We stayed here for 2 months during the pandemic , it was a very stylish place , great views. Nice place to be during a quarantine !
However by living for 2 months we noticed that although the place is nice , there are some issues with the place so I will explain the pros and cons to be fair :
PROS :
1) nice Location in Polanco
2) very friendly and kind security staff they were amazingly helpful
3) the penthouse is very stylish , high ceiling with duplex style
4) beds are comfortable
5) there’s AC in living room and in bedroom upstairs which is great since it’s rare to find that in Mexico City
6) kitchen is big with a nice large dining area
7) nice simple balcony
8) elevator goes directly to the apartment
CONS :
1) noticeable wear and tear on furniture
2) noticeable stains on carpets , also there’s something not accurate about the listing. The AC room is only the upstairs bedroom. Other rooms have normal fans so that’s not an AC like the listing says.
3) AC in upstairs bedroom made loud noises ( buzzing ) when u turn it on or turn it off , it was very annoying. It needs maintenance desperately. We informed our guest in the private note after first month review and we didn’t hear anything back from him about it.
3) no vacuum cleaner or brooms to clean the place , due to the corona virus , we didn’t want to hire a housekeeper or any stranger that can be a health risk. Otherwise in normal times that wouldn’t be an issue to be honest.
4) the faucets splash water erratically when you open them, it’s ok if you’re staying for couple of days , but for weeks on end, it can be very annoying, splashed everywhere around the faucet , clothes , even if you open them slightly. That issue can be fixed with an aerator so requires a plumbing change.
5) the worst part was the washer/dryer situation. It’s not clear in the photos , but they’re located in a small attic style room that leads to an open air area that you access through wobbly extremely narrow spiral stairs. There’s a metal gate that is right in front of the washer/dryer and is locked . Which makes it very difficult To open and close the dryer door on the top. We asked the host, he said the gate is not actually locked but we tried to remove it , we couldn’t. The gate was locked through chains and we had to push it outside in order to have enough space to put our clothes inside the washer / dryer . Plus I don’t know why they left it like that. Bugs and wind and water fill the area so you might get dirtier than before you entered the room.
6) WORST health risk , is when it rains in Mexico City, which is very often ! The laundry room becomes a lake ! Extremely dangerous to go up and and down with the wobbly spiral narrow stairs that are now wet ! The metal gate should be removed and replaced with a sealed glass door to keep the area clean and dry. Just a common sense suggestion.
7) washer and dryer didn’t function very well, they would stop in the middle of the cycle. Clothes were very wet and it takes all day to dry the clothes. The appliances need to be Checked.
8) the oven was very dirty upon check in , when we were about to use it, it was releasing heavy smoke from all the burnt dirty spots inside the oven. And it produces a very strong gas smell even at the lowest setting . We cleaned it properly ourselves and tried to use it sometimes but the fire would turn off by itself and it was a hassle. We informed our host in a private note after the first month review Which I published but he didn’t respond nor care about it.
9) communication : at first they( the hosts ) were responding very quickly and were helpful when we got locked out the first couple of days.
due to corona virus , before check in I talked with them about a sanitizing the whole place through a company , they responded and told me they would book it for me, and it would be included in the price of the place. Which I didn’t ask for but was grateful for it. Next day after the company sanitized the place , I was sent a bill for it !!
Either they changed their mind or they don’t communicate with each other since there is more than one host, I paid the bill since it wasn’t a big deal. But it’s a sign of disorganized communication !
10) the fluctuating pricing and unrealistic monthly prices when we wanted to extend.
Let’s say I paid $ X monthly which was reduced than the rate we saw from Feb and March when we were looking for a place in Mexico City
* Given there is a pandemic and businesses were closed and tourism was way down , it didn’t make sense that for July and August the monthly rate became 4X !! Sometimes 5X. It was unrealistic, the place , though stylish and big , doesn’t deserve that pricing at all. It was not a serviced apartment. In the price level they wanted to charge, you can rent a villa with pool in best neighborhoods in Mexico City, or very stylish serviced apartments with housekeeping and a chef !
I own properties that are being rented in Airbnb through third party agencies and my instructions to them was to be flexible ! It’s a tough time for business and tourism so it doesn’t make sense to charge normal or peak pricing !
I tried to negotiate with them about extension , since