My stay at Miguel’s was incredibly disappointing. It started off well with great communication from the host and even when I was delayed coming from the train station, they waited for me to arrive and even helped carry my luggage up the 5 flights of stairs.
However, once I settled into the apartment and tried to use the indoor fireplace, it did not work. I stayed here in December and the loft is very drafty and not insulated, so I had to keep my coat on to stay warm.
I sent Miguel a message and he asked for a picture of the remote and said he would look into fixing it. I eventually found 2 space heaters and plugged both in. They only kept my feet warm and did nothing to heat up the space. After a while, having both plugged in caused the power to go out. I received help to get the power back on, but at that point could only use one of the heaters.
I messaged Miguel again and asked for more blankets and told him it was very cold. I did not get a response. Any time I messaged asking about the fireplace, I was ignored and instead Miguel would respond with questions about the cleanliness of the space and whether or not I needed anything. I began to feel like I could not trust him.
When I went to bed I had to pile clothes on top of the bed to stay warm. In the morning I expected to get an update on the fireplace being fixed but I did not get one. I sent Miguel another message saying the place was too cold and if it could not be fixed I would have to stay somewhere else. I also called the host number and was told by Marina that the fireplace did not work and that she only had the space heaters. Only when I mentioned I would have to leave did she offer to get another heater. After an hour with no update I contacted Airbnb support. And only when they contacted Miguel, did he begin messaging me about the heat. This was 3-4 hours after I had contacted them in the morning.
I am grateful for the help I received from Airbnb support to get out of this apartment. The listing should have never included a fireplace if it did not work, especially since the fireplace was the primary source of heating the unit.