The place looks just like the pics. It’s also clean and modern with all the basic amenities. Communication and responsiveness was great. Comfortable bed and linen, plus a good shower. WiFi was fast.
Unfortunately there were more cons than pros.
Firstly, I didn’t like the check in process. I had to stand and wait for the security to check in the person before me, which actually takes quite long, but no big deal all in all - the bigger issue was the amount of personal information which is processed when they did this check in process. As an attorney who deals with privacy law, I can tell you that there is no POPIA compliance here. They ask for a copy of your Identity document, next of kin details, take pictures of you & your drivers license etc. I know safety in the building is important, but this is a lot. Also, they could advise what happens to all this info - when I asked the security, they said they don’t know and they actually expressed irritation with me for even asking.
Secondly, there is a portable air conditioner, which was not working properly. It was quite hot on my first day and hoping it was a quick fix, I reported the fault on it so I could use it. They came to collect it, however they never returned it for the rest of my stay. Luckily the rest of my stay wasn’t too hot, but it would have been nice to receive an update.
Thirdly and the worst part for me, was the load shedding (power cuts) - sadly I experienced a lot of it during my stay (2 hour power cuts, three times a day) and while I am fully aware that load shedding is out of the Airbnb’s control, more could have been done about it. The building itself has back up power, so luckily the lifts still worked and lights were on in the corridors and reception area. However it’s up to the owners of each individual apartment to make provision for their own units and apart from a tiny lamp not even as bright as my phone torch, which barely lights up half a room when it’s dark, there was no provision for this unit. I spent a lot of time in the apartment, working, which meant I was left in the dark during load shedding , with no WiFi. Load shedding is a part of our lives in South Africa and it’s not going anywhere - if I can make provision to be comfortable in my own house during power cuts, then a business (Airbnb) can too. A UPS and / or a basic inverter to keep the lights on for 2 hours would go a long way. I hope they can fix this cause this is actually a nice apartment. I felt like I paid too much money to stay in the dark.