Please know this listing is in a low-income housing complex. The first impression upon arrival was a gate and stairway covered with garbage leading down to the apartment.
The first impression upon entering the studio was a tired, run-down, damp space with a number of amenities missing (missing kitchen appliances, not even the basics like salt, pepper, coffee and tea, no designated working area). The sheets were damp and there were bad smelling towels.
We let Michael (the host) know of our disappointment and asked him to clean the garbage in front and inside the property. To his credit, he issued a one night stay refund for us to stock up the kitchen and buy what we needed. Even though I strongly felt this was not my job as a guest, my wife and I decided not to let this ruin our vacation and that we would make things work. My wife cleaned the space, bought a clothesline and pins, washed the sheets and towels, and bought some basic food staples.
On the garbage front, Michael said: “We have the people come to clean the street every week is not our job, but I book the cleaner for Saturday to remove the stuff from the stairs and also from the street”. The garbage was not cleared for four days.
On day two, my wife and I were down with Covid. The fact that we were now confined to the studio revealed the alarming fact that we were sleeping in a rat infested property!
The front deck, which is advertised as part of the listing, features an elevated wooden area, underneath which is a colony of rats, conveniently feeding off the garbage that is left out by the neighbors in loose bags. The rats were running everywhere on the stairs and deck area. The moment we realized this —we sent pictures to Michael, to which he replied “ Hi Mark, outside in London is full of Mouse every day, they come out to eat. I don't understand why you send me a picture? “
We approached Airbnb support. They contacted Michael before offering us any plan of action. Michael called us and was angry, explaining that rats are very normal and not his responsibility. He offered to move us to a different studio in the same neighborhood which we refused. Instead, we found a hotel and moved out the next morning.
Side note: we did not hear back from Airbnb support for the following two days (because of the weekend).
To heap insult upon injury, Michael had someone go into the place after we left and take pictures of the rundown areas and small damages, claimed we trashed the place and reported that to Airbnb. He had the audacity to label us “complainers” and filed a claim against us with Airbnb asking for financial compensation ($1,300). We always leave a place as clean, or cleaner than we enter it. This final, grotesque act by Michael left us shocked and mortified.
Finally this: my own personal nightmare was witnessing my wife’s mental and emotional struggle to the point of what can only be described as a nervous breakdown. The overall experience was extremely traumatic.
Mark Eanes
p.s. For full transparency, there was an inadvertent oversight when making the reservation. We listed ‘single’ instead of a couple. In our correspondence we made it clear we were traveling as a couple. Michael noticed this after our initial complaints, to which we immediately offered to pay the difference.