*DIRTY/MOLDY*
We were excited about this space due to the pictures and location. Location great, pictures very misleading.
The space was very, very dirty. On the listing they claim to keep up with Airbnb standards and the owner claims to have a cleaning service come to do a thorough job. If they do pay for that, I would suggest he get a refund. We saw hair that wasn’t ours, dead bugs and what looked like chips of mold everywhere. I understand this is considered more of a basement apartment, but with the standards they are claiming to uphold I would’ve expected the floors to at least be clean.
We stayed here 2 nights and after the first night we woke up with itchy, sore throats and stuffy noses. We didn’t realize the smells at first, but after the symptoms we were feeling we knew there was something down there we were exposed to. I called my husband (who is certified in mold damage, water damage and restoration for 5+ years) to describe to use what symptoms of inhaling mold would be. It was exactly what we had. No prior sickness and nothing related to covid, these are specific types of symptoms from being exposed to mold. Looking through the past reviews we discovered other people have had the same type of experience with smelling a foul smell and feeling sick when being here. To which the owner responded the claims were false and he should’ve been notified. The claims were 100% correct, and given how he argued back with them and was rude and belittling, we didn’t think it would do any good to inform him again of issues he clearly knew about but has done nothing to fix. I had request a refund and he declined stating the same, if he were notified it would’ve been resolved. You can’t fix mold that fast and the apartment was supposed to be clean already, would he have cleaned it during our stay? Not appropriate or upholding Airbnb standards at all. I shouldn’t have had to tell him to come clean this space when he knew guests were coming. I have pictures as well. He claims to have green board for the walls (which is an insulation meant to avoid mold growth) this does not guarantee mold won’t grow. He also claims there isn’t mold in the rest of his building, mold can stay stagnant on one level of a building or room. It’s possible only the basement has it and not the rest of the building, especially it being a basement.
Aside from there being a clear mold issue in this apartment, there is also a strong smell of sewage in and around the bathroom.
The couch was also broken on one side, previous reviews also stated this and that the furniture should be updated and obviously hasn’t been.
Not mentioned in the description on the listing, there is a security camera in the corner of the living room that supposedly only turns on when the alarm is triggered. I’m not sure if I believe that but it gives an uneasy feeling and like you’re being watch. I did read in previous reviews it wasn’t noted and gave guests the same uneasy feeling, to which the owner responded argumentatively rather than just adding it to his listing. I would’ve appreciated the option to know and still pick to stay here or not. Also the alarm keypad was hanging off the wall, hanging on by a wire maybe. It didn’t make sense how to use and it didn’t help with feeling safe and secure. I punched the code in twice and it didn’t make a difference. I feel the keypad is a cover for having a camera. If it were a legit system why wouldn’t it be in the description?
All in all, the location being nice isn’t worth the stay. We are leaving now with full symptoms of being exposed and inhaling mold and are not happy with our stay. When stating that to the owner he tried to twist it stating “covid symptoms”. I can assure you it is not covid related, this owner likes to twist a lot of things if you read his responses to these types of reviews that are 100% honest. I feel this host is very misleading with what they offer and the cleanliness standards they are claiming to uphold. I’m in the process now of getting a refund and Airbnb is now involved. I would NOT recommend.