I recently stayed in Athens, Greece with an Airbnb listing hosting by Stravos at Lux Studios. Unfortunately, my stay at this listing was abundant in issues. Please note, I have only ever had one other issue with an Airbnb listing. I am typically a very easy guest, give positive reviews to my host, and receive highly positive reviews from my host. It is ultra-rare that I complain, but in this situation, I really must.
The problems I experienced with Stravos are as follows.
1. Lack of Communication:
I sent a message to Stravos 4 days before my stay with him at his listing. Within that message, I had asked to discuss the possibility of modifying my reservation as some of my airline travel plans were shifting. I was passed the point of receiving a refund in anyway, but wanted to explore my options with Stravos. Rather than responding to me with information about my options or even answering with a simple "no", Stravos completely ignored me and never responded to my message. I find this unprofessional, especially given his status as a "Super-Host"
2. Check-in:
The check-in process for Stravos's listing was truly the worst I have ever experienced with Airbnb.
I arrived at the apartment building on time. Stravos sent me a link to press which was meant to activate the opening of the front door. Said link did not operate properly and I was trapped outside in the rain, unable to enter the building. When I called Stravos to inform him of the situation, he yelled at me about using the aforementioned link to open the door. When I reiterated to him that I had tried the link 10+ times to no avail, he sounded very annoyed with me and told me to wait until one of his friends could come to my aid.
I was eventually let into the building by another tenant and made my way to my room which I was meant to enter via a door code. The keypad for the code did not work and I was once again trapped outside in the hallway. His friend eventually arrived and had to reset the keypad for us to be able to enter.
It was an extremely frustrating experience which was exacerbated by Stravos and his friend's negative attitude toward me via phone and in person.
3. Hot Water:
Stravos's listing boasts of a wonderful apartment with great amenities including a beautiful shower with hot water, which I imagine to be quite standard. I will say that the apartment is beautifully done with materials and design, but I was unlucky in not having hot water. In the morning before my long return flight, the hot water did not work in the shower. I had to take an ice cold shower before I began the 24+ hour journey from Athens to my home in California.
In summary, this experience was very negative. Again, I am not an Airbnb user who regularly complains, causes issues, or requests refunds, but this was a situation I feel compelled to be brutally honest about. I hope others have better experience with Stravos than I had.