What started off with a positive impression ended on a negative note. Unfortunately this is not our first bad experience with Air BnB or an apartment rental agency in Lyon.
My warning to those renting this space- go through the apartment entirely taking inventory of each item and its functionality via photos and emails to the rental company- so you don’t get trapped in a situation like we did during our stay.
Upon first arrival- the location and space was nice. Warning to those with luggage- the stairwell is a narrow and old one- with no elevator.
Location of the apartment is in Vieux Lyon- a great area for tourists. With access to many restaurants etc. A note would be- it is a very very noisy street. Closing the windows does not do anything in terms of the noise from the bar below- so bring something to block the sound if it will be an issue for you. As another note- there is a curry shop that connects directly into the secured stairwell of the building- it didn’t pose any major issues- but the door was always open due to this- so not the most safe in terms of who has access to the building.
Upon arrival we were greeted, and presented with the keys, and told of the excellent tv with functioning internet connection. After unpacking suitcases, and attempting to connect many times to the internet- we realised there was a serious problem. We called the guest assistance number multiple times- attempting different solutions- but nothing worked. They had told us they were shocked as they had never had an issue- our greeter had even mentioned that everything was working correctly when we had arrived- so we thought it odd.
To make a long story short- we were without internet the first 2/3 days until a technician had been booked. We had no internet to check any information online for our trip- or to contact family. You can imagine this was extremely inconvenient.
I had also warned the rental company I had to work from the apartment the one day- so to please have the issue resolved. The issue was of course not resolved- and I lost an afternoon of the trip sitting with a technician checking the wires of the apartment. For those who don’t speak a bit of French- it would have been a real challenge. He mentioned in the end that the issue was the renovation work they had done in the apartment- it had severed the connection cable. What a fuss for nothing.
We excitedly went to go try the TV once the man had left, and realised this was not functioning either. I messaged guest services to ask if they had stored any batteries in the apartment- alas they had not- so we went to purchase some at the store.
We were exhausted by this point- but had always maintained a polite tone with the guest service staff- as we just wanted to have a nice and stress free trip. Even with missing a day of work.
However, the battle was not yet finished. Our departure day arrived- we took extra care to follow all clean up instructions- putting sheets together for the cleaning staff, cleaning and sorting dishes away and so on. I took some photos of the finished rooms- to show them everything was clean and in order. They said thank you for the considerable efforts and we left the key of the room in the hands of the cleaning woman who arrived shortly after us.
We had realised we forgot a small container in the fridge once we had left and messaged the apartment staff to see if we could fetch it. Something we had meant to pack last moment to keep it fresh. It contained a few eggs we had just purchased. We were put in touch with the lady who was cleaning the apartment- and to summarise a long story- we apologised for forgetting this item in the fridge and she said it was no issue. We wished her a great weekend- and our conversation ended around 45 minutes after check out of the apartment. She mentioned nothing further- no broken vacuums- which would become the topic shortly.
The next day I received an email- stating we had shattered the handle of an old vacuum and the apartment rental agency wanted 100 EUR. I had explained to them we had never used this vacuum, and it was not us who had caused the damage. They didn’t listen nor care. It was so frustrating to receive this after all the effort we had put into being great guests- through all the issues. I had even taken photos of how great we had left the place- to which they had thanked me. Yet I had not thought to look through the closet that we rarely opened at the back to the old vacuum we had never touched. I had no idea how the handle was shattered.
If it had been due to us- I would have been in contact, and at minimum cleaned up the plastic pieces around the machine on the floor. As I had never noticed it- or used the machine once- I have no clue how this was done. The machine is a dusty old one of about 30EUR value at max- but I suppose by charging us they get a new one for free. We already fixed the internet connection issues- so I suppose they want more/ and to reduce their renovation budget. I hope with this new vacuum they have demanded they choose to clean under the bed and couch- which looks like it hasn’t been done in a decade.
Please take note of everything with photos when you stay here.
This fairly good stay turned negative by the end- and I do not wish you the same ending to your trip.
Obviously keep all messages, texts, and photos you take- as you never know when