(TLDR --- DO NOT STAY HERE, ABUSIVE HOST)
The airbnb itself was fine, the room was comfortable and spacious. However, the host, Elisabeth, was hostlie and abusive. Upon arrival, Elisabeth began complaining about the Airbnb guests from the night before (one of whom was still there) and told me how much she hated being an airbnb host but needed the money. I felt uncomfortable but she was being nice to me, so I assumed it was a specific problem with the prior guest.
Then, I mistook her towel for a bath mat. I thought I was being polite by wiping the excess water off of the ground. After my shower, she sent an aggressive message to me through the Airbnb platform complaining that I used her towel as a bathmat. We were both in the apartment at the time of the message, so I felt really uncomfortable, and quickly went into the living room to apologize in person.
I explained it was a mistake and that I was very sorry. She started by saying "I'm actually really upset right now" and I knew I was in for it. She proceeded to tell me that she has never experienced this in all 7 years as a host, and this is why she doesn't like having people in her house because nobody respects her, and of course she doesn't use a bathmat because we would all get fungus and she is protecting me. She only gives herself one towel and gives me so many, so how could I have ever made that mistake. She hates being an airbnb host and would stop but she can't afford to, and she can't move to a new apartment because she can't afford it. She charged me $5 to launder her towel, despite my offer to use one of the guest towels that I hadn't touched yet. I probably apologized 10 times and she would not stop berating me about my mistake. She was clearly taking her frustration out on me, and I was on the verge of tears and thought about packing up right then to leave.
This is being dramatic, and I have rarely felt physically unsafe in an Airbnb, but I did wonder if my mistake was the straw that broke the camel's back. I did not feel safe falling asleep that night.
After the altercation, I read some of her past reviews, confused at how she is a superhost with this behavior. While 95% of her reviews are overwhelmingly positive, it seems the other 5% of people had a similarly unpleasant experience to me. What's more, when other people have given negative reviews, she degrades them online by calling them "ignorant, stupid, and pathetic". I await a similar verbal assault from her for my mistake once I submit this review.
I have never written a negative airbnb review before (despite having bad experiences), but I felt compelled to write this one.