We have stayed in many Airbnbs over the years. I have to say, this is the first time it’s truly been a horror experience. For background: the landlord owns multiple apartments and hires Yolvania to be his property manager, his “go-between” with clients on matters like checking in/out and any issues with his properties. He’s probably done this because he’s a horrible person who cannot control his temper and shouldn’t be allowed to interact with people.
The good - there is some good. It’s a good location, a cute size for 1-2 people. It would be comfortable for maybe up to a week. We stayed 4.5 months. We had sold our home too quickly and were moving internationally and it was the right location, right price for our immediate needs. Meaning - we didn’t have many options to leave once we were there as everywhere else was booked out, and we’d already paid a month in advance.
The bad. Well. We’ve quite the list. The first thing I should mention is that Yolvania effusively told us several times during check-in “if there are any problems with the apartment, please let us know so we can fix them, we don’t want bad reviews”.. On and on she went. So we thought ok well cool, the landlord cares about the customer experience. How wrong we were. It was all lip service. The first thing we noticed is that the fridge simply wasn’t cold. We tried changing the temperature setting several times.. It just never got cold. The freezer didn’t keep frozen goods properly frozen, resulting in us having to throw out spoiled food. We told Yolvania this. The landlord came over. You can tell by how yellowed the fridge is, that is must be at least 20 years old. Comically, he kept grabbing things and saying “this is cold!” when it was very obviously not fridge-cold. It became apparent he wasn’t going to actually do anything except yell at us and insist it was cold, so we ushered him out of the apartment.
We had our own cleaning lady come to clean the apartment because it was absolutely filthy when we moved in. I’m talking months worth of dust caked on surfaces, an oily/greasy floor, a sock covered in a dust bunny the same size as the sock just as the front of the sofa.. Disgusting. Our cleaning lady mentioned how terrible the vacuum cleaner was, and little wonder - it was literally held together by sticky tape. Not duct tape, the good stuff, but cheap sticky tape. So I mentioned this to Yolvania who then told me (i have screenshots) that she was going to remove all the vacuums from all the apartments because everyone keeps complaining about them. Maybe don’t buy the cheapest crappiest quality stuff possible then?? I said that’s not OK, the ad that we agreed to clearly said a vacuum was included.. How else are we supposed to clean the apartment properly?? Soon the landlord came over with a different vacuum from another apartment. He yelled at me about “complaining.” I said I would test it and let Yolvania know. I opened it up to find the most disgusting mess I’ve ever seen inside a vacuum cleaner.. It was so clogged it could barely suck air. I sent Yolvania a photo to explain why I could not test it, because I’d had to order a replacement filter online because the one supplied simply wouldn’t work anymore. Next thing I know, the landlord storms over, barges in, yells at me, waves his hands in my face and tells me that I should leave because I complain too much, that “maybe I’m used to nicer things” (that comment was interesting!) and was extremely aggressive.
I could go on all day about encounters with this slumlord, but here’s a bullet-point list of some of the things that are just plain wrong about this apartment:
Electrical outlets don’t work properly, are sticking out from the wall, not to code and definitely a hazard
Water pressure in the shower and kitchen is MEH because you have to share it with your neighbours (!)
The air conditioner stinks and hasn’t been cleaned (Yolvania lied to me and said it has, except I have photos of it showing disgusting mouldy build up)
Drains were so clogged I had to go buy drain cleaner
When the intercom buzzer goes, it rings all three apartments because they were once ONE apartment that the cheap landlord has cut into three, so everyone gets to hear everyone else’s midnight uber eats deliveries
Stovetop doesn’t work well
There is nowhere to put anything in the shower - we had to buy our own caddy
You get to hear the plumbing gurgling from the apartment next door every time they use the water
The wifi drops out constantly because everyone else is using it
The hot water in the kitchen isn’t really hot enough to wash dishes
So many missing lightbulbs or bulbs that are dead and the owner is too cheap to replace, meaning the apartment is basically a cave
Even with the lack of bulbs - there’s also a lack of lights. We were told the owner is an “artist” and doesn’t like “direct light”. What a load of nonsense! Too cheap to install overhead lights, more like.
Beds are like sleeping on rocks - I had to see an osteopath
Tap in the kitchen is so loose it dances
Cables crossing the floor everywhere are trip hazards
There’s a giant crack in the wall leading to the outside which makes the wall wobble if you lean on the window (terrifying!)
Owner is constantly banging around outside the apartment yelling about how sh1t his tenants are (because he lives in front)
Other tenants also complaining to me about slumlord conditions in their apartments.
Don’t stay here. Just don’t. I’m sure they’ll post some nonsense reply to this review - but I have photos and screenshots of everything.