I'm not giving this flat a 1/5 because it was actually a nice looking flat. However, here are the many things we did not appreciate which results in this low score. Note: although our flat got broken into, and our stuff was stolen, I am focusing the rating and review on the usual aspects of renting a flat on airbnb. Those are points 1-8. Then I describe the break-in details a bit further so there is a record, and to warn people in case nothing gets done.
1. Hot water took ages to work. It was almost pointless having a shower in the furthest bathroom from the kitchen boiler. Forget about having both showers on at the same time; we tried...
2. The drains for the bathroom sinks and showers/bath tubs need to be cleared... we were constantly in a big puddle when washing. Not very pleasant and made it hard to cleanup after too...
3. There are constructions going on next door with scaffolding upto the roof. Not too noisy, but still noticeable. The work resulted in the balcony being unsuitable for eating outside in the dining area - there was a constant rain of flakey white paint/dust stuff from the roof falling on the table.
4. That same paint flake/dust also got on the clothes we had washed and then dried outside. Hard to get off our clothes..
5. The rug in the lounge was dirty.. our socks proved it.. it was also annoying as it did not grip to the laminate floor so as soon as you sat down on the sofa with your feet on the ground, the rug would start sliding away...
6. The walls are paper thin. My partner is a heavy snorer, so I slept in second room one night, and it made no difference whatsoever - the bed headboards are almost touching so I could hear everything. Bear in mind if going as a group.
7. What seemed to be an alarm system by the front door, didn't work. Batteries needed changing? Might have been a useful feature to prevent the robbery.
9. TV in bedroom has no channels.. not sure why it's there. Second bedroom doesn't have a TV.
So yeah... this is all aside of the fact that we got broken into, via the scaffolding and using a terrace door which we never used, and concluded (with the police to witness it) that it didn't lock properly.. a simple push from outside on the terrace, could open it.
We spent our last few hours there, feeling unsafe, as anyone could break in again if they wanted to.. with no means of booking an alternative hotel for the night.
The agency managing the property were useless when we got robbed. "Available 24hrs a day" we were told. I called 3-4 times for them to answer the first time (before calling the police), and it took another 7 calls after, when the police wanted them to come to the flat immediately. They then said they couldn't in less than 30minutes, which the police was not happy about.
I then called the owner to let him know what was going on. The agency didn't tell him, which is odd enough, and weirdly he seemed very nonchalant about it even as I described that the robbers broke in through a terrace door that didn't lock properly. No apology over the phone or anything. Just "OK"s.
I am now claiming for a refund and find it extraordinary to see that I can only claim upto the price of rental, excluding fees. I could therefore get upto £340 when my booking cost me £427. An £87 loss. My stolen laptop cost me £650... then there's the rest.. tablet..bluetooth speaker, battery bank...
So that's that. At the airport now feelin a little upset at how a romantic holiday ended. But break-in aside, this flat and its management, need to step up their game. It's not good enough to just have a pretty flat when things don't work as they should.