We had a good time in Bristol. Unfortunately, our experience of the weekend was severely tainted before we left on Sunday morning and by what has transpired in the immediate wake of our departure. The flat is in a good location close to a lively urban area and some 20mins or so walk from the city centre with easily accessible off-street parking. These factors are were important to us and for which we were prepared to pay well over £230/night. The inside of the flat was clean, tidy and reasonably well presented. We have come to expect little touches such as a carton on milk in the fridge or a city map etc and whilst one of the radiators made an outlandishly loud noises and woke me up early Sunday morning, this is something we would normally let pass without comment.
The problem has been what has occurred as a result of a brittle plastic bracket that holds the shower head to the vertical wall rail over the bath braking on Sunday morning. It failed quite spontaneously as the head was being adjusted. There was no undue force involved and in spite of the absence of a bathmat, it was not as a result of stumble or slippage. It broke simply in adjusting the shower head. I sent a message to the managing agent to report this and included three photographs. They immediately thanked me for letting them know, but shortly after sent a message asking for a £60 contribution for repair. Without going into too much technical detail, I was able to explain in some detail and provide evidence to clearly demonstrate that the plastic fitting had been badly weakened by a pre-existent crack to one side of the shower hose hole. This was obvious to even a cursory examination because of discolouration caused by long-standing calcification of the crack surface - in contrast to the fresh white fracture of the other side where the bracket which finally gave up the ghost on our watch. My explanation evidently fell on deaf ears because I then received a message from AirBNB to say the had been asked to mediate the claim. I have gone to considerable lengths to explain the facts of the matter and as I write, await the outcome of the mediation. I had hoped it might be decided before the deadline for our review. I have no idea what the host's already posted review might say about this issue and before we run out of time I feel it important not to loose the opportunity to state our side of the story.
We are long standing and experienced AirBNBer’s and have only ever had excellent reviews from hosts for leaving venues in clean, tidy and indeed sound condition.