I have stayed in countless Airbnb’s all over the world and sadly this was the worst experience I have ever had. During our stay here, our Airbnb was broken into and we were robbed of several thousand dollars of cash, credit cards, and possessions. The whole situation was very sketchy (explained in more detail below) but it was exacerbated by the host company’s greed and complete lack of empathy. The police report detailing the incident states the robbery was due to an inadequate and insecure front door lock. However despite this, not once did host company Unique (or their employees) offer us any assistance, show any sympathy, or even say they were sorry. This is what happens when you have a large company buying 38 apartments to rent out on Airbnb; you lose the personal touch, care, and experience that made Airbnb great to begin with.
While this apartment is situated very close to the beach, this location has become quite dangerous. Also, there is now a tremendous amount of animosity between the local residents and the tourists (especially Airbnb guests). We were stared at, cursed at, and scorned in Spanish regularly each day. The apartment has a very poor and insecure lock on the door which is the reason we were robbed (this is not my opinion, this is the conclusion of the police and the insurance company). We compared our lock to those of the neighboring apartments which had incredibly secure/strong locks with steel bars going up to the ceiling/down into the floor. Essentially, we were doomed from the start.
I manage residential apartments in New York City for a living but I have never seen anything like this. The apartment itself is actually very nice. However, the host company has clearly grown too large and completely lost touch with what is going on within their properties. The host made us wait around the apartment twice to receive repairmen. These types of things are not the guest’s responsibility of course, but they have no concept of this. Also, why is there a security camera in the bedroom? It doesn’t record video if there is an intrusion (allegedly). There is another security camera in the living room that allegedly only takes a picture when someone enters the front door (if you turn on the security system); But again, I don’t understand why there is a security camera pointed at the bed in the bedroom?
Furthermore, after the robbery, the host made us wait at the apartment for a locksmith to come repair the broken lock. The locksmith spoke no English, and we speak little Spanish, so we asked one of the neighbors (who were now congregating in the hall) to help translate. The host angrily scorned us over the phone and told us we were not to speak to anyone about the incident except the police. Of course, we wouldn’t have needed the neighbor’s assistance if the host had not left us alone to deal with a locksmith in a foreign country where we don’t speak the language (after we had just been robbed of all our valuables).
We were very excited to spend a month in Barcelona at a nice beach apartment, however we were robbed and left to fend for ourselves with no cash, credit cards, or support from the host company. Our whole trip was ruined on the 6th day. And still to this day, no apology from the host, Unique.
All in all, there is some sketchy stuff going on here that felt very much like a coordinated scam. I would strongly encourage you avoid this apartment and all others offered by this host company.