In the interest of constructive feedback, I'll begin with the positives:
- Apartment appears to have been recently remodeled to a reasonably high standard.
- Apartment (including towels and sheets, furniture) is clean and hygienic.
- Bed is comfortable.
- Location, while not to everyone's taste (Lavapies is a developing neighborhood), is quite convenient to transport and close to major points of interest, grocery shopping and nightlife.
Now, the negatives:
- I was given to believe I was renting an apartment that was on the first floor, no lift, because the ad said so. In fact that was a lie - when I received the address, it was clear that the apartment is on the second floor, no lift. The building has high ceilings, too, which translated to about 50 stairs to climb each and every time I came home (the host told me there were about 20 stairs...). While for some this wouldn't be a deal-killer, for me it was a major bummer, especially since I had a long-term stay. Also, dishonesty sucks, frankly.
- Upon taking occupancy, I immediately noticed a huge depression in the middle of the floor near the kitchen where the floor sagged, creaked and floorboards separated. I became a bit concerned about the potential safety hazards of this issue, so I contacted Airbnb, who bounced it back to the host. The host quickly assured me that it was not a safety concern, and that if it bothered me that much, extended an offer to move me to another flat while they had a carpenter come in and even out the sagging area. I opted not to accept this, though, as it would have been a major disruption to my work and plans for the month, and simply decided to live with a sagging floor. Still, though: if it was so easy to call in a carpenter and fix the problem once brought it to their attention, why wasn't it done before renting it out to me for an entire month in the first place?
I see now that they have corrected the misinformation about the location of the flat within the building. That's a positive first step. I also hope that they are working to rectify the sagging floor issue. In a nutshell: I feel that I was sold on a different apartment than what was delivered. With what Airbnbs cost now, we must hold hosts to a higher standard. This is my small contribution towards that end.