This guy is trouble.
The place is modern with the basic necessities in a great location.
However, it smelled when we arrived so we washed all the linens and towels using our detergent, mopped the floors, and cleaned the refrigerator thoroughly. We bought air fresheners and aired the place out and then it was fine. That’s a lot of unnecessary work for a rental.
There are at least four unsafe situations possible in this apartment. (1) The outside shutter does not stop when it hits an obstacle upon lowering so someone could be injured. (2) The balcony doors do not have outside handles or locks so somebody inadvertently out there when doors are locked on the inside has no recourse. (3) The door to the apartment requires a key on the inside in order to get out. If you lose the key, you’re stuck. (4) If you try to use the inside key and there is a key accidentally left in the outside lock, it won’t open. You’re stuck. (1) and (4) happened to us although the shutter hit a patio chair and not a person. Are all of these stupid things to do? Arguably yes, but they are possible inadvertent mistakes and potentially life-threatening.
Worst of all is the attitude of the host. We still have two issues in dispute with him. He does not accept responsibility for his decisions. When the shutter didn’t stop and the switch for it was non-responsive, it broke some internal plastic pieces and the shutter remained closed (for two weeks until he fixed it). We maintained that this was working improperly but he wanted to charge us for the repair. He requested 40 euros even though he only paid 30 for the parts. We paid 30 because the amount was small just to settle the matter, but he still wants 10 more for parts he planned to purchase later.
The other dispute is over a missing key. He did not want to be present when we checked out at 8:30am so he agreed we could leave one key in the mailbox. Even though we followed the agreed-upon check-out procedure to the letter (and had no other choice) he wants to charge us 500 euros to replace the lock he was planning to fix anyway because of the inside-lock defect mentioned above. Again, his justification for 500 euros was prospective (“anticipated expenses”) and not documented costs.
Basically he doesn’t accept responsibility for his problems and is very litigious. Set aside extra funds if you stay here.