I have an open complaint about Paola's place with Airbnb Support, and have requested a refund, due to a specific incident which made me feel uncomfortable to stay, and the Airbnb listing being inaccurate:
Firstly, the bathroom is not private, despite the listing saying there is a "private" bathroom. At 7pm on the first night, I returned to Paola's home to find a man coming out of my "private" bathroom, only wearing a towel - he had just taken a shower in there. Not only was I concerned someone had used my "private" bathroom, but I had also left my personal belongings in there. All of this made me feel very uncomfortable, particularly as I was a woman travelling on my own.
Following this incident, I had to find last minute alternative accommodation, and left early in the morning after the first night (which was the earliest I could arrange new accommodation as the incident had occurred at about 7pm on the first night). When I explained what occurred to Paola (via a translation app), she herself admitted that "this is very serious".
Other issues which did not match the Airbnb listing:
- The bathroom is not attached to the house - I had to go outside to use it. This was not described in the Airbnb listing.
- While there is an independent entrance as described in the Airbnb listing, Paola was not able to give me a key so that I could enter via this entrance from the outside. So I couldn't actually use the independent entrance without keeping it open and unlocked the whole time. (I wasn't provided a key for the main entrance either.)
I am still waiting for a response from Airbnb Support about my complaint, and despite my request with Paola, she has refused to provide any kind of refund.