We checked in a day later than expected so we anticipated that everything would be in order; it did not turn out that way.
Pros:
No flowers or wine left for us, but there was chocolate, cheese, orange juice, yoghurt, etc.
Plenty of light
Sufficient clothes storage
Comfortable bed
Good selection of TV channels
New kitchen appliances
Strong wifi
Large sitting area
Cons
There were significant cleanliness/maintenance issues, and communication about resolving them could have gone better. Cleanliness:
- large pieces of food and clothing tags under couch;
- Dirty dishes in oven;
- Dirty dishes and cups in cupboard that had to be rewashed before use; and,
- I had to clean shower trap because it was so clogged with hair that even the shortest shower caused it to over flow.
Mechanical
The washing machine didn’t work, so we had to leave the flat shortly after check-in. The cleaning staff left the repair person in the flat unattended with our belongings. He said that the washing machine didn’t work and he didn’t know when it would be repaired. The host said that it did work save one setting, so we tried it. Water came spilling out all over the floor. Once again, as with the shower, I was on my hands and knees cleaning up water on the floor. In fairness, the host offered to do our laundry three times but we had some concerns about leaving our clothes with the staff, given the state of the flat, and it being unclear how quickly we would get them back, so we just gave them their own towels. Our choice, but it meant that we had to wash our own laundry.
The shower head was clogged with deposits so it sprayed in every direction. Obviously, this isn’t something that the host would check on, but, like the hair ball in the shower drain, it underscored that the cleaning staff were either less than assiduous in doing their tasks or weren’t reporting issues to the host.
The host told us that this is the first time that she’s had a dissatisfied guest, but the review immediately preceding our stay noted that the communication was lacking and that the place wasn’t as clean as it could be. These are the same two complaints that we had so clearly we were not the first dissatisfied guests. The host also said that she only became aware that the washing machine wasn’t working when the previous guests posted a review the day after their stay. That was odd, because their review still had not been posted even at the time of the writing of this one, which is nearly two weeks after our stay ended.
The host asked us to provide photos of the various issues that we had encountered which we did within an hour of leaving the flat. We asked for a partial refund in recognition of the issues that seriously impaired our enjoyment of the stay. The landlord (who is not the host) agreed to about half of what we asked for, but hasn’t refunded anything as of the writing of this review. The landlord asked why we didn’t immediately report some of the issues. I explained several times that we preferred to take care of the more minor issues ourselves rather than complain about them. It was only when the issues were so numerous and so significant that we notified the host in hopes that they would be remedied.