We had some challenges with our stay here. The good things- location was great, place was clean, rooms were tight but relatively comfortable. Basic amenities were provided, although the kettle did not work. Host had someone meet us to get the key 2 hours prior to check in and orient us to the place. Close to the metro, market around the corner.
The downside was that the building was being sandblasted while we were there. Scaffolding covered the entire building. We could not access the balcony nor open the windows in the front of the apartment because of this. Work started outside just after 8 am and continued until close to 6 pm. This made the front of the apartment (which was the living and dining area) barely useable and unpleasant to be in because of the noise and the darkness (we couldn’t open the blinds as we didn’t want the workers looking in at us). We were on vacation and wanted to sleep in, but couldn’t due to the noise. The only AC was in the living room so the bedrooms were incredibly hot without any kind of cross breeze since we couldn’t open the front windows. There was 1 fan in the back bedroom but none for any other bedrooms.
We were not made aware of this situation, nor were we given any concession due to this inconvenience (such as a partial refund). The host said she was not aware it was happening and that because it was an old building, these things happen. This was certainly not helpful and begs the question of what truly is the responsibility of a host? Shouldn’t the host have known that this was happening and alerted us to this situation? We likely would have made other plans had we known. And most importantly, what recourse do we have for our inconvenience? Very disappointed that this did not work out better.