What should have been an easy & pleasant stay turned into a complete nightmare on arrival.
The Host was perfect with communication regarding the apartment through the booking process and information before arrival. The apartment looks exactly like the photos - had the apartment been clean - this would be a very different review.
When I arrived (4;30pm) it the apartment had not been cleaned beyond bed sheets being changed and 2 small towels provided.
The floors were covered in food crumbs and both white (dog?) hair as well as long black hairs.
The coffee table as well as the other living room table as well as the bathtub/toilet seat & Bathroom sink were full of long black straight hairs as well as crumbs.
The bathroom cabinet had previous guests Cough Syrup / Toothbrush & used shower cap in it. The kitchen sink was dirty with food remains. Crumbs all over the counter.
It really was disgusting.
Everything was documented with photos & videos. After sending photos of all the filth Mr. Chan accused me of taking photos from angles to make the situation look worse than it was. All this communication is documented via the AirBnB messaging service.
Mr. Chan called me a liar. He said his mother had come up from New York to clean the apartment & that I was making things up. He told me if I wasn't satisfied I could just leave - find another place and complain to AirBnb.
As I was in town for a big work convention - there was no time to start looking for other accommodations. Ultimately I decided to stay and cleaned the apartment myself.
Even though Mr. Chan did offer to send cleaners the next day. This was unsatisfactory as I didn't want strangers in the apartment with my things moved in while I was out working.
More time was spent on the phone with AirBnB. They were sent direct photos / videos of the apartment. They agreed with me and as a resolution - I was offered a reimbursement on the first night's stay as well as the cleaning fee. Considering I spent more than an hour of my own time cleaning - it was the least that could be done.
I booked based on all of the positive reviews - even though there was another review with a similar cleanliness issue.
I'm a 50 year old Canadian business owner. I live in Europe & travel extensively.
Every other week I'm on a work related trip - usually I stay in 3/4* hotels although sometimes AirBnB is a better option.
There is no reason to lie about any of this. The apartment was dirty. It's as simple as that.
There was no apology forthcoming from Mr. Chan.
He was angry that I had woken him (he resides in Asia) and insulted his mother's cleaning.
It's a shame that I would not ever come back or recommend this property.
Was a disappointing arrival - no guest should be treated this way.
On a positive note - one of the best Sunset views I've seen in a city happened in this apartment. The Bathtub was deep & comfortable. The Wifi worked perfectly.