Madrid was our first destination in Spain after wrapping up Portugal. We had stayed at two lovely flats in Lisbon and Porto that nicely accommodated our group of 4.
Like others, the flight of stairs is pretty killer but nothing we hadn’t experienced in prior travels. It is also clearly stated in the listing. Remember the first floor is floor 0 so for those not familiar with that system, it means there’s one more flight than you may expect.
Upon arriving, our flight from Lisbon was a little late so we picked up the key from a convenience shop next store. Everything was going pretty smooth until we got into the Airbnb.
There was a strong sewage smell in half of the flat, it was a bit nauseating. We contacted the host and we were told that it is because the sewage system is pretty old on Madrid (we didn’t experience this issue in Portugal or Italy). They said they’d come by the next day and use some product to help with the smell — it didn’t. Luckily, the smell only occurred in the evening and mornings, but never as bad as the first day.
Beyond the smell, the AC was quite weak. We left it running for 1.5 hours and it was still quite hot in there. What helped more than anything was opening the windows. Luckily the evenings were quite cool so that made it so much better.
Pros:
- Location is pretty fantastic
- Spacious flat
Cons:
- Horrible sewage smell
- Bad AC
- Couch bed was very uncomfortable for two adults (our travel buddies both woke up with back pain and they are more accustomed to bad sleeping conditions)
- Water pressure is incredibly weak. Water will only trickle if you hold the shower head upwards
- Can be very loud at night, especially for those in the room with the couch bed
- WiFi was so slow that I don’t think you can even advertise it. We just used our phones international plan
Because of the smell, we did try to switch to a different Airbnb but they would not go easy on the cancellation fee. We decided to suck it up and deal with all the issues.
Now I sit on a train to Seville capturing all my thoughts as we excitedly head to a new city. I wouldn’t recommend staying here, there are better options at this value.