From the outset Katarina was very good at communicating and replying to e-mails.

I am surprised with the experience we went through upon arrival in Berlin, and I am not entirely sure if the blame lies with the owner or the management organisation.

I arranged for five of use to have a nice relaxing time in Berlin on the lead up to Christmas. Upon arrival we had to attend a central office in order to collect the apartment keys. The staff appeared not to know about the reservation and at one point I was concerned we would have nowhere to stay! We were eventually handed some apartment keys and upon entering the property it was clearly not the apartment I had originally booked and paid for. It was disgusting. The bathroom smelt of plumbing issues (this did go after the first day), the carpet was full of large stains, the dining room table couldn’t be used for meals as it was unstable and the main bed was extremely uncomfortable, due to the fact the springs had actually come through the mattress.

I contacted Katarina who said the apartment we had booked had a water leak so we had been placed in alternative accommodation. Due to Katarina’s good communication form the outset, I found it very odd that not once had we been warned about this, we were not informed by the management staff on arrival and at no time given any options, i.e. cancel.

Upon returning the accommodation keys and mentioning the water leak to the team, they appeared not to know about the leak. I did feel that we were not receiving the complete truth, as a water leak is quite substantial it would seem obvious to inform a potential renter of this. Maybe the apartment was double booked! As highlighted at the beginning, I am unsure whether this would lie with Katrina or the company she uses.

I did contact Katarina and received about 25% back, but given the choice, we would not have stayed there at all.

This review is therefore not a reflection on the noted booking as unfortunately we never got to stay there!