We are very unhappy with our stay and we feel like we have been scammed by Buena Vista Holidays Malta - the agency advertising and managing this place.
Here are our remarks with this property:
1. DEFINITELY NOT A LUXURY ESTATE: This is not a bad apartment, not a terrible apartment, but this is definitely not a luxury estate! It is a small place with very tiny rooms, you walk directly in living room, half of the apartment is extremely DARK and mold (dining area and master bedroom) with no daylight at all. Equipped with cheapest IKEA furniture (most 3* hotels have more comfortable beds). In the dining area the garbage bins are just left in the open 1.5 meters from the table - not covered appropriately.
2. HIDDEN COSTS. We were asked to pay extra for: baby bad (we agreed on this, but it was a ridiculous non-usable prop that Paola refused to refund us for - read below), we were asked to pay extra for late check in (didn't know about this until day before and our flight arrived around 10 PM, we were asked to pay extra for electricity (found out about this when we arrived). The owner charges all this in cash.
3. TERRIBLY COLD AND NARROW BATHROOM. The bathroom is so cold and has mold on the bottom of one of the walls. So small sink. Not a piece of bathroom furniture where you can store your toiletters (instead of 40 cm high measured from bottom plastic shelf). There are cheapest on the market toilet paper and hand soap available (for a "luxury" property). Shower cabin is sooo narrow, and have sliding door where you'd not be able to get in if you are over 150 lbs. The water pressure is terrible and during shower it goes from HOT to COLD and from slow pressure to high pressure during seconds - so uncomfortable. And most importntly it is so cold to take shower in January (Paola said it is against the law to bring a heater - but it is definitely not against the low to install central or other mean of heating or maybe not rent the place in cold months??).
4. NOT BABY / CHILDREN FRIENDLY PLACE. Even since there is elevator in the building there are still few steps on the entrance where you have to lift the baby strawler. Half of the place is dark and mold. As we asked for baby bad we were charged 50 eur for it but it was a very uncomfortable, silly, plastic, montage bed with sponge-like mattress where no child could sleep comfortably. Paola first agreed to refund the money we paid for it but during check out once she realised we were gonna write a bad review anyway and that we were not happy with the place she said "You know what, I am not going to refund you the money for baby bad, complain at Airbnb".
5. NOT SPARKLING CLEAN. As we were traveling with baby, and since this is a luxury place we did expect everything to be sparkling clean. It was not dirty but it was not sparkling clean. So my wife spent 2 hours first night to clean below beds, in rooms' corners and in drawers / storage space when we were gonna leave things.
5. LIMITED TOWELS - Only one set to use in 6 days, which is kind of odd for us, and although we asked for we were not given.
6. WASHING MACHINE is outside on the terrace overlooking other buildings - again kind of odd.
7. DOOR-LOCKS MALFUNCTIONS - All doors not opening /closing / locking properly.
8. RUDE AND UNPROFESSIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE: Paola was a very unprofessional host because of many reasons: not introducing extra costs to the very last minute, not answering out requests to improve what was wrong (she claimed she came twice in the place but we weren't there). During check out when we started explaining what was wrong she started raising her voice. We kindly asked her to lower her voice because the baby is scared of loud shouting on which she sarcastically replied "Why, he understands?" on which we explained that babies are scared of loud voices. (We were wondering if there us some community standards within Airbnb preventing such unhuman behavior??) Then she tried to our-debate us on which my wife explained that this is not a debate, but we are the ones paying and deciding if we like it or not, and it's too late now to resolve anything, on which she frantically started to shout "Oh you are allowed to say what you mean of me but I am not allowed to speak". She started taking photos of the place and shouting we did not respect the contract because there were (literally!) 4 or 5 small plates in the kitchen sing unwashed as my wife was preparing baby food before we were leaving, that we were gonna wash in minute or 2). Of course, our taxi was in 10 minutes and we did not want to hear more of her. After we left the place she started sending messages "This is wrong, and that is wrong with the place" things she made up saying she would report to Airbnb just to cover up all these wrongs. At this point we didn't want to communicate neither respond to a clearly unprofessional person.
9. PROMISED A REFUND - NOT GIVEN BY HOST. About the baby bed, although in the first message we were promised, the host refused to give us the moment she realised we were gonna write an honest review.
Therefore in order to prevent disappointment in any Airbnb user that expects luxury we would recommend again using this or any other property by Buena Vista Holidays, as advertising this as "luxury" is almost a scam / fraud.