Do not stay at the Desmais accommodation (Cala Galdana) for a vacation in Menorca. The advertisement is not truthful and is deceptive (see below). But first we have to explain the unpleasant and chaotic experience regarding the organization and management of our reservation:
1. 4 days before check-in Desmais requested our cell phone through the Airbnb app, thus breaching the company's rules. We found it suspicious but agreed to provide the phone number, as the excuse was to facilitate check-in.
2. 48 hours before arrival in Menorca (we were on vacation at the time), I receive a message via Whatsapp from an unknown number telling me my reservation was changed to a new location called Nuramar (also advertised on Airbnb), located in Cala Bosch. At that moment I panic while I am at the beach on vacation which up to that point was idyllic, in Gerona.
3. Hours later, again via Whatsapp, I receive a message from another different phone number, and a person who identifies herself as Antonia and informs me that our room will not be available due to a problem in the pipes, and that they have transferred us
to another property, Nuramar.
4. Our intention was to stay in Cala Galdana for strategic purposes, and we lose a full day of our vacation in Gerona, and the day before the flight to Menorca, to solve the problem with Airbnb. That time is not recoverable. The experience was disastrous. Airbnb attends us by phone and after several calls to different agents they assure us that they will contact the host to solve the problem.
5. 2 hours after waiting, and considering cancelling the rest of our vacation, receive a new whatsapp from Antonia saying that the problem is solved and that our apartment is available.
6. At no time did we have contact with the host, Desmais, the owner of the apartment, which is strange to us. In my long experience as an Airbnb user I have never experienced this degree of abandonment by a host.
7. Once settled in the accommodation we discovered that Antonia, is the housekeeper and also managing the airbnb. Her work and attitude are excellent and we have no complaints about it. We do have concerns about the manipulation to which we were subjected without any consideration 48 hours before the start of our trip to Menorca. To date no one has taken responsibility for the almost 48 hours of uncertainty that we lived with respect to our reservation or the hours that we could not fully enjoy our Boutique Hotel in Gerona because of the conflict. Reviewing the history of comments on Airbnb, we found that the story has very similar precedents and we can not help but feel ripped off and manipulated by a vacation mafia. Other negative aspects of the accommodation are as follows:
1. The accommodation pretends to be an aparthotel. It is neither an apartment nor a hotel. It is a cheap efficiency and is not fully equipped. It does not have a washing machine, or iron, no cleaning service, only one set of towels for an entire week at the beach, no shampoo or conditioner, no bowls in the kitchen, no oven, VERY scant conditions.
2. The quality of the furniture is terrible, the sofa is covered in stains. Only the bed is good.
3. The listing offers Hotel Services applying extraordinary rates, to change towels, sheets, laundry, coffee capsules... if needed. This, which may seem coherent, is not so if the accommodation is advertised as an apartment. It is either an apartment or a hotel. Hybrids do not work.
4. The accommodation is small and uncomfortable. The price of the accommodation is excessive for what it offers in terms of size. It is a cabin where you can't enjoy a vacation.
5. It does not have air conditioning. This information is omitted in the description of the accommodation. It can be assumed otherwise for the price per night, at the level of a 4 star hotel. Beware! There was a heat wave while we were there and this created a huge problem. We could not relax or get good sleep at night. Unacceptable and deceptive advertising!
6. There is poor soundproofing in the rooms.
7. No privacy. The terrace is very indiscreet. From ours we could see and hear all of our neighbors. At dinner time or when having an aperitif on the terrace, this is annoying.
8. The shower head did not work because the holes were clogged with limescale. We could only take a shower with the hand shower head.
9. The quiet hours in the pool were not always respected at night and also at nap time, when the children were screaming and playing in the water.
10. We had an ant infestation in the kitchen.
11. To access our apartment we had to climb 93 steps. In our case it is not a problem, we are young and sporty, but perhaps for other tenants this could be a problem.
12. Excessive outdoor lighting at night creates a lot of light pollution. It would be better if there were timers or motion sensors for the outdoor lighting.