The apartment is nice but our stay was tarnished by a bad experience with the host.
(-) Negatives:
There was loud construction work happening in the building next door from the first day of our arrival and for a further 4 weeks, Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm. This was particularly problematic as we were working from home. The host didn’t provide any information about this beforehand, so I would recommend checking if there’s ongoing construction before you book. It was explained to us that nobody had complained about construction work before and that this came as a complete surprise but we subsequently noticed other reviews had mentioned construction noise from just a few months ago. We were offered an alternative apartment but this was in a completely different part of town and not an equivalent space. The host repeatedly offered us a refund but it was difficult to find another suitable 4 week airbnb, at such short notice, and our options were pretty limited. It appeared as though the host just wanted us out which made us feel really uncomfortable and unwelcome. Eventually we had to contact the Airbnb Support Team and they communicated on our behalf as we couldn’t come to terms.
In terms of the apartment, the sofa is small and uncomfortable and the television hanging in the middle of the room is really not good for your neck. There is a lot of noise from pigeons on the roof next to the bedrooms, do not underestimate this, it was really annoying. The internet is shared between 3 flats with a wifi repeater and the connection speed wasn’t sufficient for consistent working. Due to the unpleasant communications we had with the host, we decided to just use our phone data and not mention anything as it was less stressful.
(+) Positives:
The apartment is bright and open, the kitchen is large and has everything you need and the main living space gets the sun from around midday. The beds are very comfortable and the shower is good too, with enough hot water for about 1.6 people to shower consecutively. The location is excellent, close to the city centre and located on one of the nicest streets in Ruzafa. There is a big supermarket 3 minutes away, with bars, cafes and restaurants on every corner.
-- Conclusion:
Overall the apartment is nice but there are a number of things that could be improved with this listing. The main issues we had, however, were with the tone of the communications with the host. There was very little in the way of understanding or being apologetic for the disruptions and we were made to feel like we were being unreasonable, even after sending lots of videos of the noise. This is the first bad review I’ve ever written on airbnb after over 10 years of using the service, but I think this will be a good opportunity for the host to reflect, and to improve the experience of future guests.