When we booked the apartment communication with Luis was very good. We had a question regarding secure parking near the apartment and he told us there were options and that he would be happy to assist us to arrange closer to the time of our stay. Based on the reviews and his answers we felt happy with our choice to book. Two weeks in advance of our arrival we contacted him again and didn’t receive any answer, we followed up the following week and again silence. We began researching parking options and on the day of arrival we reached out again, now nervous as we needed instructions to access the apartment. We were relieved when Luis replied, he told us that he had a family issue and hence why he had not been replying. He gave us the name of the parking garage and told us to write to him 30 minutes before arrival to arrange entry. We told him our planned arrival time and agreed we would message again 30 minutes out.
30 minutes prior to arrival we messaged and no reply. We then called him as we stood outside of the building and he directed us to a shop where we could pick up the keys. He also, to our big surprise, apologised on the phone for the condition of the apartment saying that they had had bad guests staying who had damaged some things. He told us to message him if we had any problems with the apartment.
With that we went upstairs and when we entered the apartment we were immediately disappointed. It smelled as if there had been a party the day before and the cleaning done afterwards was just a surface clean. Floors/carpets throughout the apartment were dirty, there were stains long dark hairs everywhere, the bathroom was not cleaned (including a full trash can in the bathroom) and the smell throughout the apartment was as if air freshener had been sprayed to mask the smell of cigarettes. A large water bottle was sitting on the front balcony filled with wet cigarette butts and cigarettes all over the balcony floor. We messaged Luis, explaining the problem and he offered to send the cleaner again. When the cleaner arrived she began sweeping the floor and we awkwardly suggested that a vacuum cleaner was needed as it was so dirty. She told us that the vacuum was broken and that she’d have to go and get another one. We said we were heading out for dinner and that she could take her time, thanked her and left.
When we came back that evening the apartment was better than it had been but still not really clean. When we went to open the French doors in the larger bedroom so we could open the shutter and get some air in we saw that the handle of the door was missing and you couldn’t open it. It was just very clear that the maintenance of the apartment was really lacking all around.
The next morning at breakfast we realised there weren’t enough plates/glasses/cutlery for four people. In general this was an issue with things like there was a single hand towel in the bathroom and one roll of toilet paper generally not enough for four people. We also found that the microwave and dishwasher didn't work. We sent a message to Luis, thanking him for arranging the cleaning but letting him know there were still issues and asking for the missing dishware as we did plan to eat in in the mornings etc. He confirmed he would address the issues and asked when we would be out in the afternoon. However no confirmation came from Luis. Some dishes were left outside the apartment in a plastic bag when we came home from dinner together with a microwave (sitting outside the door) however no glasses. Luis replied that it was the cleaner's fault and they'd drop it off the next day, and at this stage we were starting to be frustrated.
We had a lot of rain during our stay and as it was also very windy with the rain pounding the windows we actually saw water coming in the kitchen windows. That made us go check the French doors in the bedrooms and sure enough in the smaller bedroom water was leaking in at the bottom (doors were closed). We made sure to keep wiping up the water. and in one of the messages regarding the other issues we highlighted this to Luis so he was aware and also to request some additional kitchen towels as only one was in the apartment, he wrote back saying he was surprised as “this has never happened before” which could not be the case given the obviously water damage around the windows in almost all of the rooms. We also let him know regarding the missing door handle in the bedroom as it felt strange that he was apparently so unaware of the condition of the apartment. By the end of our stay the issues still hadn't been rectified.
The issue really came down to bad communication and a lack of willingness to rectify the situation. Very tellingly on the evening before our departure when we messaged to ask how we should leave the key we received a reply which referenced the fact that as the dishwasher hadn’t been advertised in the listing so was not something we could expect, this was worded as we found on the Airbnb website so one can only think he is well versed in anticipating complaints? Keep in mind at no point had we said we would be complaining to Airbnb we had simply asked how he wanted us to "check out"
We appreciated the size and layout of the apartment and the location was fantastic. But if cleanliness and the peace of mind of knowing that issues will be rectified are of any importance to you I would think twice before booking. Of course