This is not what we were hoping for or expecting. We were hugely looking forward to our stay but were very disappointed.
There is no denying that this is perhaps the best located apartment I’ve ever stayed in. You couldn’t ask for better. The crew was welcoming upon check in. The apartment has character and interest. It is also huge! For a family of four it was a good sized home and gave us room to spread out. With the windows open the light is beautiful and it has some excellent period features. Just a spectacular location.
However… it feels like a place no one has shown any interest in for several years. The management company does the basics but the owners live abroad and don’t look after it. As a result it feels forgotten. Some of the reviews hint at this while some are more straightforward. But it isn’t acceptable to go on without some changes. It’s not appropriate or correct to charge people money knowing that what you’re providing is of poor quality. No one seems to care.
The place was dirty (we eventually had a refund of cleaning fee but no apology for, among other things, pubic hair on the dining table). We had to air it out all day after arriving because it smelled so dusty and musty. There is junk everywhere and many, many things are broken (lamps falling apart, shower curtain torn, lights that don’t work, coffee machine broken - I won’t provide a longer list but there is much more). My four year old had insect bites all over her body (15+) after sleeping in one of the beds; this likely wasn’t bed bugs (more likely spiders or fleas) but there is a health risk. And there is a very racist art print that a prior guest has complained about that they still haven’t removed. I covered it with a towel while we were there because I didn’t want my kids looking at it.
Perhaps most frustrating thing is that we were provided with the contact details of a manager who then never responded to our WhatsApp’s despite having read them. The check in was cursory and failed to mention the two critical aspects that would result in a fee on check out (and are only in the Airbnb listing). Basically, I felt once we were there we were locked in, and no one cared to help us.
We would have left but some of the issues revealed themselves only in time. I strongly urge the management to address the issues. A small investment of care and attention and two nights’ rental fee would be transformative for this place.