Firstly, I would like to say that Oslo is a lovely city and Aria’s apartment is in an ideal location for travelers. As with every household, there are unique ways of doing things, I tried to be as respectful as possible regarding these conditions. Opening the window wide whilst cooking, keeping the bathroom door open for ventilation, exclusively keeping to my selected crockery/cutlery etc. I was thoroughly enjoying my two-week stay here until the final two nights. An honest mistake occurred when I used the wrong tea towel to dry my washing up (there is a dishwasher, but I felt, hey, I’ll be a good guest and do this myself). The host’s decision to raise her voice to me as if I was a child, over a minor instance such as this is grossly unnecessary and disrespectful. I understand this is your home but I am also a paying guest who does not deserve to be howled at for something so trivial, a simple “could you please use this tea towel from now on, thanks” would have sufficed. Although I was shocked, I thought to myself perhaps she is having a bad day; I’ll still leave a nice review and message her privately once I’ve left.
Unfortunately, this was not a one-off instance. As I returned from work on my last day, I received a wildly accusatory message from Aria. This concerned me apparently stealing her butter (I had bought my own and had proof of receipt) and leaving the fridge and freezer open before I left for work (I had not. I had a banana for breakfast and had not used the freezer for the duration of my stay). An argument ensued, climaxing in my ‘host’ insulting me by mocking my choice to stay in my room during my free time. This is a strange thing to have to state but... If I want to relax in peace after working in a lab for 8 hours each day, I will do just that, it has absolutely nothing to do with you and I resent your judgemental and frankly juvenile behavior. I have since realized that similar pathetic remarks had been made to previous guests. Moreover, the fact that the host resorted to petty jibes speaks volumes about how little confidence she had in her original absurd accusations.
Further bizarre messages were sent to me four days after checking out. I received unsubtle attempts to deter me from leaving negative feedback as I think the realization that my review was pending had hit home. These attempts included her informing me that any negative review would be removed by AirBnB, whom she had contacted (she had not. I know because I had). All this behavior has done is reinforced the need for this review. A simple apology early on could have helped avoid this problem.
It annoys me that I needed to write this review as I thoroughly enjoyed the vast majority of my time in Norway, with visits to the Viking ship museum and touring around the city centre on a sunny Saturday serving as obvious highlights. It is unfortunate in this case; that the highlights are not what will be remembered.