I have been on many trips using Airbnb and have also let out a number of properties myself and am definitely not in the habit of giving bad reviews, I usually write a private message on what issues need to be looked at. Unfortunately this time I feel I have to be public since I feel the problem was not resolved in a good fashion.
On arrival there was a smell that was a mixture of sewage and petrol. I was told I should air the place a little which I was happy to do. In the sinks were little white moth balls that smelled of Petrol and coming out of every sink and open entry to pipes was the smell of sewage.
Airing this for an entire day did nothing. This smell meant we could not sit or eat inside the flat. I did however have to sleep in the smell waking up 4 times during the night from it's intensity and having to keep my head under the duvet.
I wrote to Ebru the next day and this is the message I received:
"Hi Emine, sorry about the smell as I changed all drain pipes but it is about the building structure coming from bottom of the building. The building manager can't find a solution....What I'd do is, temporary but it might help, keep the bathroom door shut and open the terrace balcony."
Being autumn it was too cold at night to leave the door open and the roadworks that were taking place at night mean the noise would not have allowed an open door. in any instance this is not something we should HAVE to do.
Ebru did say she would send someone to buy plugs for the taps and would send a friend over to take a look I was asked if I could be in at 5:45 that day. This is not the way to go about sorting the issue. When people rent your place on airbnb they are not there to open doors or to be part of sorting out problems with plumbing.
We didn't make an issue of this but as we were already out sightseeing the friend did not come to the property. This meant one more night with the smell of sewage and petrol and remaining outdoors till we slept. We used bowls and toilet paper to block any holes and towels under the door of the bathroom (unfortunately for me I was sleeping in the room that has the kitchen sink in it).
We were now in to day 3 of a 5 night stay and decided to leave. This meant finding a new place and since there was nothing appropriate in the same area we left for a different part of town. This took up the bigger part of the day (at this point I want to mention that this was my friends first holiday in 3 years). Up till here we were thinking of giving a 3* review even with the smell (provided it would be sorted for further guests) since the flat, everything provided in it and the terrace are perfect.
While Ebru was understanding and said she would reimburse us for the nights we didn't stay we have had some difficulty in agreeing on what that fee was. I have had £270 come out of my account and was told I would be paying for 2 night, the admin fee (which seems to be different amounts according to our transactions with Airbnb), the cleaning, and an IKEA caffetiere that broke while we were hurriedly trying to vacate. An additional £10 was added to our fee for this. I had sent two images of IKEA caffetieres with their prices next to them, the more expensive of which was a little below £7. Ebru has since said she will also reimburse £12 which she believes is the admin cost (from my side it shows as £40).
At this point this had now become a 1* review. I found it particularly surprising that we were charged for the caffetiere (even though we offered), my advice for future reference is to let the guest off such a cost as a courtesy due to the hassle and discomfort caused.
Ebru's text manner is very good and she is communicative, friendly and polite and while I believe she tried to sort out the problem this is obviously an issue she was already aware of (hence the petrol moth balls).
It doesn't feel good o have to write such a review and cause her any further issue regarding her property (I imagine she has had a tough time regarding this problem) , but we definitely did not receive what we were promised and at the end of the day this is a business transaction. I hope Ebru manages to sort out this problem and works out a better way reimbursing if any issue occurs in the future where her visitors feel no alternative but to vacate their holiday home. After all, if it hadn't been for this issue the flat would have, without a doubt, received 5* all round.