Do not book this listing. Staying there was terrible; apartment is disgusting, unsanitary, and unhealthy; Mishel is manipulative and disrespectful. It appears this apartment has been neglected since its pre-pandemic ratings. For anyone interested in specifics, below are details about the problems we faced staying in this apartment.
Cleanliness: The air is musty and putrid and is noticeable as soon as you enter the apartment. Mold was growing in multiple places in the apartment. There was a substantial colony (a quart in size, multiple colors—white, green, and blue) inside the coffee machine. A sponge in the laundry closet was also growing mold. The curtains and bed spread were mildew-y; they needed to be removed to reduce chest tightness and shortness of breath. The vents were fuzzy with dust and debris. Similar neglect was evident because weeks of mail had not been collected and there were abundant spiderwebs in multiple areas of the apartment (not just cobwebs, we encountered spiders dropping from the ceiling and by the nightstand). The dishes and cookware were put away dirty, greasy, and containing leftover bits of food. Pet hair had not been cleaned off of linens, furniture, or dish towels. Many towels were stiff or abrasive and the bed spread had concerning stains.
Maintenance: The apartment does not retain heat, and it was below freezing when we arrived and for most of our stay. The windows and sliding back door are not adequately insulated. The main radiator located in the kitchen is falling off the wall and has wires hanging out of it. The vents on the radiator are orange and the radiator omits a burning smell when turned on. We had to turn all of the other radiators to 30 degrees C (86 F) for most of the trip to be warm enough, which made the air so dry that it caused our skin to break and bleed. The thermostats regulating the radiators are off by 2-5 degrees C, which is another reason we had to set the heat so high. One of the burners on the stove doesn’t work. There is a fuzzy green substance (insulation or pest-proofing?) exposed underneath the dishwasher and in light fixtures. A panel beneath the cabinets fell off when I opened the dishwasher. One of the doors to the laundry closet has fallen off the track. The walls are covered in scuffs, holes, and patches of missing paint.
Security: We had difficulties locking the ground floor bedroom window (however, a property manager did come to ensure the window was locked the third night we were there). There is an unlabled door between the TV and the laundry closet that is locked from the other side. We have no idea whether this is a utility closet or it adjoins to the unit next door, but it was unnerving to not know whether the door could be opened from the other side.
Host: It is honestly unfortunate that we had to interact with Mishel at all. We informed him of the issues we had with the apartment after contacting AirBnB support. He showed up at the apartment unannounced the next day. He downplayed or denied that any of these problems existed. When confronted with the mold in the coffee pot he said ‘it isn’t that bad’. He dumped the mold and washed the filter and put it back; he did not clean inside the machine where the mold was growing, and he put the sponge he used back in the sink. When he saw the radiator falling off the wall and its exposed wiring he said ‘this is not a problem for you’. He denied that anything was burning, despite the burn marks on the vents of the radiator and burning fibers hanging out the back. He claimed the smell on the curtains was a disinfectant, not mildew, which was clearly not the case. He insulted where I’m from and implied that I do not understand how heat works. He made similarly insulting misogynistic comments to my girlfriend. He implied that the photographic evidence sent to AirBnB was somehow fake and further accused us of lying and exaggerating. After the visit, what followed was days of attempts to ingratiate himself to us, bypass written documentation through AirBnB, intimidate us into leaving, and rescind offers of compensation.
In total we spent about 75% of our stay dealing with Mishel and AirBnB support to resolve our issues with the apartment and our host, not to mention the health and financial burden of being inside the apartment. The stay was far from comfortable and our host was far from pleasant. Montreal is a great city, but find somewhere else to stay.