In short: fraudulent host. Positive reviews are likely faked by his friends. Pictures are not accurate and the apartment was extremely dirty and a noisy place. Do not book this apartment and reward fraud on Airbnb. Long explanation below:
I wish I did not have to write this review but unfortunately the host’s repeated refusals to rectify the problems leave me no other option. This listing was borderline fraudulent and I remain shocked that Airbnb allows listings with pictures that are drastically different from the actual listing.
Having always dreamed of living in BA for at least a month I finally got the opportunity to do this while I was in between jobs. Given that it was a long term stay, I researched my options thoroughly in recoleta and Palermo. Before choosing to lock in a place for an entire month I, of course, as many prospective renters do, examine each and every photo before picking what would suit me best. The photos advertised looked nice enough so I messaged the host to ask about my other priority, which is peace and quiet as I had been escaping some construction works at my apartment building in Paris. He assured me it was, and I quote: “as quiet as the countryside” leading me to believe that in addition to being on the top floor, soundproof windows or something equivalent was in place to merit such a precise description. I further followed up saying how important quiet is to me and asked if there were any construction works planned, to which the host did not respond. My trip quickly approaching I decided to book the place given the hosts assurances.
Upon arrival, it appeared different than what the photos showed. It was apparently a holiday in Argentina so the host rushed through the check in. No explanation was given for the hot water which I only realized later in the middle of the night after a long haul flight. The next morning, jetlag aside, it became apparent just how different the listing was in reality than from what was pictured. In addition to the hot water not working the window blind in the bedroom broke the first morning so I notified the host and to his credit he reacted immediately. It was here - in person - where I would raise the issue of the place being vastly different than from what was pictured in the advertisement. I showed him the pictures and asked if he agreed that what we were looking at was not what was pictured in his advertisement. He agreed. He became upset when I explained this is unacceptable and he left in an angry fit, slamming the door behind him.
I notified Airbnb but as a result of me waiting to resolve this calmly and courteously in person I missed the 24 hour window to report a problem and was refused help resolving this after only 1.5 days into a monthlong stay. I therefore message the host kindly and respectfully ask for compensation to address the fact he used fake photos to secure a booking. He again refused. To make matters worse there was construction on the fourth or fifth floor and in the lobby throughout my monthlong stay which the host hid from me despite me explicit asking about this before booking.
It is incredible to me that Airbnb allows hosts who, in person, admit to using fake photos to secure long term stays to continue operating on their platform. Trust is the lifeblood of Airbnb and until this stay I had never had an issue like this. When this trusts erodes, users will resort to safer more trustworthy options like hotels. Shame on this host for being the first to erode my trust as I have been a happy user of Airbnb until this experience. Without a doubt he will leave a shrill exaggerated reply this review. Just read my long trail of positive reviews and happy hosts who have hosted me in the past and I invite you to choose who you would like to believe. Save yourself the trouble of dealing with this fraudster and book somewhere else. Do not reward untrustworthy, fraudulent hosts on Airbnb who will say anything and exaggerate in order to secure a long term booking. Despite all this, BA was incredible and such a special city and recoleta itself is a terrific neighborhood when you’re not trying to sleep through noisy elevators and screeching traffic!