Had it been communicated about the Milan Occupancy Tax, I think our entire trip had been different, but the lack of communication about this and circumstances that happened to us before we ever arrived at Umberto’s place all combined to be an unpleasant experience.
Upon arriving in Milan, we had been profiled and also asked for cash in order to not receive tickets for our transportation we had done incorrectly though we did all through transportation staff.
When we arrived at Umberto’s location and again asked for cash for a debt not communicated through airbnb, I was on guard which distorted the entire experience, unfortunately.
When my companion departed early, I felt very uneasy in the city and needed to leave promptly. It did not seem like Umberto understood my reasoning and took it as rude, which I did not intend. But as a woman traveling internationally at this time by myself, it was much more important to feel safe and secure in my surroundings which was not at this location.
When I altered my itinerary, Umberto promptly declined though he never responded to my question about the question for cash on site. I then cancelled my trip and Umberto’s tone with me quickly changed and became increasingly condescending and upset about not knowing about the tax. Again, had I known this was protocol it would’ve been fine, but on top of other issues, this combined into an unsettling environment that felt like we were being taken advantage of. I do not fault Umberto for this just wish he would have made this explicitly clear in the description.
Lastly, we received the black and white room which was different than our originally booked Gold room, but at this point in time, it feels irrelevant.
I am sure under different circumstances, this would’ve been a nice stay, but this was not my experience.