Considering what you have to pay for a two bedroom apartment elsewhere in Berlin, this place is a treasure. It’s located in a green and quiet part of the city and is nicely decorated, with details like Berlin-mugs to drink your coffee out of. The dishwasher and the rainshower also are a big plus, as are the free bicycles that come with the appartment. You’ll need them, because it’s a 15 minute walk to the nearest S-Bahn station.
As is the case with everything that sounds too good to be true, this place comes with a price. Let’s just say owner Hans is quite a character. The retired engineer started to rent out the first floor of his house, because he likes the company. And once he starts talking, he simply doesn’t stop.
To make matters worse, Hans is highly opinionated. He has something to say about almost everything, including his guests (past and present). When we went to ask him for some extra towels, he wasn’t home so we sent him a textmessage through the Airbnb-app. He showed up at the door later that evening to tell us we weren’t getting those towels and took almost two hours (!) of our time to lecture us on the effect showering has on the environment and that we shouldn’t expect this kind of service for the money we were paying.
Needless to say, we repeatedly tried to get out of that conversation, which we experienced as very uncomfortable. But being polite got us nowhere so in the end, we had to shut the door on him. A door that cannot be locked; although the complete first floor is yours, you can only lock the two bedrooms (which wasn’t an option for us, while our 2 year old daughter was staying in the other room).
Although the owner is outspoken, his advert fails to mention that the house is still under construction. The back side was in scaffolding and it isn’t hard to see why: the plaster is crumbling and the windowframes are rotten. Hans tries to fix everything himself but doesn’t seem to have the time to do so. This also shows inside the apartment, which isn’t thoroughly cleaned. There’s dust in the corners, mold in the shower and crumbles in the cupboards.
At least the problems with the house can be fixed and if Hans adds some curtains to his pleated blinds (so you don’t wake up when the sun rises, as our daughter did), this appartment will truly be a gem. Hans will still be Hans though. If you’re looking for a nice place to stay and don’t mind spending a serious amount of time speaking with - or rather: listening to - the owner, look no further. If that’s not the case, please continue searching.