of the 1950s.
The tiles on the walls (especially in the bathtub/shower) are horribly stained and discolored. The showerhead in the ceiling is turning green from the water. The tiles on the floor are broken/missing/dirty.
The entire bathroom needs to be torn out, redone and updated. The amenities (2 towels, a hairdryer, a bar of soap and one roll of the cheapest 1-ply toilet paper) do nothing to enhance the utter despair of the bathroom.
The bedroom is functional. Again, no color anywhere as the pictures have been removed. The “safe” sits unsecured on the shelf of the closet. A thief wouldn’t need to break into it as he could just pick it up and take it with him. The bed is hard…and while I prefer a firm mattress, this one is just…hard. Two utilitarian tables stand on either side of the bed.
The windows are the best feature in the bedroom. However, again, the drapes need to be replaced as the backing is flaking off, and they are either falling off the hooks or unhooking themselves in a desperate attempt to escape.
The balcony has a round metal table and two (one with a broken slat) wooden-slat chairs. These are not the chairs or table visible in Paula’s pictures. There are two plants on the balcony that are in the process of dying.
The balcony does offer a view…not of the city skyline as we thought…but mostly of the much-nicer apartments in the surrounding buildings.
We had paid for a late checkout but ended up having to leave early at the last minute due to a change in our flights. Paula was accommodating in that she allowed us to leave the key at the desk instead of meeting her for the handoff.
While the location is good…bordering Palermo Hollywood and Palermo Soho…the apartment leaves MUCH to be desired…especially for the price. Serious renovations/redecorations need to be done before this apt is offered to rent. There are much nicer apts available in the area for much less.
AirBnB needs to investigate this listing as it is misleading and a false representation of the apt…which is not up to AirBnB’s standards. If this is an example of a Superhost’s listing, the standards for Superhost also need to be reexamined.