The condition of the apartment was disgusting and did not match the photos. I recognize this property was listed by a Superhost, which is why I ultimately booked the property. It is also why I was so surprised at the poor condition of the apartment. The apartment was clearly not “new” like advertised in the listing title.
The floors and walls were filthy throughout. The bathrooms have not been thoroughly cleaned in a very long time. The shower pans were covered in soap residue and mold. The exterior glass and glass enclosures were filthy. The corners were also full of mold. A soap bar used by prior guests was left in the upstairs shower. The upstairs bedroom was also filthy. The sofa was covered in black stains. The bed itself was dirty. The comforter was covered in liquid stains. The pillows were covered in dust and hair. The backboard was covered in dandruff.
I am not sure why the apartment provided to us did not match Lilian’s past good reviews. Perhaps this was the first time she failed to properly prepare her apartment for guests. Given the short nature of my trip and unchangeable restaurant reservations, I did not have time to wait. The apartment clearly needs more work than a housekeeper could provide in a couple hours. I have stayed in properties all over the world (including a lovely Airbnb in Cape Town a few weeks ago), but I have never had to make this sort of complaint. Because of Lilian’s failure to provide a clean environment, at the last minute I was forced to stay at a much more expensive hotel. A guest who I was supposed to host was also forced to get his own hotel room.
Despite me complaining in compliance with Airbnb's refund requirements and despite me not spending more than 10 minutes in the apartment, I was only offered a partial refund by the Airbnb agent, who stated: "I understand that different people have different perceptions towards things. If those permanent stains are not impacting the host, it could have had a major impact on you. Therefore, I've made sure of refunding you with 30% of the nightly charge for 2 nights i.e. the total refund of $78.22. I hope this helps." I guess "clean" means something different in Mexico.
Do not rent! Plenty of beautiful alternatives in CDMX!