I think one of the biggest factors that determines our satisfaction in an Airbnb is how a host deals with any issues that arise. Yes, the actual place matters—obviously, quite a lot—but some hosts go above and beyond, while others fall short. This host, unfortunately, fell short for us.
On the first night there, we found the sheets had an extremely strong smell from whatever laundry detergents they used. We’ve been traveling in Scotland for the past 3 months and have not had this issue so we did not anticipate it and ask about it in advance. Unfortunately, this gave me a migraine, keeping me up (in pain) the whole first night.
Since this is essentially a studio apartment plus a small bedroom with bunk beds (which I didn’t realize from the photos, but is evident upon closer inspection), there was nothing I could do about it the first night without waking the whole family.
After only 4 hours of sleep (and at a decent hour of the morning so as not to wake our hosts), I sent a message asking if there was anything they could do to help with this problem (ie change out the sheets for some washed in unscented/ non-bio/ allergy-friendly detergent).
Their response was basically: no we can’t (won’t) do anything, but feel free to wash the sheets yourself or exchange them with the spare set in the cupboard (which smelled even more strongly since they were in an unventilated plastic bag). Even if they couldn’t have solved the actual issue, if they had shown a little compassion or even given us an apology for the lousy situation, we would’ve been less frustrated with the service. Instead, they just refused to reply to our messages after the initial “too bad” response.
This certainly is not what we’ve come to expect from an Airbnb “superhost.”
The problem with this (as I explained to them, and to which they did not respond) was that we had planned to be out all day and the tiny washer/dryer would not possibly let us wash all the items together. Instead—we had to do one wash for all the pillowcases, then come back midday to wash the duvet cover—just those 2 loads took 10 hours (that is with NO exaggeration and no more than a 10-minute break between the 2 loads).
Maybe the hosts felt that they’d accommodated us enough—they did let us check-in an hour early— although they had to meet us which was a pain since there were a number of lock boxes outside, and a self-check-in would’ve been simpler & less stressful. They also left us gluten-free bread instead of whatever they normally leave after we told them we were gluten-intolerant (we read in some other reviews that they left scones as a welcome item, and we always try to let our hosts know not to bother for us since we don’t want the food to go to waste). We certainly appreciated those things, but I would’ve been so much more grateful for a set of sheets that didn’t give me a migraine or require me to spend all day doing laundry.
They did say that if we’d requested this in advance, they would’ve accommodated us, but in the last 3 months of Airbnb travel in Ireland and Scotland this hasn’t been an issue. Had we known, of course we would’ve asked about this in advance, but the lack of compassion (and wasted time) really soured us on this flat.
Otherwise, the location is good (it was loud, even in February, but we know the city, expected that, and they do leave earplugs in the nightstand). They have blackout blinds and curtains in the main room (dbl bedroom/ living/ dining/ kitchen), which we appreciated (and which is important in the bright summers here), though just plain blinds in the bunk bed room.
The double bed was neither comfortable nor terrible—but fine enough for a short stay. The kitchen is tiny, but decently equipped (although if you’re short like me and don’t have a tall person to help you out, you’ll be standing on chairs to reach everything above the first shelf).
Other than the location, the best feature of this flat is the nice strong water pressure in the shower. (Though tell your travel companions not to wash clothes, run the water, or do any dishes while you’re showering or the water temp & pressure will vary.)
Overall, it was fine to stay for the experience of being on the Royal Mile, but I wouldn’t stay here again or recommend it.