Apartment was nice, great area. Unfortunately the host (Walter) was unpleasant. I hope no other travelers have to go through the mistreatment I was put through.
The host instructed me to contact him 1 hr before arrival to coordinate the key drop off. The trip went faster than anticipated, per his instructions, I texted him 1 hr before arriving, at 1:32. When we arrived at 2:22 there was no one there, which was not a big deal, I assumed it would be just a matter of a few minutes. I texted the host to let him know we had arrived. He said Raquel would be bringing the keys "in a little while." I asked her ETA, he replied "I don't know." The lack of ETA was concerning as I was traveling with my elderly father who needed to sit down and use the restroom. I politely explained. He replied that he was expecting me at 3PM and I had gotten there earlier. I replied that I had followed his instructions of texting him 1 hr before arrival. My phone rang. The host was combative. I said I had followed his instructions and added that I understood if there had been a delay. He screamed and threatened with canceling my reservation. He pressured me to say that I was happy with the reservation or else he would cancel the reservation. This went on for over 5 minutes. He drove me to tears, with my voice cracking I appealed to his humanity by explaining that my father was 80 and that I had come in from abroad to mourn the death of my mother. I pleaded that he did not leave us out in the street. It did nothing to change his demeanor. He repeatedly demanded that I acknowledge him by saying "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? I replied a meek "yes, sir" every time. He finally said "WHICH WAY IS THIS GOING TO GO, ARE YOU HAPPY OR DO I CANCEL YOUR RESERVATION?" I said I expected to enter the apartment. He hung up on me. I was left in tears and visibly shaking. Another person in the building felt so bad for us that he brought out a chair for my dad to sit on.
The host called again. I wasn’t going to engage with someone hostile, so he started texting. Texts were polite, clearly covering his tracks. He said he "was apologizing again for Raquel's delay," making it sound like he had previously apologized, which couldn’t have been further from the truth.
The night before checkout he said he’d come right before 11 to pick up the key in person. I dreaded having to interact face to face with someone who had threatened me. He never showed up. Instead, the cleaning lady came over an hour early. We were still packing, the woman started cleaning all around us without a mask on. We were careful about Covid because of my father's age and didn't expect having to share the space with others, let alone having to check out earlier than the listed checkout time. The cleaning lady went to our bedroom, immediately came out with a piece of metal in her hand and accused us of breaking the lock to the window, which we hadn't done. My partner and I got the distinct feeling it was all theater to frame us so the host would "have something on us" in case he got a bad review. We gave her the keys and left.
Despite the host's polite texts, the host's behavior was unstable, erratic, and hostile. I hope no other international traveler has to experience this kind of behavior and threats.