Sad to say this was my first poor experience staying in an Airbnb. My sister and I had this place booked for our trip to Naxos greece, however we had several issues along the way that ultimately led to our staying elsewhere.
I’ll start by saying that the positives of this experience were:
1. The house is large and has the amenities advertised. It is also in a great central location as advertised. Compared to nearby stays you are getting more space than typical for the price. The space is also aesthetically pleasing and includes a washing machine.
2. The host is friendly and kind and when they are available for communication they are relatively easy to communicate with. They were helpful in our coordination of a rental car before the arrival of our stay.
What lead to our staying elsewhere includes:
1. Our biggest issue/concern was that after spending only 10 minutes in the unit I began to notice a strong moldy scent, especially after searching under the kitchen sink for detergent to use. Within 30 minutes my lymph nodes in my throat began to swell, my throat felt sore, and I knew there would be an issue with mold as I was having such a strong reaction during the daytime which is usually when mold is most dormant. Mold is a difficult thing to identify in homes as well as to diagnose as an issue for people, because many people do not experience mold sensitivity. However mold can be and is an issue for many people even when it is not classified as black mold, and my sister and I both have chronic illness surrounding mold sensitivity.
2. When we were checked in by the agency office we were given a brief walk-through of the unit during which we were instructed to close the bathroom floor vents after a shower, and after water had been drained into them, to prevent a foul odor that we may otherwise smell. This was strange to us as many of these drains are common in Greek bathrooms, and also benefit from drying if they remain open shortly after a shower. My sister decided to take a shower and afterwords realized that the strong smell she experienced was a moldy mildew smell. Up until this point she had not noticed or been affected by the mold I was starting to experience, but at this point we both decided it would be wise to stay elsewhere. This unit has no balcony so there is also no ideal place to dry your hanging wet clothes aside from inside the moldy unit. While we obviously could not test from mold or prove that our reaction was to mold, and while there was no visible mold present, I am speaking only from personal and extensive experience with mold through my own health journey. I recommend others with chronic illness or mold sensitivity to avoid this stay.
3. Other minor issues included the furniture being unbearably uncomfortable. My sister and I have travel to Greece over a dozen times throughout our life and are very familiar with the tough/firm mattresses. This unit also had a sofa that was advertised as a potential twin bed/3rd sleeping space as needed. The sofa in this unit and the mattress on this unit bed we’re both hard and the spring wires could be felt digging into you while sitting/laying down. I would have preferred the floor had we stayed.
4. We arrived off of the ferry to find the agency office that would check us in, and we arrived several minutes after other guests arrived to this office however that resulted in us having to wait 1.5 hours before we could be checked into our unit, which is only a two minute walk away from the office. This was not a huge deal but was an inconvenience.
5. When my sister and I realized that we could not stay in this unit we attempted to contact the host however we were not able to reach the host until later the next day. During communication about where we should return the keys to I had to ask several times and still was not engaged with about the key return until the day that they were expected back, and I found this frustrating as I have been trying to coordinate this exchange since the day of our arrival.
6. This stay does not normally have a cancellation policy, so we were grateful when our host decided to refund a portion of our expenses, stating they would only charge us $100 for the cleaning and sheets. However, we were charged 150, and when I mentioned this in messaging communication with the host, it was not acknowledged nor was the extra $50 refunded with the rest. Again, this is a minor inconvenience, however considering that we did not even stay in the unit one night and a different amount was agreed on between us, I found this frustrating and another inconvenience.
Overall, my sister and I enjoyed our time in Naxos and had no horrible experiences as we were able to find another place to stay and everything was eventually sorted, however I wouldn’t recommend this process/experience to others unless appropriate changes are made to the unit.