Our negative experience with this apartment and the host already started with the check in. They charge 35€ extra if you check in after 9pm. As this was stated in the fine print of the ad we would have been fine with it but even though we called the guy that was assigned for our check in 2 times (from the luggage claim and from taxi) he still made us wait for 15mins in front of the house. Once he came he barely did anything besides opening the door and handing over the keys. He didn’t want to do a walk through or explained anything. As it turned out he didn’t even know the apartment! As we later discovered that there is a key safe downstair where the key could have been placed (or alternatively in the mailbox) since the front door was always open and second door needed a pin code which was provided upfront, we could have easily done a self-check in and avoid the trouble and the 35€. After complaining I did receive a refund of 15€ but still feels like a rip off.
Once we were alone in the apartment, we started to discover several issues from constructional deficiencies (e.g. loose railing for the stairs), broken electronics (e.g. air con remote, light bulbs), missing equipment (blankets and kitchen supplies) to the worst part a moisture in the apartment with wet walls and even mould in both bedrooms! On top it was super cold in the apartment and the moist blankets didn’t help to have a comfortable night sleep after our journey. So instead, I contacted Paola and listed the issues we had discovered and the next morning she send over her colleague Pierre. He was actually friendly and understanding. Pierre confirmed that those things we pointed out are not ok and promised to take care of it. He was able to resolve most of the issues and even brought the missing items on the same day.
As it was still moist and cold in the afternoon of the second day even after having the ACs on for heating we did contact Airbnb support to check what would be our options in case we decide not to stay here longer. Afterwards we had to leave the apartment for a nearby shopping mall to warm up. We let the ACs run during that time in the hope of finally being able to warm the place dry up the moisture. We even informed Pierre that we kept the ACs on for a while and asked not to turn it off when he was bringing the missing items. Once we returned it was finally warm in the apartment and afterwards it was able to get it warm within a reasonable timeframe. I would assume that the apartment was empty at least a few days before our arrival and no one has bothered to open the windows at daytime or turn the ACs on the evening to ensure that the cold and moisture are not as bad as it was when we checked in.
I did receive some rather angry messages from Paola afterwards complaining why I contacted the Airbnb support even though it is in their guidelines that you have to inform them of any issues within 24 hours. Also, she kept complaining about the electricity usage and threaten us with a high electricity bill (as it is also in the fine print that you will have to pay for excess energy usage even though you cannot control your usage as the meter is somewhere in the house and not in the apartment). She even went so far to blame us for the moisture and mould even though that was already there when we checked in!
We did try to make the best out of our stay and tried to keep the place dry by opening the windows for good circulation during daytime and keeping it warm at evenings with the AC heaters. Nevertheless, after about one week the mould started to come back. Until than we had discovered that it wasn’t only a problem of the apartment but the whole building. The entire stairwell smelled unpleasantly of wetness and mould and there were large damp and mouldy areas on the walls. As we could see the mould getting bigger by the day in our bedrooms, we decided to cut our holiday short and make use of the flexible cancellation policy. We again contacted Airbnb upfront which said they would contact Paola but apparently that never happened so once we checked out I again received angry messages. Till this day there was no form of apology or any sign that she would understand that there are issues in the apartment that she needs to fix for future guests. Instead I did receive again accusations and therefore cannot recommend Paola as a host and her apartment.