First the good: location is convenient and the immediate area felt safe. The actual flat was clean, spacious, and comfortable. We were able to walk into the city center without difficulty and would have enjoyed our stay if not for the problems with the property management company.

The bad: As indicated by other reviews, the location is not accurate. It takes you to the wrong place. This should have been a clue as to the customer service issues we would experience because despite multiple reviews on this site, nothing has been done to fix the poor directions (which could be resolved very easily if they only updated their house instructions that they send out before the check-in date telling people how to find the place). It shows a lack of effort or attention. The biggest issue we faced was in terms of parking. The property is advertised as having free parking (and we relied on that when we booked), and there was indeed open parking. However, when we arrived, it was not clear how we would get the necessary parking permit (again, easy fix by communicating that information prior to check-in). When we asked where to find the parking permit, they were very slow to reply, but ultimately said the permits (x2) were in the property. We looked all over and couldn't find them. The management did nothing that entire night other than say they'd check with the owner (not sure if they did or not, but I never did hear from the owner). I asked if I needed to go park somewhere else or would be okay to stay. They never responded (despite attempts to call and message through airbnb site) so I ultimately stayed (not knowing where else to park) and got a ticket for £100 (£60 if paid early). I would spend several hours of our 48 hour stay arguing with them over the issue just to be told that they left the permits in a clear place on Tuesday (we checked in on a Thursday). I would hear from around 10 different employees, none of whom were helpful until after we checked out, in finding a solution to the parking issue (although they did offer to refund the cost of the ticket, which was appreciated). They ultimately told us that they could do nothing to get us a parking permit, leaving us to find a solution on our own (we eventually found a car park and paid for overnight parking to avoid another ticket).

While packing up and checking out of the property on the last day, we found one of the permits on the floor under the middle of the master bed (admittedly, we did not think to check under the beds for the permits when we checked-in). Despite being told all along that the permits were in the living room, they would in the end admit that a previous guest lost the permits and they didn’t have time to replace them before we arrived.

In the end, after giving them ample opportunity to make things right on their own, I requested that they pay the ticket, the parking expenses, and then left it up to the owner to determine whether the inconvenience caused by the issue was worth anything more. They eventually offered to refund the costs incurred for the ticket, parking fees, and the £95 cleaning fee, which I accepted. I appreciate that financially we were at least no worse off for our stay, but spending 5+ hours getting them to take care of the problem that should have been easily resolved with even average customer service was not how we planned to spend our holiday in Edinburgh.

We’ve stayed at numerous airbnbs in the UK, Europe, and the US and have never experienced such poor customer service. I am hopeful future visitors will be able to enjoy the property without issue (as it is an otherwise good property) and perhaps the management company will do better going forward. In the end, I appreciate that they worked to make things right, but it never should have taken such effort on our part to make that happen.