The flat is in a great location in Central London. Nadeer was very responsive and kept communication lines open. We arrived a few hours before check-in, and were allowed to leave our suitcases until the apartment was ready for check-in. Upon check-in, Nadeer and his wife, Alice, were present to receive us and walk us through the apartment. The main areas were well-cleaned, and they had even provided some light provisions (water, bananas, eggs, milk). Everything was going well, until we discovered quite a few issues…
- there were some rusty cutlery and pans in the cupboard
- dead batteries in the remote control
- no bathroom mat provided
- filthy oven
- broken microwave
- broken dishwasher
- broken bed
To Nadeer’s credit, he came over the next day to address some of the issues (brought replacement batteries, brought a rug for the bathroom). Fortunately we were quarantining that day as we were waiting for our test results to be released, so were just at the flat to receive him any time he was available to come over. The rug that he provided tho, was quite dirty - he insisted it was clean, but after throwing it in the washing machine did it clear of the coating of mould and dust. It was also only this time that he informed us that the dishwasher was actually broken, and that it had been broken for weeks. This was really frustrating as this is something that could’ve been communicated to us even before confirming the reservation request. He offered to send the cleaner everyday, for a couple of hours, to handle washing the dishes (we’re a family of four, with two young children - anyone with children would know how much things children use, and how much time it takes to clean up. Not to mention my husband was working and I was homeschooling the children). When I agreed to this, the cleaner was only really sent once. Nadeer had also asked that I pick up the cleaning supplies for the cleaner to use, on top of making myself available while she was over to clean. With my supervision, she was able to clean up the grimy oven. And it was also at this time that we discovered that the microwave actually had a hole in it, which was really unsafe and hazardous. The worst part is discovering that the bed was actually broken. The bed slats were broken, which caused the bed to sink.
There are also some inconsistencies from the photos (i.e. no TV, work desk, office chair, lounge chair in the second bedroom).
Nadeer was very apologetic about all the issues, but didn’t really offer any viable solutions. The most he could offer us was an early check-out, and also to his credit, made himself available and flexible at our check-out. We decided to cancel the rest of our stay at the place and move to another place.
This was quite an inconvenience on our end - all the time spent coordinating with Nadeer, and then having to find a new place to move to, make arrangements, pack up, and move to another flat. The issues in this flat are issues that should have been addressed before making the unit available, if not honestly communicating all of these, even when he and his wife received us at check-in and walked us through the apartment. We have never had such an awful experience with an AirBnb before.