Let me start by stating my thoughts on Airbnb ratings. They are supposed to be an honest review of a property, host, or guest. They often aren't. People seem afraid that any negativity in their review will make it difficult to rent in the future. I believe that this platform works best when reviews are honest. Also, personally, 5 stars should be for an exceptional stay, beyond expectations, though Airbnb states 5 stars for acceptable stay.
I have been a host and I will admit my standards are high. My first concern was the accuracy of the listing. This is a basement apartment (the main house also being a short term rental), which is accessed through an alley. This is all fine, but should be stated in the listing, not avoided. There were also a number of items listed as provided, but not, including extra linens & pillows, safe, toaster, wine glasses, more than 2 drinking glasses. Not all a big deal, but an inaccurate listing. Even if everything was perfect the price is too high for what it is.
My family of 3 spent a week here and we're disappointed in the preparation and attention to detail the host management provided. The basement apartment was nicely done inside and everything was new. It was obvious though that the host never took the time to be sure everything was in working order. We found the water hose not installed on the fridge (so no ice or water), the very nice gas stove unplugged (guests had been lighting it with a lighter-empty on our arrival), the packing film still on the inside of the oven door (discovered by the smell while we were using the oven), the feet not put on the sofa (so the sofa bed was quite unlevel and cleaners unable to clean under-it was filthy), missing linen and pillows for the sofa bed (though our reservation was for 3 guests). The glass front door badly sticks (it took so much force to close we were afraid the glass could break). The security gate, which is accessed through an alley was inoperable upon arrival and wasn't fixed for 4 days. There was 24/7 drug dealing in the alley.
Apparently the earlier guests didn't mind these problems as none were mentioned in their reviews and all gave five stars. We could have been the first guests to spend more than a night or two and many of the problems might not have been a concern for such a short stay. I don't know. For the average price of $283 per night (and all 5 star reviews) I expect near perfection. The issues that bother me the most seem to be the smallest. It's because they were minor things that there was no excuse. The unprofessionalism of renting a unit without checking that everything works is unacceptable to me.
We plugged in the stove, bought and installed the water hose for the fridge, and installed the feet on the sofa. We did these with the permission of the host. These will not be issues for future guests and didn't take too long, but shouldn't have been left for us to do. We didn't have to do them, but their completion made our stay better.
All of these issues were relayed to the host. She initially stated she would get linens to us the next day (after 2 nights) but did drop them off the same day. She did offer to reimburse us for the cost of the water hose. Some complaints were never addressed. In general I found her responses "corporate" and not apologetic or sincere. This is a management company host so we were just one of many guests who had a few of the probably many problems they were dealing with. If I were the property owner I would find new hosts.
All of that being said, it was a beautiful bright apartment with a comfy bed and sofa. The sauna and shower were both very nice. The TV's were new and large. There were adequate pots and pans and I appreciated the kettle. The central location was great and the drug dealers never caused a problem. We ultimately decided that the home was safer because they didn't want police there for any reason. 😊