Hermann accused me of creating already-existing damage to his apartment, trying to make me take the blame for it in an attempt to get Airbnb to cover the costs. Sorry Hermann, I did not even touch your window that already had a crack in it.
In my eight years of using Airbnb, including several previous business trips to Vienna and Austria, like this one, I have never dealt with someone as dishonest at Hermann and I have never received or left a bad review. But given this experience, here’s a “let’s be completely honest” review. If you do a deep dive on Hermann’s reviews for this apartment and others, you’ll see these are common themes.
Pros:
-	There’s a grocery store nearby.
-	The WiFi works well, and the smart TV was AirPlay capable.
-	The shower head is nice, but I suspect this is where the interior budget was exhausted at the expense of everything else.
Cons:
-	Apartment smells of smoke. Why provide both indoor and outdoor ash trays if smoking is “not allowed”?
-	The bed and mattress: Uncomfortable and will creak with the slightest movement. With what he’s charging, one would expect a bed above what you might find in a hostel.
-	The towels: Imagine the type you would use to clean up a spill in your garage and throw away afterward. Absorbent is about their only quality.
-	Expect to find hair, both the long and short variety, in the bathroom at least.
-	The neighborhood is noisy. Expect to hear cars racing toward the apartment (which overlies a parking garage!) and then racing away as they turn the corner.
-	The neighborhood is not interesting. Think nondescript contemporary square office/apartment architecture and lack of dining options. You could be anywhere and get this vibe, but that’s not why you’re traveling to Vienna, right? Thankfully Vienna has good public transit, but having stayed in Vienna a few times, I’d recommend staying elsewhere.
Some advice for Hermann. Look for a new cleaning person, one that does a more thorough job. Either she damaged the window and lied to you, a previous guest damaged it and she missed it, or you knew about the damage and just want me to take the blame. Also, consider investing a bit of money into new furnishings a few steps up from the least expensive options at IKEA. While you’re shopping, try to find some interior window shades that extend more than a half meter above the floor, leaving your guests exposed to the street. Write up and provide some apartment instructions. Your guests will likely not know that to lower the outside bedroom shade, for example, that the controls are in the kitchen. What do you expect of guests before they check out? Does the apartment have AC? Who knows? It has an HVAC control, but doesn’t seem to cool. Maybe it’s broken too? And above all, don’t accuse your guests of damaging your apartment when they didn’t and you have no evidence to prove they did it.
Some advice for potential guests. Look elsewhere first as there are typically much better options in Vienna. But if you do stay here, make sure to take a thorough video of the apartment’s conditions when you arrive. Don’t let him accuse you of damaging the already-cracked bathroom sink, scuffing up the already-scuffed-up walls, or leaving your hair over the already-hairy floors, for example.