You will love Livia’s apartment; it is well-situated, elegant, and functional. I just feel like I should report a number of dysfunctions that made my stay more difficult than it should have been. I believe many were due to Livia’s relative unpreparedness for long-term stays as well as unawareness of certain customary AirBnB practices, such as a ‘welcome’ or ‘house rules’ document.
- the host was not there when I arrived, while it had been agreed on; she even had my flight number to make sure I wasn’t delayed. I waited in the lobby for about a half-hour, after red-eye. Likewise, she was supposed to retrieve the keys upon departure, then said it would be her partner, then no one, on last minute notice – we lost 20 minutes of sleep for naught, on departure day.
- I was informed I was in charge of watering the plants daily, which had not been specified in prior communication, either in the apartment description on AirBnB or initial correspondence or house-rules.
- the apartment was unclean – I have pictures, since those things can be ‘he said she said’ – which I was told was due to lack of cleaning time between renters. I understand, but I should not have had to clean the place on my first two days. I left it cleaner than I found it anyway.
- there were three straight weeks of ultra-noisy construction right upstairs, starting between 8 and 9, then upstairs and in an adjacent building. The host said she had not been notified about construction dates.
- I had to make an appointment to receive my mail. (I was there 6 weeks on a professional assignment so I did get mail at some point.)
- there was a heatwave and I needed a simple sheet in lieu of the comforter already on the bed. Since it was past midnight I couldn’t ask where to find one. There were none in the bedroom so I grabbed one in the closet. I later heard that was a ‘private space’ I was forbidden to enter. I had not been informed about that at all upon arrival. No House Rules were handed out so I ‘broke’ rules I had no idea about.
- the host repeatedly wanted to come in, purportedly to retrieve objects. Not a problem in itself; it is her home; but an unwarranted demand on my time and privacy, especially in the professional context of my stay. The week my computer crashed and I ran around like crazy as a consequence I could not accommodate her.
- when I got accidentally locked-out – which may happen to you too, mid you, while jetlagged etc., since auto-lock is the only option – I was told that there wasn’t one single spare key in the entire city (!)
All in all, probably a mix of bad luck on my end and unpreparedness on the host’s end. Otherwise a great place and a gracious host.