We were very happy at first when we checked in. The place looked exactly like the photos. There was a strong paint smell in our room and the bathroom but nothing that could not be fixed by keeping the windows open.
My friend and I had chosen this place to attend a friend's wedding and the location was great for us. It was very close to the Levenshulme station and the price was great.
I met Anth after we checked in and discussed with him regarding the use of the bathroom the next morning as we needed to wash our hair before the wedding (the house only has one bathroom and there was 4 of us in the house, my friend and I, Anth and one other guest). He said that he would leave the house at 8AM the next day. I asked him to communicate to the other guest on our behalf that if my friend and I are in the bathroom, to knock on the door if they need to take a shower. He said that he would do so. The next morning, my friend used the bathroom between 8:15AM and 8:45AM and I used it between 9AM and 9:30AM. None of us heard any knocks on the bathroom door while we were using it. While we were at the wedding, I received the following message from Anth:
"Morning Maryam, thanks for chat lastnight on using bathroom. Unfortunately I was unable to get in for nearly 3/4hr this morning despite seeing your friend and saying needed to use. Not really an acceptable situation. I had to leave for a meeting without getting washed
If this was a requirement you really should of booked a dedicated flat.
Kindly ensure the bathroom is available and not using for longer than say 15min in morning. Cheers"
To which I replied:
"Hi Anth,
Sorry for causing you inconvenience this morning. There must have been a misunderstanding. Last night, you told me you would leave the flat at 8am. We were awake earlier but we did not use the bathroom before 8am as we thought you would need it.
Joanna went to the bathroom thinking that if the other guest needed it, they would knock on the door; since I had told you last night to let him know that he can knock on the bathroom door if we are inside and he needs it.
We were not aware of the 15 min shower rule, and we would not have booked the place if we did.
We will make sure to follow the rule tomorrow morning and we will be out of your hair by tomorrow 11am.
Best regards,
Maryam and Joanna"
I did not get a reply to my message from Anth. The next morning, we heard someone enter the house at 4AM, who started yelling "hello" several times behind our door. I do not know if this was Anth or the other guest, but we were woken up and were terrified. They stopped yelling eventually and nobody entered our room. We feared for our safety because there were no door locks in our room to prevent anyone else in the house entering inside. Luckily, we were going to leave that day anyway as we would not have felt safe to stay in the place for another night.