We initially chose to stay in Leila's home because of the great reviews.. despite this it was the worst experience of our entire trip and we ended up moving to another home half way through our stay.
1. I contacted Leila a few days before arrival and asked if it would be possible to check in early as our flight was arriving early.. no response. We contacted her again once we had arrived and still no response. We called several times and we still had not heard from her right up until the time of check in. Long story short, she was out of the country but did not let us know how we would enter the unit and who would meet us when we arrived. After six degrees of separation we were finally let into the home.
2. It turned out that the previous guests had checked out late so we would not have been able to check in early, which we were fine with, but it meant that things like towels and some of the bedding were not ready. I understand that issues arise all the time that are out of your control but as long as it is communicated clearly to the guests before arrival then we are aware of what to expect. I spoke to Leila several hours later and was told that she did message me on the airbnb app to get in touch with me but there was something wrong with the app and the message did not send.. in a world full of so many methods of communication, there is no reason you cannot get hold of someone by another means, her excuse - 'I do not use whatsapp' in 2019 is beyond me. Leila did apologize but things got worse..
3. The screen on the window was broken which left a gap wide enough for anyone to put their hand through.. this was fixed after we got in touch with airbnb support.
4. The stove was not fully functioning and I was given the wrong instructions on how to operate it which caused gas to leak throughout the house for an hour until the knob was fixed
5. The shower handle kept on falling off
5. It had been cold for several nights when we stayed and on the night before we decided to leave it was 40 degrees. We had asked for another heater but was told that it would cause the circuit to trip. We resorted to turning the oven on and leaving door open to heat up the house. The next morning we asked for some heavier blankets but were provided with the same ones we were already using - it would make sense to provide guests with thicker blankets if they are staying in the winter.
A few of the points raised I have read other people comment on in the reviews. Leila needs to be a bit more proactive and less reactive.
Last point - you will NOT receive a refund from Leila even if she agrees to give you one.