Booked for 3 nights. Really looking forward to it, as the photos and reviews were great. Turned up at 4:30pm on first day. Check-in via key in lock box was fine. Realised immediately that there was not a single drop of running water in the apartment. Messaged host to ask why. Then realised they had messaged us earlier in the day to say that the water in Ortigia had been turned off. We had been sightseeing in Noto all day and so had not picked up any messages.
The host's wife, Caroline, came to the apartment ... they live in the apartment below. She explained that the authorities sometimes turn the water off and the last time was 2 years ago, but she had spoken to people 'in the know' and they told her it should be back on in the afternoon the following day. Well, understandably, we were stressed about this. No running water to flush toilets, have a shower etc. It was going to be very hard going ... hardly a relaxing, luxurious break.
I explained that even though I appreciated it was not their fault, the apartment was not offering basic hygiene facilities (ie no running water) and so we'd require a refund for the days there was no running water. Caroline seemed to appreciate our point, but said she would have to pass it by Lorenzo, as she had no say in the matter.
She went away and returned explaining that Lorenzo would give a refund for the next day, but not for that first day. Lorenzo then arrived. I could see he was annoyed. No pleasantries, just a frustrated host. He spoke in Italian and Caroline translated (as she was originally from London). He said he'd refund the next day if the water was not on, but would not refund that first day/night, as we had only just arrived and not been there the whole day.
That made no sense to us, as the official check-in was not until 4pm that afternoon. We'd have to go the whole evening and night without flushing the toilet, without showering etc. I said I did not agree and he simply replied that if we didn't agree, we should leave. Leave? I was shocked. I was travelling with my 20 year old daughter. It was going to be dark in 2 hours. Where on earth were we supposed to go? Roam the streets of a city we did not know, in the dark, on our own, with no accomodation and nowhere to go? Two lone females (one only 20 years old). How could he suggest such a thing?
I found Lorenzo to be argumentative. I said I did not want to argue and would contact Airbnb to sort the situation out.
I have travelled extensively over the past 30 years and am a confident and mature traveller. However, the reception and attitude we received from Lorenzo made us feel very unwelcome, stressed and to be honest, vulnerable.
Our gut feeling was that we should not be staying there for 3 whole days. We did not feel welcome. As a traveller, one has to feel that your host has got your back. We definitely did not feel this.
I was up until 2am that night trying to find somewhere else suitable for us to move to for the following 2 days. I finally fell asleep at 2am, exhausted, fully clothed. I preferred to keep the lights on. My daughter and I were up at 6am the next morning and left as soon as we were ready.
We tried the taps again before leaving. There was now the faintest trickle of water. About 10-20% of the flow that should be there. Perhaps Lorenzo had been so kind as to fill the tank with some bottles water, for our comfort. Do not know for sure - but there was certainly no proper running water.
I did contact Airbnb about this situation and they were excellent in their support. I was very impressed by their response.
This incident was a great shame, as the apartment looked wonderful and we were looking forward to having a comfortable, relaxing stay for 3 days. I am sure Lorenzo is a great host (as shown by the many positive feedback reports), especially when things don't go wrong. Unfortunately, this was not our experience in this particular case.