We are seasoned airbnb users and have never had any issues in all the places (private and business hosts) we have stayed in over the years. Planning a long held first trip to Paris and having had to cancel the trip several times before, when Alfred's place came up at a relatively busy time of year, we booked an 8 day stay. Although we read the reviews and noted the ones about issues of cleanliness we also noted these had been written a few years ago and recent ones were positive. Unfortunately for us, immediately on arrival the apartment did not measure up to the description at all and the old reviews about cleanliness proved to be true. Firstly there is no mention of the issues of the narrow staircase - common in Paris we know but should be mentioned in the description for those with mobility issues, large luggage, children and prams. On entry the air in the apartment is stale and musty; the decor was very tired with peeling paint (description says completely renovated - maybe but when?); door in the bathroom and ceiling had remains of splash and spill of something we don't know what but it was dirty and should have been wiped down: everytime you went to the bathroom you were faced with looking at these unsightly stains. The "well equipped bathroom" as desribed by the host had a handheld showerhead that was completely broken with water gushing out into the ceiling; no instruction booklet to show us where extra sheets/towels were; where to get rid of rubbish, find extra sheets etc. Opening the fridge was no better: left over food and dirty fridge surfaces. The apartment offers an oven but it was too dirty to use. No Nespresso maching as offered in the description. We did not want to use anything and any cutlery we did use had to be washed as they were dirty from the drawers. Washing machine dispensers were filthy with mould. The worst part was yet to come: ash tray overflowing with cigarette butts and dirty tissues on the bathroom sill and the plant boxes in the front sills also strewn with cigarette butts and old tissues. Everytime we tried to look out of the windows we were faced with this disgusting scene and smell of cigarette butts. We tried to look for alternative accommodation but there was nothing available. Finally out of despair of living in what we felt was a particularly unclean environment, sending the host photographic evidence, we decided to ask for a small reduction and refund which was returned to us immediately. Alfred did say his cleaner had obviously not been but this level of dirt is evidence a cleaner had not been in some time and it is the host's responsibility to ensure the apartment is suitable and well prepared for guests. We definitely tried to make the best of it for the remaining 4.5 days but it was disappointing to say the least that despite the reduction (mainly for the "cleaning") the host did not immediately have someone come and clean the place while we were there, which was our complaint. Alfred also explained this was the first time that the situation had come up (not sure if this was referring to the partial refund or cleanliness comments) but reviews tell us otherwise. Most importantly for other guests, we believe as airbnb users that whether it is a private host or a business, this is a financial transaction and it should be viewed in a more professional manner. We worked hard for this holiday and it was marred by the lack of care for guests and what we put out financially for the holiday. We did not go on holiday to deal with problematic issues . The positives are: location is good and host's communications were good. Finally, for the host and more importantly guest users of airbnb the description of what is being offered needs to be updated alongside ensuring basic cleanliness is taken into account when offering a space, as reflected in this review and reviews of this place since 2017.