First, we are grateful that after we experienced all the issues below, the host simply let us leave after one night with a full refund of the remaining nights. That was kind although considering the circumstances it was necessary.
To begin with, the listing said there was AC and when we arrived there was not. The host did apologize for this mistake and offered €50 refund but as we expressly booked this place for AC and two beds, this was not very helpful.
Secondly? The second bed, which was a couch (we were aware it was a couch) was not provided any linens whatsoever. No pillow cases for using the extra pillows, no sheet to cover the couch, no blankets or duvet covers to be able to use the spare duvets. As we booked this to use BOTH beds because it listed TWO BEDS, this was a problem for us. When I asked about linens the host got rather upset with us so my attempt to try to explain that the two primary things that caused me to book this place missing was a major problem for us only upset her more.
Then when we tried to take a shower, there was no hot water. And I don’t mean the shower was Luke warm or tepid. I mean the water was ICE COLD. I’m f you tried to move it to the hot side it was a trickle of water and also ice cold. ( to be fair, the hot water was available in the morning at 630am)
When I asked about this issue the host said she had no control over the water because it was communal water. (Understood but seems very problematic for travelers to not be able to wash?) And she promptly told me she “didn’t need any trouble from me and for me to leave and make other arrangements” —this was at 11pm at night.
I told her we would NOT be leaving at 11 but asked for the refund of the other days when we left in the morning. Which she did kindly grant.
Finally, it turns out the apartment is located immediately above an after hours night club. The people in the club stand outside and drink and smoke all night—and I do mean ALL NIGHT. They finally started to leave at 5am when the club closed. But they left very drunk and noisily. I mean SCREAMING and laughing—the kind of noise you expect from a night club. We did not sleep at all all night because since there was no AC, we could not close the windows (hot June2022) and the noise was just unbelievable. Especially in the bedroom. It was slightly better in the living room where the supposed “second bed” was supposed to be.
The apt itself is OK. Yes it has lovely high ceilings and big windows, but the third reason we booked it—the washing machine—was very old and did a terrible job cleaning our clothes. I tried several different settings and only put two or three items in at a time and it still struggled.
We had asked ahead of time about a clothes iron because we had a photo shoot the second morning—the iron was very old and did not work very well—it was either too cold to iron or so hot it started to melt the clothes. Really struggled to find a medium setting. Plus the ironing board padding was so thin and squished down that the metal grid of the board itself would just imprint itself into the clothes if you were not careful to iron in just the right spot on the board (or put down a towel.
I think for a short weekend for young people who plan to be out late and like to party and don’t need AC or a washing machine, and don’t care about sleeping on the unsanitary couch with no linens, this would be a fun place for them. But for people who are on a long haul trip who need a bit of comfort, some decent rest and the chance to wash their clothes, this is not the ideal stay.
I would complain about the very thin, non absorbent towels laid out—they give you a single small bath towel—not even big enough to wrap around a large man’s body, and a single small hand towel —one set of these for each person. But to be fair so far this seems to be a European standard. Even in midscale hotels. So this was the same as all other stays we have experienced and not exactly a knock against this stay specifically.
If I could give a separate rating for the fact that the host did make everything right, I would give five stars for that (well maybe four and a half because we were told AC and it was incorrect on the listing), but as a stay, even if you don’t need or expect AC, it would only be a three or four star with the linen issue, the hot water issue and the outrageous noise issue.