A satisfactory but disappointing stay.
First, the pros:
The apartment itself is great—nicely appointed with a minimal, clean aesthetic. There’s a small office room with a desk, two bedrooms (one large with a balcony overlooking the street, the other small at the back of the apartment with a small balcony overlooking buildings), a bathroom with sink, toilet, and small shower, a basic kitchen, and a living room with a couch and dining table.
The location is awesome. A really nice neighborhood.
AC works really well… got nice and cold.
Internet was strong at 50 mbps WiFi.
However…
There are many basic necessities missing. The apartment is not properly stocked to enable a basic clean stay. We notified the host of this but they were uninterested in helping. It takes maybe $20 to dramatically change a guest’s experience by providing the basic necessities (we are hosts ourselves so we know), and they just weren’t willing. They do provide one small brown paper bag that contains 1 small trash bag, a disposable sponge and disposable drying towel, a dishwasher pod (even though there’s no dishwasher), and a small container of soap. I think it’s a bag they drop off to all their apartments.
We arrived at 1 AM (they knew for a week we’d have a late arrival) to an apartment missing many basic necessities, including:
-trash bags for kitchen and bathroom (They told me to go find a 24-hour store and buy trash bags myself... at 1 AM)
-dish towels
-drying rack or somewhere to put dishes while they dry
-laundry pods or detergent
-hand soap in bathroom
-toilet paper (there was only 1 roll)
-cleaning supplies like counter spray
Etc.
… And many things that aren’t *necessary* but would have been nice basic touches to make guests feel welcome:
-spices for cooking (basic items like salt, pepper, olive oil)
-water bottles for our late arrival
-extra paper towels
Etc.
At $280+ a night, it’s crazy to tell guests to buy their own trash bags and toilet paper for a 4-night stay! Or not to have any basic hospitable touches like even a water bottle! Especially since we were there to visit Barcelona, not go shopping for toilet paper. I asked for some basics to be dropped off and they did not get back to me. I then requested payment for the necessities I had to go buy myself, but they did not pay it.
However, perhaps my BIGGEST concern is the cameras. There is one in the hallway outside the bathroom pointing toward the front door (that one I could understand, though I hate the thought of being filmed INSIDE an apartment). But there is another one inside the second bedroom aimed at the bed. That one I can’t understand.
When we were checking in I noticed them and asked about the cameras to Fabio, the man who checked us in, and he could not give me a confident answer what they were for. He thought they were merely motion sensors but wasn’t sure (he seemed barely familiar with the apartment, where things were, how things worked, what was supplied, etc). Eventually the next day he said he checked with his superiors and reported back to me that they ARE cameras, but they are off and only activated if the security alarm goes off, to film an intruder… then he called them “motion sensors that only take pictures when the alarm goes off” (which would mean they are cameras, not motion sensors)… But how can you be confident in that when there is literally a camera pointed at you at all times within the apartment??? I hope they are telling the truth and that the camera only turns on when activated by the alarm, but their answers were not very reassuring. And I don’t know if there’s any way to be 100% sure they are not turned on and filming you unless you have something to cover the camera.
I asked about all these issues and the host finally responded through Airbnb—on the last day of our trip—that they would answer all of our questions, but they never did.
In summary, the apartment itself is nice but the hosts could use some major improvements in communication and hospitality. And maybe switch out the security system for something that doesn’t look like cameras inside the bedroom.