There were positives and a negative. I don’t like having to write something negative, but I feel obligated for safety reasons. The good: Gabi was quick to respond to my questions and very cordial. She is in Paris for the year, so her brother checked me in. The apartment was as I expected—adequate, without much style or interest. It was very clean. The sunroom with a table, where I put my computer, was pleasant, the terrace roomy. The negative was more disturbing. The master bedroom has an electric heater attached to the wall. It worked, and I plugged it in perhaps four evenings, for about two hours. But there were some light brown areas on the white surface. The next evening when I turned it on, I saw a small spark on the surface of the heater. I was concerned, so I unplugged it and decided not to use it again. I emailed Gabi a photo of the heater showing the brown areas and telling her about the spark, so she would know there was a problem with the heater. All I did was plug it in, the normal way to use
it. Gabi responded that there must have been a cloth over the heater. I told her there was no cloth, the heater had malfunctioned. She responded that it was working when I arrived, and that she would have to buy a new heater. “The price is 400 pesos arg (that means USD $70).” (I just checked a currency chart and 400 pesos Arg is actually $30 US.) I decided to try the heater again, so if it was working I would tell her. This time there was an explosion of sparks. Fortunately, I wasn’t too close. It was very scary and I’m thankful I wasn’t injured. In the next email Gabi insisted it was my fault and that I pay for a new heater. But now she proposed I pay half. Even though it was not my fault (by her logic, I would have to pay for a new refrigerator if it broke during my stay), I greed to pay to end the matter, as I was leaving the next day. Next difficulty, though minor, was checkout. I wanted to leave at 10, so I
could have lunch with my son. But Gabi’s brother was away and her parents had to drive 4-5 hours. (Shouldn’t be my problem.) I agreed to a later checkout, 1:00, for the sake of her parents. They were friendly, but said the heater was probably OK. They didn’t seem concerned. They took my 200 pesos--but I’m not sure the heater was replaced. A new renter was coming the next day. So,
anyone who rents this apartment should know it is comfortable—but be sure there’s a new heater. If it has light brown areas it’s the one that malfunctioned, and could be dangerous. Or, you could be told you broke it, and have to pay for a new one.