This is the longest and least flattering AirBnb review I’ve ever written, but it is completely honest, and I am writing it because at this price point you should be able to expect SO MUCH BETTER. Full disclosure: my husband and I ran our own AirBnb in California Wine Country out of our home for three years. I loved the idea that we could share our home with others (it had a large, attached in-law unit with separate entry) and make a little money on the side, but we also took it very seriously – the space was immaculate, loaded with amenities, and we responded to guests within an hour. And we use AirBnb a fair amount, a lot more since moving to Europe. The problem now is that most of these spaces are owned by investors and managed by rando guest services companies who are just collecting a fee and don’t care about guest experience. Frankly, I’m seriously leaning back toward hotels because at least then I know I can easily check-in and get help when I need it. Plus, if you’re using a service to manage your apartment, you should be up front about it – I know everyone does it, but it looks duplicitous. And now, our review…
When asked for bag accommodation we were referred to a local service called Nanny Bag. While Nanny bag is a wholly separate business, the owner and/or his management company should find a better resource. The woman working in the dry cleaner was incredibly rude – like beyond “I-live-in-a-big-city-and-hate-tourists” rude and the place was a train wreck with clothing piled to the ceiling and a pair of suitcases tossed in a corner. Without ever getting off the phone call she was on, she mouthed "reservation" which we showed her. She flung open the gate to behind the counter and pointed to where she wanted us to drop them. She never offered any kind of claim check or receipt for our bags, but with 5 hours until check-in and no other options, we left our bags there and crossed our fingers they'd be there when we came back.
PRO TIP: read the very long and involved directions for retrieving the apartment keys BEFORE you attempt to access the apartment – DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO THIS FROM YOUR PHONE. Like most AirBnbers, I rely heavily on the app for directions, checking in and general communication. Joffrey is using an abysmal management service called Check My Guest (CMG), which bounces their communication between the AirBnb app, my personal email address, and external links – which FTR, I think AirBnb highly discourages.
When we arrived at the apartment, I tapped the link in the AirBnb message, and it sent me to a site outside of AirBnb where CMG provides you with directions to access the keys. The directions on this site are broken up over several screens, and even though you've arrived at the address displayed on the AirBnb reservation, the first direction you read is to go to a different address to get the keys. This might lead you to believe that they sent you the wrong directions; alas no. Apparently, either the owner or CMG have decided that it is unsafe to install lockboxes for the apartment keys where the apartment is actually located. PRO TIP: To see ALL the steps in their completely convoluted access process, swipe left on the external site CMG sends you to. Our Access Adventure involved first arriving at the apartment location, calling the service to be told that I needed to go to a second location two blocks away, use a pass code for the door, walk to the end of the row of mailboxes (mind you this is at night and if I hadn't already lived in Europe/on the East Coast (i.e., in very old buildings) I would not have known how to turn on the lights in the entry way or staircase). At the end of the mailboxes there are 5-7 different lockboxes attached to it. The photo in CMG’s directions showed a Masterlock key box with a huge D on it in green pen. And while there were two Masterlock key boxes, NEITHER of them had the elusive green D on it, only a tiny white label with the address printed on it (and god love ya if you can read 8 point font in dim light at night, but at 51 it was rough for me). MORE FUN: BOTH lock boxes displayed the address on our AirBnb reservation (I’m assuming this is because the agency manages more than one apartment in the building). Based on our reservation and the directions couldn't tell which one I should open, so I tried combination on the first lock box twice with no luck, then tried the second box and finally accessed the keys.
So, if you're keeping track, we've now been to two separate addresses, we’ve entered two different access codes, played Masterlock box roulette, and entered lockbox combos three times, all in the dark (while needing to pee). Keys finally in hand, we headed back to the apartment where you actually stay, we press in the access code, use the key for the gate, and remember it's totally dark... so again, if you're not used to living in Europe, the East Coast (U.S.) or have never used a storage facility, you need to flip the switch at the foot of the stairs to light your way. At the top of the stairs the directions state that it's the door on the left, except... well, there are actually three doors at the top of the stairs and the photo provided is not helpful. For you playing along at home, it's actually the second door from the left or the middle door of three. We rang the buzzer of the door on the left and no one answered so we tried the key and no luck, we repeated this clever trick on the second door