We didn’t get to stay in the flat for a few reasons which I will list below.
For starters, the flat is spacious, nicely decorated and clean. Up until the day of check in the host was communicative.
On the day of our check in (we ended up changing plans so checked in a couple of days later than initially planned), when we got to the building, we were unable to get in as the code that was given to us was incorrect.
As we didn’t have reception due having UK mobile phones, we were unable to and struggling to contact the host. We luckily run into a fire Marshall who happened to be on a routine check in the building and he has helped us calling the host and wouldn’t leave us alone because the area is full of sketchy people. His told us that as we had luggage with us he was concerned- lucky he did stay as some people were verbally abusive to him as we waited to hear from the host.
I’d like to add that although the location is very near touristy area of Union Square just a few blocks down felt much safer than the area of the building. We also had a comment from a couple of taxi drivers that it was a ‘shit part of town’ - I am not blaming the host for this but we did have to wait outside the flat for ages and the fire Marshall not leaving us alone was just pure luck.
When we finally managed to enter the building, the whole place stunk of urine and sewage. We got into the flat and were met with the same unpleasant smell. One of the windows in the lounge was open, we also opened another and left to go sightseeing. Upon returning to the flat (around 6pm) the outside of the building felt unsafe.
When we got back in, even though we aired the flat for ages it was still very smelly.
We also found a piece of paper confirming there was a sewer pipe burst in basement which explained the smell. This piece of paper looked like it had been there for a while. If we had known about it, we would have booked elsewhere.
Unfortunately the smell made it so unpleasant and so we didn’t want to stay in this place.
I contacted air B&B and they were helpful in us getting a refund and we found a hotel paying a last minute booking but it felt much better.
The host did check back in again asking for our feedback. I don’t think they could have done anything about it as the area is the area however we could have been advised about the unpleasant smell.