I want to start this review noting that I've been traveling around Europe for 6 weeks, staying in Airbnbs with no issues. This is the first Airbnb that I would NOT recommend staying in.
From the start, Laia was unresponsive/slow to respond & did not seem to care about our stay. She did not check-in before our arrival or follow-up to make sure we got into the apartment ok. Entry was via keypad, which in other circumstances may have felt secure, but not after the safety issues we dealt with. I would suggest a physical key or lockbox in the future.
The apartment had limited basics. We had to buy paper towels, dish soap, a sponge & additional toilet paper during our stay. Several lights were completely missing lightbulbs and several overhead lights did not work. When I asked if there were extras stored somewhere, she said I could buy them myself & she’d pay me back. We didn't go to the trouble & managed with the lights that were working.
Overall the apartment has a lot of potential, but it felt like a little extra care would have made our stay much more enjoyable. It's mostly as pictured, besides the backyard, which appeared much more lush & green in photos. We were unable to use the terrace in the evening because the lights were not working. The interior was overall clean, aside from some stains on the bedding and dust built up on the ceiling fans.
We also had issues with the amount of noise at night & early in the morning. Construction was happening on the first floor that was very loud starting early in the morning. The street noise, especially on the weekend, was quite loud and went until 7am. Would recommend bringing earplugs if you're a light sleeper.
The washer/dryer was a plus, but we couldn’t run the dryer without the fuse blowing. While we figured it out, it would have been helpful to have a house manual that detailed where to find the fusebox, how to operate the AC, where to take out trash, etc.
The biggest issue we had with the apartment was safety. The description of the airbnb details that there is a noise detector on the property & if it's set off a "night guard" will come by to issue a complaint. We did not think this would be an issue as we are a quiet group of 3 friends. During our second night in the apartment, we were in bed by midnight, asleep, when we heard someone banging and yelling outside the front door. He was speaking in Spanish (we only know a little) and did not announce who he was. We were very scared and immediately reached out to Laia on WhatsApp. We even contemplated calling the police, but he left. We were shaken, but shrugged it off as someone having the wrong apartment. Laia responded the next morning & eventually told us it was the night guard coming in response to the sensor going off. I told her we were completely asleep and quiet. She said she would make herself more available and responsive.
Then on our last night, it happened again. Twice. We were packing our bags & had a movie on in the background (playing from a laptop at a reasonable volume). The night guard banged on the door, and this time I spoke to him. Again, he did not identify himself, he just told us to be quiet. I told him we were, and it was clear that there was little noise coming from our apartment. He eventually left when I wouldn’t let him in. Then again around 3AM, when we were fast asleep, he banged on the door again. We did not address him this time & listened for him to leave while he was talking to someone on a cell phone outside our door for a few minutes. Honestly, we were nervous this was some kind of scam. I immediately texted Laia & she didn’t respond until 2 days later, asking for 69€ for the noise complaint. If this night guard situation is legitimate, I would recommend another company or getting the sensor replaced. We felt unsafe & it ended our trip on a bad note.