My wife and I had to end our stay three days early due to an infestation of two-inch long cockroaches. Our last encounter with one of these creatures occurred while I was using the bathroom mirror, when I found a roach on my shoulder, presumably after it had climbed up my torso.
The hosts’ response was an offer to wash the bedding and clean the apartment. After first telling us that they would keep to an established spraying schedule for the building that would put the remediation a week after the end of our term, they hired what we assumed was an exterminator, who sprayed the exterior of the windows until my wife convinced him to stop. Within minutes, we discovered the worker spraying the stairwell and entryway. All of this work took place while one or both of us were in the apartment. We received no notice from the hosts despite our having insisted previously that they provide notice before any spraying.
Not only was the appearance of the roach on my body gross, nauseating and disgusting, the presence of cockroaches posed a threat to my health, as I suffer from persistent asthma. Research has confirmed that the mere presence of roaches can trigger allergies, which, in my case, typically leads to asthmatic episodes. Materials used in remediation also can be problematic depending on their composition. It is common knowledge that if roaches are visible during the daytime, a far greater number are hidden in the walls and other spaces in the dwelling.
After hastily vacating the apartment, we found rooms in two different hotels with considerable difficulty, in part because a concert featuring a renowned artist was taking place the first night, at atypically high prices. We incurred significant expense for this substitute lodging, and for charges for taxis that we would not have experienced otherwise, as well as loss of food in the apartment refrigerator.
As advertised, the location of the apartment was great—easy access to transportation; scores of shops of one sort or another; tapas restaurants, bars and gelateria galore; squares every other block (it seemed) where people congregate to eat and make merry; wonderful “walking streets”; and waves of the young and hip doing what they do (at least in my senior citizen’s view of the species).
The apartment was functional, but a bit of a let down, especially given the price. The best way to describe the condition is that the hosts cut corners whenever possible. The kitchen set-up was minimal. The installed cabinetry was cheap and installed badly; manuals for appliances, particularly the clothes-washing machine, which took forever to figure out and get running, were unavailable, according to the hosts; and internet service was finicky and frequently interrupted for long periods. The television package was minimal. The hosts often were slow in responding to questions or problems.