Our stay at Izel’s place co-hosted by Denis was awful. I have never had such a terrible experience. This review is specific to Denis as a host.
Our check-in was smooth. We arrived late (1:30 AM) and Denis had his friend Art meet us and check us in. We were provided an entrance ID card and shown where to park in the parking garage. The apartment building has a high-level of security;you cannot enter the garage or building without swiping in with the ID card.
First impressions of the place was good. It definitely felt like it was a residential place as opposed to being made specifically as an Airbnb, which is fine. There were minor things like small stain on the bedsheets, but I always bring my own so I wasn’t too bothered.
We came in and out of the place the first day fine. The second day around 8:30 AM as we attempted to re-enter the parking garage the security started yelling at us in Turkish. What we were able to understand is that our name and picture is not on the ID card and we can’t stay there. The security called their head of security and called someone to interpret. We were forcefully told we had to leave and we could not stay there. We tried to explain that we were renting out the apartment, but it wasn’t helpful.
At this moment I called Art bc he said to call him in case of an emergency and wasn’t able to get a hold of him. I messaged Denis via Airbnb app and his behavior and responses were shocking.
He stated
“while entering the building it’s very important that you do not show anyone the card or say that you’re staying at an airbnb”
“You are visiting a friend and he gave you his card if someone asks”
He then instructed us to leave the area and park somewhere else for a while. Eventually he instructed us to go back to the building, that he would send a friend there. We would tell the security that we’re visiting a friend in apartment and the friend would ring us up. Not to mention that this entire time Denis is very rude and aggressive with his messages.
At this point I stopped responding to Denis completely and called Airbnb and reported him. The representative was very nice and understanding and said they would help us find another place to stay. In the meantime, we left the premises for an hour and then my husband walked to the place, went up stairs and grab our belongings and left. Thankfully, the security didn’t recognize him or ask questions.
I spoke w an Airbnb representative again and informed them that we had left and was told I could mail the keys back to the host (bc the security did not want to keep them at their desk) but that someone would be reaching out to me with further information and details within 24 hrs.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen so the next morning I spent a few hours on hold with Airbnb and finally was able to speak with someone who arranged a complex method for us to return the keys to Denis bc apparently Denis had accused me of not wanting to return his keys (as if I would have some benefit from holding onto his keys). We ended up spending literally half of our day in Istanbul trying to return the keys. It was awful.
In the end I received a refund from Airbnb, but I still am not satisfied. I feel that Denis should not be a host and this listing should be removed so that no one else has to go through the nightmare we went through.
After everything, Izel ended up reaching out to me via WhatsApp and apologized and clarified the situation. His explanation was that it’s not illegal to have people stay at the apartment and put the blame on the security. However, it’s very clear from Denis’ messages that this just wasn’t the case.
I do not recommend this stay and I do not recommend Denis as a host.