I have been using Airbnb for years, absolutely love the service and have never had any issues in the past. However, on this occasion I have been deeply disappointed by our host and standard of accommodation. I knew from the photos of the listing that this was not going to be a luxurious apartment but the reality of it was quite shocking especially for the price we paid. The property was clean on the surface but one could tell that decades old sofas, mattresses, cushions, curtains, shower curtain and bed covers had not been cleaned for years. The beds were ancient and very uncomfortable and the bathroom, kitchen and appliances were in serious need of an update. To make things worse, on the Saturday we moved in there were no clean sheets waiting for us and instead a pile of dirty sheets were sitting outside our front door (see attached photo). I messaged and called our host at 8pm and they said that the clean sheets were on their way but these never arrived. When I called them again later that evening the answering machine told me the agency was shut until Monday. We ended up sleeping on our towels that evening which is unacceptable. Luckily, my parents were staying in a nearby property so we borrowed sheets from them for the rest of our stay as our hosts never got in touch with us despite my message to them and a Request for Money made after obtaining advice from one of Airbnb’s advisors. When I returned the keys to the agency, I told them about the sheets and all they said was that “indeed they had had a problem with delivering sheets the previous Saturday, sorry” and shrugged.
Before I arrived in Spain, I sent my host a message to ask where to collect the keys but no one answered me. I found out myself where to obtain the keys which happened to be at the agency’s offices the other end of town. The property we stayed in is managed by a large estate agency who let a large number of properties every summer and do not have the time to deal with each individual customer. I feel this goes against the spirit of Airbnb. The reason why Airbnb is so attractive is because the service is so personal as you get to communicate with your host, meet them and live in their home for a few days where you are more often than not sure to find basic amenities such as clean sheets, towels and basic cooking items. None of these were provided at this property.
Despite a convenient location with a good view, I would not recommend this property to anyone unless rented for half the price and not via Airbnb.