Unfortunately I had my first bad experience with an Airbnb host and accommodation.
Prior to the stay, communication with the host was good. They also allowed us access 2 hours early which I was very grateful for as we had heavy backpacks.
The bad experience began when I asked for another bath towel as their was only one bath towel and one hand towel. They said that they received the pictures from the maid and that there are two bath towels. When I said that they aren’t both full sized the response was “I'm not sure what to answer you. We use the same towels with all guests and have never had any such feedback.” My partner and I ended up sharing a towel.
When we arrived, the dishes had been put away with food stains on and were stacked wet. I cleaned all the dishes myself before we used any. The ikea stickers washed right off when I ran the hot water, indicating to me that they had never been cleaned. There was also a stain on the bed sheets.
Lastly, the view is not the same as the one in the posting. You can see the Eiffel Tower but it is much further away and you can only see the top. When I mentioned this discrepancy and that the picture in the posting is purposely misleading, the host had the audacity to send me a link to the hotel that has that view and told me that I just “need to enjoy my weekend in Paris” and “if you don’t like the apartment you can go to the [hotel]”. We chose the apartment for the view and I was quite upset that it was different than the host advertised.
At this point I decided to put in a complaint and request for partial refund. The host declined the refund and said that “Not everything is perfect but don't spoil the stay by searching for any mistakes I might have made” and that I need to “stop this bad mindset”.
The next morning they had a change of heart and offered for the cleaner to bring us new towels and new sheets. At this point we had already shared a towel, cleaned the dishes and slept on the stained sheets. We have had no refund or apology for our experience with the host. They offered to refund us at 10:30 pm, if we left but with such a short time in Paris I didn’t want find a new place and move our things across town at 10:30 pm. An easy solution would have been to bring us another bath towel, a new bottom sheet and refund me the small cleaning fee for having to clean on arrival.
Overall, if this apartment were correctly advertised and run by a host who handled issues well it has potential to be a great Airbnb. I have stayed in Paris accommodation with similar prices and in better locations before. I wouldn’t stay with this host again and hope this review helps others make an informed decision with the right expectations before booking.