CENTRAL, BUT QUITE DISAPPOINTING
The apartment in downtown Buenos Aires is close to all local amenities and the cultural life of this unique metropolis. On arrival, the corridor was dark so I had to blindly try to fit the keys into ill- fitting door locks. Although the concierge later fixed the corridor lights, they only worked sometimes! The place appeared ok on the surface, but on closer inspection I realised it could have benefitted from a better state of cleanliness, particularly the kitchen, where I found some greasy pots and dirty cutlery, but luckily also the implements to clean the myself! There were some basic provisions (coffee, sugar) but only a few essential utensils, including just 2 (plastic, not metallic!) coffee spoons, and no instruction manuals for electrical appliances. Some of the parquet floor boards were sticky and I spotted dust bunnies and spider webs in a wardrobe and several room corners. Despite the excessive cleaning fees charged, by the time the hosts offered to send a cleaner I had already hired one! The living room was poorly lit, had a TV set placed too high for viewing in comfort, and as it had no air conditioning, it could get stifling hot in 30 degree Celsius temperatures. Opening the living room window I was shocked at the grimy view (see attached photo-1), so had to shut it at once and never re-open it. I chose not to hang clothes in the closet as it was dusty and quite smelly. I found red flying cockroaches on 3 occasions in spite of using a killing spray regularly! The bedroom was pleasant and had natural light and air conditioning. The wifi router in it was very good. The bed was large, but the mattress too hard to be comfortable. The pillows were quite lumpy. The bathroom was clean and had soft, clean towels and toiletries. Although described as “calm”, the apartment was noisy a good deal of the time: there was noise from the lift brakes and doors, from some loud neighbours late at night, and from local construction sites, but the worst source of noise was a machine or engine outside the bedroom during the night (see attached photo-2). Luckily my ear plugs cancelled most of it! Because of the noise I considered moving but the option I was offered was too expensive and inadequate to my needs. As I spent little time indoors, and used the place to mainly store my belongings, have a shower and sleep, I decided to put up with some of the inconveniences, turning some of the bad situations into positive ones, eg, getting a cleaner, proper spoons and ear plugs! During my stay, I brushed past the shade of a heavy unattached bedside lamp made of enamelled plaster, which sat on a small, slippery and unsteady side table. The lamp fell and broke, and I offered to pay a reasonable compensation for its replacement, but this issue is still not settled. Sadly, there are many issues with this apartment that need to be dealt with before I could recommend a stay to others. I loved BA though!