I’ve been traveling the world using Airbnb and have met some wonderful hosts. I’ve even become friends and acquaintances with so many of them, they open up their homes and most of them their hearts to the their guests and it shows. Melissa on the other hand, she runs a business, treats you like an inconvenience if you have issues to raise and her building/apt is not well maintained.
She allowed an early check in which was wonderful, my Mom was arriving for the first time since Covid so a very special time for us. The apt was spacious, bright and outdoor space was lovely to have in NY, I live in NY so i know! The apt was just about clean, it has a lot of wear & tear, the bedroom smelt of cigarette smoke and there were a used condom wrapper on the deck outside my moms bedroom. So not a great start.
The first night - there was a terrible vibration in the bedrooms, an obvious ventilation or hvac system issue. I had zero sleep the first night. Waking up I mentioned it to Melissa and she began notifying the building. Then we realized there was no hot water, so issue number 2 was underway. As issue 1 & 2 were being worked on … I leave to take the elevator, and what do you know it’s not working. I didn’t bother notifying as I was fed up of complaining and just took the stairs. On my way down the stairs I met some tenants who I chatted with and they had no water either … for over a week! They also showed me the final notice in the lobby from Coned, explaining how the building was in violation of gas inspection. Lovely
Water got resolved and the building claimed to fix the exhaust fan issue that was in the daycare beneath the apt. Night two noise was no better, both of us awake at 2/3am couldn’t sleep. Building came by and he said the noise wasn’t that bad, he said it’s NY & buildings can be noisy …. He even showed me the app he uses to sleep lol! I’ve lived in NY for 10 years, the noises in this building clearly are abnormal. Melissa has 5 units in this building, I imagine she and the management are very well acquainted.
So with all the issues, lack of sleep, uncertainty of the safety & integrity of the building and horrible host interactions we left 3 days early. Raising the issue with Airbnb, they needed proof of the noise and notice within 24 hours of check in …. How you record a vibration through the walls i have no clue. So I lost over $1,000 as Melissa happily kept my money, refused a refund and we booked another Airbnb.
Good luck to all who stay at any of her units.