Never had to leave a bad review before, but I’ve never had an experience like this in all the years I’ve used Airbnb. As we walked in we were met with an unpleasant smell that lingered in every room. The photos don’t show, but all the owners personal belongings are left in the property including: their 4 year old’s (how do I know? Because there are about 20 birthday cards scattered around) child’s toys (everywhere), wardrobes filled with their clothes and shoes, underwear and bras left in the drawers, owners car keys left in the entrance, owners and child’s bathrobes left hanging off the bathroom door, owners jewellery left out on the table... I could go on. We were in utter shock, it felt as if we had broken into someone’s home and they would be coming home any minute. We had booked a 4 night stay, and upon opening all the wardrobes looking for some hanging space for our clothes, we found there was none- all, and I mean all, of the owners personal belongings are left in the flat. Considering this flat is let as “entire place to yourself” and not a private room, it was very strange that the owners had not left any space whatsoever for guests to unpack. The fridge had leftover food (used butter, condiments, vegetables etc) in it, which isn’t completely out of the ordinary for an Airbnb, but an awful smell accompanied it. Considering there is a pandemic going on, leaving someone’s leftover food seems pretty unsanitary. My husband and I left very shortly after arrival, as we felt so uncomfortable and in all honesty, unsafe. There was an eerie feel to the place, as if someone could come in at any minute.
We contacted the host/host’s team immediately to let them know we were unhappy staying there and that the place was not as described so would be looking for a refund. The owners initially refused after taking a few days to get back to me, and it was only after I escalated it with Airbnb support (luckily I took photographic evidence) that I got a notification saying I had been issued a refund.
Sorry to leave a review like this, but I think it’s important other travellers are aware of this.