This host single-handedly ruined my whole trip to France. I have never had such a bad experience traveling, and I travel a lot, and at least once a year to Paris. I had spent days prior to selecting a lodging and booked it a month ahead. I have two service dogs (very small), so it's not easy finding a place, as other countries do not have the same laws for service dogs as in the US.
I was facing issues with transportation (due to covid schedule changes) and had asked the host if they would refund the first day, as I was having trouble arriving on that day. The answer was no. I said I understood and would make every effort to arrive on the first day, as I didn't want to have to pay lodging at two different places. The host said the place would be ready and as it was self service entry, it did not matter what time arrived. So, I paid extra money (I think about 80 Euros) to find a way to get back on the original day, thinking I would have had to pay at least that to stay elsewhere anyway.
Check in is at 3 PM. At about 4:20 PM, the host messages me in Airbnb asking what time I'd arrive. I let them know I was arriving at 5 PM. He wrote back saying "We have a big worry then as our usual cleaninglady as fallen sick so she sends her sister who gets there only in an hour as well.” They suggested I drop off my bags and go grab coffee somewhere until the place is clean and send them the bill. Alarms started going on in my head as I recalled some canceled reservations by the host (likely by people that arrived and refused to stay) and comments from other guests stating how the place was not clean or was being cleaned after they had arrived. They had already refused me arriving the next day, but did not bother getting the place ready and were contacting me over an hour past the published check in time to tell me the place would not be ready for at least another 2 hours (1 hour for the cleaning person to arrive, a minimum of another hour to clean and dis-infect the place due to covid issues, was the logical assumption). I replied saying I would be concerned about leaving my belongings in a place that had not yet been cleaned and sanitized, due to covid concerns. I do have health issues and I could not chance it. I stated that I would rather stay at the train station and arrive once the place is clean and sanitized and they could credit me the hours for which the place is not yet ready. As soon as I said this, the host wrote back saying it was not an issue anymore, the place was clean and ready for me to arrive. I questioned the math about the timing and how was the place magically clean in minutes when the cleaning lady was not arriving for at least another hour and it should take at least an hour to clean and dis-infect. They replied they had messaged the manager in the building and there was a local cleaning person that had addressed the cleaning and it would be ready by 5 PM, less than 40 minutes from the time they had first contact me. It was a big BIG LIE, of course. I had been awake since before 5 AM and on the road from before 6 AM that morning, so I wanted to believe the place was ready and I could just get in and crash.
I arrive at the place around 6:30-7:00 PM after getting all my luggage out of the station and waiting in a very long taxi queue. A quick scan of the main room and didn’t even open the bathroom door. I noticed right away that the bed linens were soiled, stained, and used! I couldn’t stay long, had to rush take the dogs for a walk as they had not relieved themselves for hours, but red flags started flying. I still tried to talk myself into, maybe it was just ONE MISS. Not good, but no big deal, I’ll ask for clean sheets! Grabbed the fridge door and opened it to put some food in it, the fridge door was sticky & I had to wash my hands (gross)! We rushed out and I messaged the host letting them know, and stated that I had not even had a chance to check the bathroom yet, but I was hoping it was clean, but that in the less than 5 minutes that I was there, the sheets were used, soiled, and stained and that the kitchen was dirty and the fridge filthy with sticky stuff on the door and inside! They were refusing clean sheets and I had to argue with them for a while about the condition of the bed-linens until they agreed to send someone to drop off sheets. They said they couldn’t, that they were 3 hours away.
They asked if the person could go inside, I said no I had the key and with my computer and personal belongings inside, I didn’t want anyone to enter the place in my absence. When I got back, there was a shopping bag with a set of sheets and 2 towels, one bath and one hand towel, a dish-towel that looked more like a dirty rag in a bag in front of the door. The hand towel looked like it had been used to clean the floors and was a light gray, rather than white anymore!
I opened the bathroom door and nearly threw up! Not only was NOTHING in this apartment sanitized with covid guidelines, it was clear the place had not been cleaned for a long time! I grabbed a piece of toilet paper to open the