I have visited over 15 countries and have never written a negative review. But this apartment was sooooo dirty. The place was tidy, but everything was stained/filthy/dirty. (Literal dirt “worms” blowing on us from the vents! More about that later.) The 2 owners who communicated on the chat were nice enough to allow us to check-in early, which was very hospitable (we didn’t end up needing to, since our plane got rerouted in Storm Eunice and we didn’t get there until very late). That said, as soon as we walked in, our hearts dropped.
I spent a while going back and forth on booking this listing or another one, but was excited to choose this one because the pictures looked wonderful. Getting there, it felt like a total scam! All of the rooms are about half as big as they appear in pictures, they must’ve used a fisheye lens and then used a great filter to make everything look clean and white. There is a stained couch in the living room (different from listing pictures, doesn’t convert to sofa bed). Beds, linens, floors, window sills and walls all stained/dirty/broken. The tiny bathroom has brown and black mold throughout, I cried the first night from not even wanting to have to use it, but it was the middle of the night by the time we arrived. We would’ve cancelled immediately, but I knew from another review that we wouldn’t have gotten any money back (several hundred euro), and it wasn’t feasible to have to pay for that and a hotel (we did go to a hotel for our last night in London, such a relief!). The top bunk wasn’t even prepared with sheets/blankets, just a bare mattress. I dreaded going back to the apartment after sight-seeing each day, and felt it was hard to breathe there. Almost like being in a heavy-smokers place, but it didn’t necessarily smell like smoke. But I soon discovered why. Since we couldn’t use the top bunk, my kids wanted to sleep together on the bottom one, and I tried to move the regular bed a few inches over next to it so they wouldn’t fall out in the middle of the night. I was HORRIFIED to find a full layer of dirt and dust (literally started rolling up in dust balls when I moved bed) and old cigarette lighters and other crap underneath. Started coughing even harder immediately.
The third night, there was a windstorm, and I was in the kitchen with the kids when my husband yelled from the “master” bedroom. I rushed in to see that the wind had pushed the dirt/dust lining the air vents INTO the bedroom, they looked like a bunch of little black pipe cleaners or worms writhing through the vent slats, it was sooooooooo very disgusting!!!! Worse, some landed right on the pillow where his head would’ve been laying shortly when we went to sleep! It was so gross, and reaffirmed part of why I couldn’t breathe well whenever at the apartment. So of course, he and I couldn’t stay in that room that night, the dirt-worms kept blowing in with gusts of winds. And there was no sofa bed as advertised in the living room. And no linens on the top bunk. So he and I had to sleep on the bed next to the bunk (the one with the centimeter-thick layer of dirt and filth underneath) while the kids crowded on the bottom bunk. Got no sleep wondering if the winds changed direction, the dirt would start coming though the vent in this room. So absolutely ridiculous.
The access to public transport and large Tesco grocery store right across the street were very convenient, but we would NEVER stay here again. False advertising is a complete understatement. I don’t write this all to be mean, the hosts were pretty nice all things considered, even if a bit distant in communicating, but I would hate to have someone else feel that level of disappointment and disgust. My son keeps asking if I’m glad we went to the hotel and now at home instead of that “filthy apartment.” I would never dream of renting out my home in that condition. I am still flabbergasted.