This is my first time with Sonder, but it turned out to be a disaster. I DO NOT recommend this place, and I will explain here.
A. The listing of this place is not accurate.
1) The lack of heating
Upon arrival at 4pm, I notice there was no heating in the space and it was a cold day in winter time. I contacted their agent to express my concerns (it was only 4 and it was cold, how cold would it be at night? It was also about to rain.) I talked to five of them (1 via phone text, 3 from phone app, 1 from airbnb), but every single of them brush me off. Yes, they responded, but every answer was generic and was something like "we will solve it right away" and "I will confirm later" and asked me not to leave. I was there waiting for 3 hours, missed my appointments, and nothing got solved. NO ONE followed up even, only someone through gave me an indifferent text response very late at night and told me they can't do anything after 5 or 6 hours.
I was extremely cold the first night and could not sleep that night and following nights. I could feel the coldness penetrated from the close windows and walls. I had to wear my coat in the room.
THE NEXT DAY I was given an extra small heater, but it was still not enough to warm up the place. They also said they can not give me any blanket. The blanket in the room was very thin and couldn’t make up the lack of heating. Notice It was also "torn" and had "brown stains." It was very gross, and I can not believe I paid close to $100 a night plus service and cleaning fee to be tortured and brushed off as such, esp during pandemic when health and hygiene are the most important.
They should really not lie on the listing; and should get some real heaters, or install a wall furnace. Also don't trust their promise of 24/7 service — in reality they only give polite and useless response and no one could help IN REAL TIME, or able to do anything, because they are part of a big company, not like the rest of the hosts on airbnb that are real and caring toward their guests.
2) The dinning table
This table is not as shown as the photos from the listing. It was ridiculously small and stuck between the fridge and the wall. I needed to work, but it was useless.
3) No usable power outlets
Do we need to ask if there's power outlets and if they are functional nowadays? It's not like I have extreme amount of devices that need a lot of outlets. I have 1 smartphone, 1 laptop, 1 Switch. And that's it. But guess what? 1 of 2 available one was not working, the last one was connected with that useless tiny heater.
4) The hot faucet in bathroom sink was not working. It turned as you turned it.
5) The space is not as bright as the photos, in fact, it was very dim. I request for 2 floor lamps and/or brighter light bulbs to read and work. This was unfulfilled, and the whole world is shut down due to covid so I couldnt find a place to work. So I couldn't really get my work done during the trip.
6) The wide angled shots of this place make it look very glamorous and spacious. In reality, this place is very small and tight. Sonder should list out the sq ft, otherwise it feels like false advertisement. (Note that all windows are open and bright in the photos which made it feel bright and big, in reality, you won't do that because other people will see everything in the space, so it feels even smaller and suffocating.) My estimation is that the room is about 150 square feet.
B. Other issues
1) The fridge smells! Are you kidding me?? When is the last time it got checked and cleaned?
2) The bathroom sink has 4 holes, they kept dripping dirty liquid things that stains my cloths and hand. It was ULTRA GROSS.
3) The blanket was "torn" and had "brown stains."
4) No one mentioned it was next to a construction site. Great and loud, exactly what I was looking for.
Overall this is extremely disappointing and frustrating. I traveled a lot and am fairly flexible, but never had any experience as bad as what Sonder offered. I tried every way to express the seriousness and urgency upon arrival and asked for help, but nothing was solved; on top of that, I had to miss my appointment while waiting for their no response, AND unable to work nor rest. They also have risked my health and hygiene during covid time.
I really don't recommended Sonder and would not use it in the future. I hope no one experience what I experienced, and not spending about $100 a night plus service and cleaning fee to be tortured and put at risk.