The good: the flat is great! A huge space with 3 bedrooms (1 large, 1 medium and 1 smaller room). It’s located in a central area, walking distance to the Spree River and Reichstag Building.

All rooms have a comfy bed, closet space and dark curtains. The kitchen is stocked with everything you need to cook a meal at home (which we did) and space for supplies. The living room is comfy and has ample seating and dining room.

The bad: initial communication with the host was fine – they responded quickly to queries and we booked. I emailed 5 days prior to arrival to confirm key pickup and check-in but received no response (no phone number is posted on the confirmation or ad). I emailed again the morning before arrival with no response throughout the day. We were getting worried so we contacted Airbnb who also did not have a phone number for the host (how could they not?), and couldn’t provide much assistance beyond cancelling the reservation if the host didn’t respond. As we were getting worried we contacted other properties as a backup (a last minute booking for 4 people and 4 nights is not easy). I’ve used many Airbnb properties and never experienced similar poor communication or stress. The host finally responded after dinner time the night before arrival and offered no apology or explanation for the delay.

The ugly: I always confirm Airbnb bookings have wifi (a business necessity). On arrival, the internet didn’t work and an offer to fix the issue was made only for the last full day of our stay. While this may seem like a small detail, using roaming data cost the group £100 over the weekend. I’ve seen other owners have short term solutions (mobile wifi etc) but nothing was offered.
Overall, the flat is nice is great but the host’s poor communication (and lack of phone number!) and wifi issues left us with a negative impression.