In a nutshell: gorgeous place in a central location, but a *disastrous* check-in experience involving a shouting match between the hosts and a car crash, and just unacceptable communication and customer service for any price tag, let alone for a place charging over $2k/night.
I’ve been using Airbnb for almost a decade and have never left a bad review before, but this experience was just so horribly bad that I couldn’t be quiet about it.
Our check-in day was Sept 8, and we contacted the host 3 times via their preferred method (email) on August 31, September 5, and again on September 8, to ask about dropping off bags early on check-in day. We received no reply for all 9(!!) of those days. When we arrived only an hour before check-in time, the family that lives there was still there and the house hadn’t been cleaned yet. Turns out they thought we were checking in the following day!
We proved through the AirBNB app that our check-in date was indeed September 8, someone from the host company CadenzaLux came, and a shouting argument broke out between the hosts and the family living there, with what sounded like insults in French and/or Portuguese being hurled at each other and at us. The housekeeper helpfully ushered us inside away from the chaos, and then the craziest thing happened. The host CRASHED THEIR CAR into the owner’s car. After more shouting and a crying baby, we managed to escape out of there, and to their credit when we came back hours later, the place was spotless.
We received no apology or explanation, and in fact the host said they’d check in on us in a day and never came. When I messaged the host with some questions, I didn’t hear back for several days.
Finally, the check out. The owner of the house (not anyone from the hosting company) personally showed up at 9:30 am, before the check out time, and just sat there and angrily glared at us as we checked out. It was so weird at uncomfortable!! We were so rushed to leave we forgot some of our stuff and forgot to return the keys. It was a tremendously bizarre experience.
So, in summary, the house itself was beautiful and in a convenient location, but it was the worst AirBNB experience of any of our lives, and absolutely did not live up to what we’d expect from the outrageous price tag we paid.