I've been staying in many Airbnb apartments and always found very nice hosts. During my month stay at Elisa's I have been through many problems. Elisa came across as being always very nice but fake and not helpful, lying and not solving important safety issues. The first night I realised that there was no mattress in the bedroom but only a sprung mattress base. I wouldn't have complained if I had to stay for a week but a month stay is long. I had to involved Airbnb and sent photos of the mattress base. Elisa promised to deliver a cheap mattress but at the end after 12 days and endless conversations she delivered only a blanket to cover the mattress! She had been lying to me for days, if she said she had no intention to provide a mattress I would not have stayed longer than 2 nights. The other major problem is the leaking of water from the ceiling in the bedroom. At first I wasn't much worried because it was a little leak but after a while the dripping became more and more consistent, becoming a safety issue. It has been raining all month long in May in Madrid. The host admitted that she was well aware of the leaking but she never said anything before! She offered me to pay for the days I stayed and leave. What a kind offer right? Renting an apartment with no mattress, with leaks from the ceiling and offering the chance to leave. I couldn't possibly pay for another place and there wasn't any availability on Airbnb so I had to stay. Renting an apartment with major leaks from the roof SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED. Regarding the apartment itself, as someone mentioned in other reviews, it is managed by an agency and the lady who checked me in didn't know anything about the apartment at all, they just do the check in, not even hand soap was provided. The host doesn't take care of her place, the sofa was completely broken, you can't seat on it and it's filthy, very, very dirty. I have photos. The apartment could be very nice space but looks very cheap, from flooring to furniture and not looked after overall. It's ok only for small people, I'm 6.1 ft and had to bend over all the time to go from one room to another. It's almost impossible to take a proper shower as it gets very narrow from the shoulders up. Never seen anything like that before. What's really disgusting about this place is that when you open any window you get the stinky smell from several extraction hobs from some restaurant downstairs. Fish and meat. Aww
I asked for a reasonable refund and Airbnb kindly gave me a voucher for all I experienced.
In conclusion, the apartment could be very nice but it's not looked after, the area is very lively and centrally located but there are many better options on Airbnb and many honest hosts