We were rather shocked upon arriving at Geoffrey’s AirBnB for our month-long stay. The reviews looked promising, the photos were airy, clean, and bright. Despite the immediate and professional communication from Geoffrey’s hosting team, we were rather disappointed with the actual apartment compared to what the listing described.
The location was incredibly dirty. It appeared that the cleaning crew did a bare-minimum effort. Although towels and linens were clean, we found food scraps in the oven, the countertops were sticky and had clearly not been properly wiped down. The hand railing upstairs and multiple locations on the walls needed to be repainted due to the dark grime and dirt left over from heavy use. There were cob-webs on the ceiling. The couch was dirty and covered with blankets to conceal it. The cords to the TV were dangling and untidy. We found the glassware to also be poorly cleaned.
One of the dressers upstairs had been moved down stairs. There was a desk and chair present which were not in the original description. It was a nice addition but given the apartment was so small, it took up vital room.
The rug in the listing photo is not there anymore. There are Venetian blinds on the window which cannot be adjusted nor rolled up. There is dust and unidentifiable stains on all the light fixtures and floor. Lastly the coffee tables (not in the listing photos) we’re either wobbly or broken.
I realize it is out of the owner’s control, but when you enter the general building, the trash room is immediately to your right and has no door. As a result, the smell is overwhelming and not welcoming.
The lights in the hallways leading to the apartment are automatic or controlled via sometimes working switch. We often found ourselves fumbling in the dark to navigate the hallways.
The noise outside is loud but to be expected due to the location near night life. We thoroughly enjoyed the proximity to Lyon’s best restaurants and entertainment.
Finally, the drain in the shower is almost entirely clogged. Your shower will end quickly as you must turn off the water before it floods into the bathroom. This was the deciding factor for us to leave and book a hotel.
I’m certain most of these issues will be remediated as this apartment appears to be an efficiency studio for those on a budget, in a popular area. Also, Geoffrey’s team was very communicative and offered free cleaning as well as repairs. We however expected all of these issues to be addressed before our arrival.
We ended up leaving after the first two days because we could not manage the disappointment nor “tough it out”. Perhaps our standards are too high, or we expect a certain level of consistency between the listing and reality.
While the hosting owner was quick to respond and offered the cleaning and repairs, they were not accommodating to any cancellation or refunds.
Geoffrey also looked me up on LinkedIn which was unnerving.
We took the issue to AirCover and resolved it with AirBnB.
Buyer beware.