I don't like to give negative reviews, but I need to warn about this property. We arrived late at night and the outside security door was propped open. A broken door frame prevented the door from being closed (or locked). This was a security issue to us, right from the start. We were in Edinburgh during Fringe Festival and homeless people and drunks were everywhere. We knew that going in, that’s part of the deal when being there in August but were not comfortable with not being able to close and lock the security door to the building. The stairway/hall lights on our floor were out as well so every time we came home at night, we had to use the flashlights on our phones to see to unlock the apartment door and hope no one was there who shouldn't be.
The bedroom was clean and as expected, however the shower and bathroom sink were not sparkling clean as other reviewers have stated. The sofa bed was dirty with food and dirt under the cushions and no sheets, pillows or blankets so someone could sleep on it. Sent emails to host about broken security door and linens for the sofa bed. Emails were not returned. Finally sent a text and was called back by someone from BnBBuddy for whom English was not their first language and explaining our issues was not easy. They said they’d send someone over the next day to look at the broken door. As far as linens for the sofa, I was told that they are not provided when the apartment is rented for two people. I was told I should have made the reservation for 3 or 4 people and pay extra for linens for the sofa bed. It is assumed two people will always sleep together in the one bedroom. Not the case for our arrangement. The listing indicates a bed and a sofa bed for up to 4 people. BnBBuddy rep argued with me for twenty minutes and I was told that what it says in the Airbnb listing is irrelevant. I gave up as we were going in circles with no resolution in sight.
It was then that we discovered the second, small bathroom. In the listing it is a bright powder room with black and white wallpaper. That is not the case. The wallpaper has been stripped and there is a water stain on the ceiling and mold all down the wall. If we could have, we would have made different arrangements and left the apartment at this point, except that Fringe Festival was going on and there were literally no hotel rooms in the city of Edinburgh.
The listing indicates that there is a dishwasher, there is not. That’s fine, except there was no dish washing soap, no paper towels and one dirty dish towel. So are the items provided in the kitchen clean? How were they washed? We didn’t use any of the items in the kitchen for this reason.
BnBBuddy did come in the apartment while we were gone and left some sheets for the sofa bed (no blanket, no pillow) and a bottle of dish soap with a note that they don’t provide paper towels, even though they’re pictured in the listing. They did NOT fix the broken security door or the burned-out lights in the stairs.
Listing instructions are to park in spot #2. There are four parking spaces at the apartment, none of them are numbered. Which one is #2? From the left or right? We picked one and left the car there. There was only one other car in those four spots the entire time we stayed. We received notes on the windshield from an unknown source indicating that these are private spots and we needed to move the car. We ended up moving the car and paying for daily parking as we feared the car would be towed away.
The apartment is at the bottom of a big hill and cell phone signal was abysmal. Wifi is provided in the apartment, but it was no better. I was not able to use my laptop for any length of time to do work that was needed.
We never spoke or had contact with the apartment owner. It is managed by BnBBuddy and they are not doing the owner any favors. I would not stay here again.