Firstly, I will say that the views at this place were stunning. Also, the proximity to union station and the Scotiabank arena were perfect for our trip! The grocery store right around the corner was also very convenient, but a bit pricey (we paid like $8 for a dozen eggs) so I’d suggest shopping out of downtown if you can.
However, in the listing it states that you have access to the hot tub and pool (gym as well, but we didn’t try to access this, but I’m sure that isn’t included as well). When I asked the host about this, he stated that those amenities are only available for guests staying 28 days or longer which was not made clear in the listing. I simply asked why it wasn’t in the listing as that is a large amenity to consider when booking travel plans, but the host didn’t answer my question directly so I kept asking why it wasn’t in the listing because that seems like false advertisement. Through our exchange via Airbnb’s messaging system, I asked for some type of refund from him since our stay did not provide all of the amenities as stated in the listing to which he replied “There is no space to state that on the Airbnb site. Can you please just go get some air and put your stress level down. Is is not worth it.” I was absolutely calm the entire time I was messaging him so I was shocked when I read this as this doesn’t seem like a “friendly host” as stated in the listing. He then called me and was quite rude. He wouldn’t let me speak and kept interrupting me when I was trying to explain to him that what he stated in his listing wasn’t true and eventually he said “Sunday is my rest day” and tried to tell us (rudely) to leave so he can come pick up the key and he’d refund us the money for the remainder of the stay which is not what I wanted. I finally calmed him down and said we would remain there as I did not want to look for another place because I knew it would cost a lot more on such short notice. He offered us dinner and I refused as I didn’t think that would suffice. I’d rather have some type or refund than a dinner, personally. He then asked if everything else was okay with the apartment and as soon I tried to bring up other things I was disappointed about, he laughed. Why ask for feedback if you’re not actually interested?
I never did get to tell him what other things I had a problem with since he so rudely laughed after asking, so here are some things my sister and I encountered during our stay here along with the false advertisement of the hot tub and pool:
- There was a used condom wrapper next to the bedside table
- Some dishes and utensils were visibly dirty (I spent a solid 10 minutes scrubbing one pan as it was absolutely atrocious)
- There was no dish soap to wash the dishes with (we ended up having to buy our own)
- There were no dishwasher pods
- There were only two little trash bags provided
- The soap in the bathroom seemed to be watered down
- No extra cotton linens were provided
- There were only two towels provided
- No complimentary coffee, sugar, water, and only one little packet of tea
- Some of the seasonings and oil were expired
- No robes provided as shown in one of the pictures in the listing
I’m sure there are other things I’m forgetting, but those were the main things we were disappointed with during our stay. For a place that is “professionally cleaned”, the things we encountered would prove otherwise. I will say that he was nice enough to accommodate us and let us check in an hour or two earlier than check in time, so I’m not sure if that had something to do with the lack of cleaning, but if that’s the case I would have rather waited for the place to be cleaned properly as I was in no rush.
To summarize, the location is lovely, but the lack of friendly customer service and blatant lies within the listing would lead me to not recommend staying here.