TLDR: Do not recommend
Cons:
Dishonest host, no water in apartment for a period, terrible communication, uncomfortable bed, next to a noisy main road
Pros:
Great location, essentials of long term living available (cookware, linens)
1. Dishonest Host.
The listing had AC when I booked. Upon arrival to a broken AC (during heatwave), I messaged the host about the AC. She lied and told me the listing never had AC listed. She CHANGED THE LISTING WHILE I WAS HAVING THIS CONVERSATION with her. I had taken a screenshot of the listing with AC listed right before I messaged her. Sure enough, after she told me the listing doesn’t have AC, that was no longer on the updated listing. I sent her the screenshot showing the AC listing but the host never responded or acknowledged receipt. I caught her in the lie. She said we could always “cancel” but there is no refunds for 30 days and I was there for over 30 days for work so I had no choice but to stay. There were no Airbnbs left in this area and I needed to be close to work.
Note too that there’s no airflow in the apartment. There’s only windows on one side so there is no draft. So even opening the windows wasn’t comfortable. And the apartment is next to main road with lots of car and ambulance noises so it was difficult to sleep with the windows open. There were also mosquitoes when we opened the windows.
2. The apartment had no water which is in violation of habitability. I messaged the host both on Airbnb and on the Whatsapp number which the host request I message her on for arrival. The host simply never responded and did not even acknowledge there was no water in the apartment. We could not use the toilet, wash dishes, shower or brush our teeth that day. Luckily, we happened to be traveling to another city that weekend and by the time we came back the next week, water was back on. The water was brown when we first got back. We had to let the water run for several minutes in each area for the water to clear.
3. Terrible Communication
First of all, refer to the lying and no water situation above. Also, check in was a mess. I informed the host that we did not want to provide passport numbers online (she sent me an external link for us to put passport numbers into which I was not comfortable with). The host said it was fine and that she would meet us at check in. At the last minute, the host changed her mind, and had us check ourselves in. Before we left she still asked us for our passport numbers online. It was as if multiple people were having conversations with me and the host could not remember anything that was said before.
I contacted the host before writing this review to resolve, as she requested. She was rude and tried to gaslight me into thinking none of this happened even though I sent her screenshots of all of these conversations. This is the first truly awful experience I have had with Airbnb. Ultimately, despite the good location, I can’t recommend this place. I wouldn’t be able to trust anything advertised on the listing, and I don’t like people lying to me.