I will preface my review by saying the apartment is great in an excellent location. This is my second time staying here and have booked again in May.
Generally speaking, Nicki communicates well however there remain a few things, that as an Airbnb host need to be improved. I note in Nicki’s feedback to me from my previous review was to keep in mind that the apartment is her primary home not a hotel. In my opinion, if you rent your space out as an Airbnb then it needs to be managed as such. My travelling companion and I are experienced long time Airbnb users (Nationally and Internationally) and I am a long time host and so our review reflects our experiences.
Firstly, good to see that the internet is no longer being advertised as being available.
Following our last stay, Nicki and I spoke about having a duplicate set of keys to the apartment. She advised me that there was a duplicate set in one of the kitchen drawers and I simply didn’t find them. On this trip we again searched for duplicate keys, and none to be found. I messaged Nicki on day 2 of 5 to ask where they were and received no reply. Given that a key is needed for the security door out the front it is impossible for two individuals staying in the apartment doing different things during the day to navigate the comings and goings with only one set of keys. We were also concerned about leaving the key in the place where we collected the keys as the day prior to our arrival Nicki informed me that the keys had been stolen from that place. It is not unreasonable to have two sets of keys for guests to use.
There was an issue about the car park not being available and due to the circumstances as described by Nicki as to why that was, it was not her fault. However, parking is one of the most important selling points when you are looking for inner city accommodation. When we were discussing that there was no longer secure parking available with Nicki she suggested that we could just park in and around the streets of Prahran. Now I know Prahran and it is impossible to just simply park in the streets – the parking inspectors are very good at their job and are everywhere! I then investigated the cost of long term parking and came back to Nicki with a proposal which resulted in Nicki refunding some of our money to compensate us for the cost of the parking. But my point is this, it is not up to the customer to do the research and offer an alternative when parking is suddenly no longer available, it is the responsibility of the host to have thought that significant problem through and have some workable ideas on the table.
When we got to the apartment there was fruit left in the fridge; there was no cloth to wash down benches; and towels supplied were still damp, so we weren’t sure if these were clean towels or not.
Again, the location of the apartment is fabulous and within walking distance to shops and cafes. I do feel however there are some inconveniences and attention to detail which needs to be addressed.