The only bad experience we’ve ever had in Airbnb. The place is not prepared for long-term stays, no matter what it says on the profile. There were no cleaning tools. Only a dustpan and brush, and a mop. We had to buy a broom, which is not a big deal, except for what happened during check out. At the end of a 1-month stay, they came to do the check out (as opposed to us leaving the keys like they mentioned they normally do), the lady said that they might need to charge us an additional cleaning fee (we had already paid one when booking). We had done as much as we could with only a broom and a mop and the cleaning supplies we bought. I think they expected to find the flat as if we had only been there for 2 days and spent the whole time outside. So, the fishing for the additional fee was one of the issues. I mentioned to her that we had to buy everything to keep the place clean. Her answer was “You had a pan and a brush”. I would have laughed if I hadn’t been that angry.
Another problem, there was nothing to do the dishes with (not even washing up liquid) and, of course, when we took them out of the cupboard they were only rinsed, not washed. Understandably, someone who stays there for a couple of days might not bother buying everything. But if you don’t provide the basics, at least make sure the cleaners do a very thorough job. We always wash everything anyway, so it didn’t make much of a difference, but it made us wonder about the cleanliness of the place in general.
The bin in the toilet smelled rank. Clearly used feminine hygiene items were disposed of there without a bag, and they just emptied it and put a bag in without cleaning it. It was disgusting.
There’s a Murphy bed in the living room. The guy who checked us in showed us how to set it up. We used it only once (a nap for our toddler) and we couldn’t close it again. We contacted them, just to let them know that it was stuck (clearly not broken). The reply was “As long as it’s not broken”. During the check out she rebuked us because apparently the only way to open it is with a key (we weren’t told that, and we were actually shown how to open it during check in and the guy then closed it). Like it was our fault. According to the lady, they don’t normally leave the bed open. Apparently they don’t normally allow you to use it unless you ask specifically, though the flat is advertised as having one double and one single bed. The bed wasn’t broken, just stuck, but we still had to listen to her telling us how we shouldn’t have opened it and that she was going to check that it wasn’t broken (otherwise there would be a claim through Airbnb).
Another thing they tried to pin on us were some scratches on the coffee table. Those were also there (along with some other marks).
Before we checked in, they mentioned there were some restoration works being done in the building. We specifically asked about the level of noise because we didn’t come to Madrid on holidays but for other reasons, and we were working in the flat during business hours. We told them that, and they said that the noise level was “minimal”. It was not. Most days there was banging, yelling, drilling all day long, sometimes directly on the flat’s walls. It was most certainly not "minimal".
And 2 days after leaving we received a call from them because the straps of both living room blinds were frayed. Yes, they were. That's how we found them when we first opened the blinds when we arrived (which explains why the blinds weren't open when we arrived, as most places do, especially with a view like that of this flat, which is a huge selling point, scaffolding notwithstanding). But according to her, it wasn’t. Of course, we can’t prove it wasn’t, but if the strap of a blind is frayed, it’s usually an issue with the mechanism, not something that you break by misusing it. It seems that they were fishing for a reason to make a claim and get some money from Airbnb and pin it on us.
If you stay here, take pictures of every little issue you notice, they will try to scam you.