I wish I could write a stellar review, but this stay was so profoundly awful. Given her Superhost status and positive reviews left by other guests, we were excited about our stay in Paris. Instead, what we got was an inaccurate and misleading description of her Airbnb. Not only that, but our host was hostile, vile and dishonest.
When we reached out to let her know our train was cancelled and we had to rent a car to drive across the country to reach her Airbnb in time, she began gaslighting us. She told us that she could not be there in person to give us the key, like she usually does. We had to go to a second location to pick up our key. She was demanding and aggressive in her messages to us regarding our arrival. When we arrived (within the check-in window) and picked up the keys, we messaged her so she could help us get into the unit. She stopped returning our messages and we were stuck in her building, not knowing which apartment/unit was hers or how to get there. After multiple message attempts AND phone calls, we contacted Airbnb support and only then did Julia return our call to tell us how to get into her apartment.
In the Airbnb ad, Julia mentioned that there would be a doorman *and* building staff to assist us. There was no one.
She said there was an elevator, but the elevator did not function properly most of the time. It took us 30 minutes to get the elevator to work initially. It failed to work again when we tried to leave the unit to go to dinner. We had to locate the windy, small and dirty stairwell that was so dimly lit that it was hard to see. It was scary. The elevator failed again in the morning when we decided to cancel our stay.
The photos in Julia's ad are deceiving. It is MUCH smaller than the photos show. It is approximately a 10 x 10 space, with everything (kitchen, shower, bathroom, bed, table all in one room. There is no curtain for privacy to use the bathroom. (There is a bathroom off of the hallway, but it was filthy and there were dead bugs on the floor. When we told the host about the state of the bathroom, she denied there was even a bathroom and told us we were liars.)
We heard mice/rats in the walls in the middle of the night, which didn't surprise me because there was a large, black mouse/rat trap box right outside the door to the unit. (Julia also told me that I should tell my problems to the rats and accused me of lying.)
We decided to cut our losses and cancel our reservation knowing that we would only get a 50% refund for the remaining days. We cancelled online through the app, called Julia and returned the key the next morning, but because of an Airbnb loophole in favor of the host and not the guest, Julia refused to honor her cancellation policy and refund us for the five remaining, unused days.
I would avoid this at all costs. She sounds wonderful on the front end, but if there are any complications whatsoever, Julia is unable to own anything and make it right for her guest. This was the worst Airbnb experience I've ever had (and I have had some really bad experiences).