I want to start off by saying I waited a few days to give the host and Airbnb a chance to rectify my concerns... none of which were ever resolved.
This is a message I left for the host after she asked about my stay: Hello our stay was decent. We thought it was a bit larger than it was and the furniture took up a lot of space but we made do with the space. My biggest and only real concern is the cleanliness of the apartment. One of the guests said they saw two roaches in the bathroom- granted it’s expected in New York City. However another guest complained about the cleanliness and smell of the sheets which I took note of myself. Upon waking up I actually experienced an extremely itchy eye. Come to find out it’s pink eye... I’ve since treated it so it is getting better but I figured I’d let you know.
Up until I sent this message the host was communicative and helpful however after I expressed my concerns I never heard from her again. I had pink eye for about a week and throughout the time I updated Airbnb about the situation by messaging them and sending pictures to no avail.
Prior to booking the place I saw a review that was not in favor of the host or location. I mentioned the review to her and she assured me that the person was just miserable from the beginning. I am now questioning that explanation and wonder if she will describe me the same despite my pleasantries and giving her the benefit of the doubt. My honest opinion, look elsewhere.
All in all the place was decent. Location was okay, it’s on a busy street so not the best parking but if you look around you will find something. Cleanliness needs major improvement as stated before. Host needs to uphold consistency with communication even when the information received is not favorable. Definitely would have been better and worth my money had it been clean, I had not suffered pink eye (so worrisome especially given that we pay a cleaning fee and you know, COVID) and if not for the terrible customer service from the host and Airbnb.
I am already cautious around my family and friends but now when booking Airbnb’s you have to expect that these places are not cleaned despite your fee and the hosts assurances and you could be exposed to whoever else was there before you. This is true for COVID and whatever else diseases and bacterias are out there.
This is my first poor experience after booking many Airbnb’s in the past and I am questioning my future with this vacation rental platform.