Horrible – Catfish – Stay Away
The place is at least 10 YEARS OLDER than the photos.
See for yourself in this Google Photos album I’ve put together here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eQ85AFsVr8TbaSgc9
Nothing is anywhere near as good as what the photos show:
- The couch is old, stained, worn out, and unclean (it was covered by a blanket to hide those facts when I arrived)
- The living room rug is DISGUSTING
- The toilet flushes leaks and flushes every 5 to 10 minutes which makes it super fun to try and sleep at night
- The washing machine's door is BROKEN, so my clothes got stuck in there for 5 DAYS (because Pierre didn't feel like helping out)
- The windows are old and so there is no sound insulation at all; you can hear people having conversations in the street; the shutters for the "2nd bedroom" and the kitchen are BROKEN so you can’t close them to try and reduce some of the street noise
- The apartment is not well appointed AT ALL: there was NO TOILETRIES (not even body wash); NO SUPPLIES in the kitchen (no paper towels, no can opener, etc) unless you count the broken tea infuser and the can of tea that expired on January 2019 (two+ years ago); NO DETERGENT for the washing machine
- The bathroom was NOT CLEAN, LONG BLACK HAIRS all over the place, and a DISGUSTING bathroom rug
- The light over the bathroom sink constantly flashes (I hope you’re not epileptic)
- At first, half of the TV channels had image but no sound, a few days later the Orange cable box JUST WOULDN’T TURN ON at all anymore => NO TV
- The faucet in the kitchen is not fully secured to the sink (you read that right), making it “fun” to use
After I reported all these issues to Pierre, he sent a “repairman” on Saturday morning, who came in looked around for about 5 minutes, and then told me that he was not a repairman, couldn’t fix any of the issues, and all he could do was take away the bathroom rug as he agreed it was FILTHY.
Notes on the “washing machine saga”:
- Sunday December 12th: I immediately sent an email to Pierre when I realised I couldn't get my clothes out of the washer and attempted to call him (he did not answer his phone).
- Monday December 13th: Pierre came to the apartment at 7pm and just like me he wasn't able to open the washer. When he failed to open the washing machine he asked me if I had a piece of string, which I found odd, and to which I replied no. Pierre asked me when a “specialist” could come by to open the washer. I explained to him that I was in Paris on a work assignment (something I had already mentioned to him in our earlier messages when I first booked the apartment), and so it would have to be after work hours, so at the earliest 6pm. He responded saying that the “specialist” would come on Tuesday December 14th between 6pm and 7pm.
- Tuesday December 14th: I left work early to be sure I'd be at the apartment when the “specialist” came, but no one ever came.
- Wednesday December 15th: I sent Pierre a message via Airbnb to let him know the “specialist” had not come. Pierre NEVER RESPONDED.
- Wednesday December 15th: at 4:20pm I got a phone call from someone saying they were Pierre's assistant and they asked me if I would be able to be at the apartment that night at 6pm (so an hour and forty minutes later). I explained that I wouldn't be able to be at the apartment at 6pm as this was too short of a notice, that I was working, and that I had meetings until 7pm that day.
- Wednesday December 15th: After this phone conversation with Pierre's assistant I immediately sent Pierre a message via Airbnb explaining again why I wouldn't be able to make such a short notice appointment. Pierre NEVER RESPONDED.
- Thursday December 16th: STILL NO MESSAGE from Pierre, no appointment to fix (or at least open) the washing machine, and my wet clothes have been stuck in the washer for 4 days at that point.
- Friday December 17th: still no message from Pierre, and my clothes have now been stuck in the washer for 5 days. I am running out of clean clothes and have no way of washing them since the washer is broken. I have again messaged Pierre via Airbnb but NO RESPONSE.
- Friday December 17th: as per an Airbnb case manager’s advice I started a Resolution Center procedure to ask for my money back. I guess THAT got Pierre’s attention because he wrote back asking when he could come with a “specialist” that day, and we agreed on meeting at 6pm.
- Friday December 17th: at 6pm Pierre shows up, by himself, with no “specialist” in sight. He proceeds to tell me that it’s really hard to get the “specialist” to come out at 6pm, but that he spoke to him and the “specialist” explained to him how to open the washing machine’s door. Then he pulls out a spool of kitchen string… He bends in front of the washing machine and opens it in 2 seconds. Once he gets up I point out that it’s interesting that he opened it with a piece of string and I remind him that he had asked me if I had some string on Monday night. I ask him what that’s about, and he says that on Monday he had looked at a video online and had found out that he would be able to open the washer’s door with a piece of string.
So which is it?
Did he watch the video on Monday and found out how to open it, or is it the “specialist” that