First, let’s start with the positives. The Condesa is a beautiful neighborhood with lovely parks surrounded by charming outdoor cafes. The price is probably the most affordable one bedroom unit on Airbnb in the area. The weekly cleaning service was great. The upstairs bed is firm with high quality sheets.
Now for the negative….
I have stayed in many Airbnb locations both rooms and flats. I also know that standards vary from country to country. I have little patience for owners or managers that have not made the unit occupancy ready. This one had a non-working toilet, a leak in the roof, a window that was stuck open, no functioning hot water and few supplies like paper towels or trash bags.
Fortunately we planned to stay in Mexico for a month so I could waste one day and a half letting repair people into the unit; however if I had a short stay this lack of preparation would have been intolerable. There was no hitting the ground running.
One of the locals confided in us that because the unit has such a great location the owner doesn’t have to invest in necessary repairs and it thoroughly shows. The toilet was not fixed in the first attempt so we often had to use a plunger and four or five flushes to get its contents down the drain. It took about 4 days for the problem to be solved.
Bottom line this unit should not be listed by AirBnB until the owners invests more. The listing states that the unit is in a historic building. It may be but it is also quite old and needs system upgrades. The microwave took about 3 times as long to work because of low voltage in the building.
There are other issues. The tight spiral staircase is steep, narrow and treacherous. I slept on the downstairs couch rather than risk a night time bathroom visit. The bedroom also gets quite hot from the sun during the day and cools off slowly at night. The bathroom and especially the shower stall are very tiny.
My overall rating will be skewed because I am giving this unit a 5 for location and a two for the lack of preparation and the overall quality of the unit. Bottom line serviceable for an affordable long term stay but for a short term stay pay a bit more and do much better.