It is the first time we have used Airbnb and when we arrived at the apartment it was run down with damaged furniture, not as clean as I would expect and clearly had a damp problem with damp showing on a number of walls, and there was a smell of sewerage in the bathroom from the drains. A number of dehumidifiers were left in apartment being run constantly and a number of windows left open.
There was a clear instruction in the apartment that at least two windows had to be left open at least an hour a day to prevent the smell of the damp/drains becoming an issue. This detail and the warning of the presence of damp and need for constant dehumidifiers to dry it out is not mentioned anywhere in description.
Given we are only in the apartment for a few hours a day we decided to grin and bear it, perhaps our expectations for use of Airbnb instead of a hotel were too high.
The first night we left the luggage in the apartment and left eth windows open, the smell was present but bearable.
The second day we spent our returning from a concert around 1.30 am. The windows had been open in the morning before we left, but we closed them when we went out knowing we would be out until the early hours. This is a basement apartment so the windows are at floor level or below and leaving the windows open until the early hours presents a security risk.
On our return the smell in apartment was overwhelming, the combination of the drains and the smell of damp meant the whole place smelt awful. There was little we could do at that time in the morning other than open all windows and tolerate the smells as best we could.
The next morning, we decided enough was enough, so we searched for a hotel and we moved out.
Looking back now through the various reviews for this apartment it is clear we are not the first people that have experienced problems with the smell and damp. Knowing the apartment has such a problem the owners should be upfront and warn of the need for dehumidifiers, the windows must be left open etc.
It is a shame because the apartment is in a great locations with good transport links.