I've been a host and traveler on Airbnb since 2011 and this was my first negative experience with both a host and the listing. Leading up to my stay, I never heard back from the host when I asked about check-in instructions. He finally responded a little after check in time. Luckily, I was running late from a meeting the day of check in, so I let him know I would check in at 5pm. I ended up waiting outside anyway because I hadn’t heard back from him when I arrived at 5pm. After some back and forth about missed messages, he let me know he had left a key nearby and I walked there to get the key. I then walked back and let myself in - but that wait/walk with luggage could have been avoided had he responded to my check in question even 15 minutes before actual check in time. As a longtime host myself, I always make sure my guests know check in instructions before check in time, as a courtesy, so they know what to expect. Then the place itself: it appeared to be clean but it’s run down and does not reflect the photos. I used to live in an old apartment in the village, so it's not that I'm not used to quirky apartments. It's simply that the photos do not accurately reflect the quality of the apartment, the furniture in it or the street it's on (the exterior shots were not of the exterior of this building). For example - there was no furniture in the kitchen (no dining table with chairs, as it appears in photos) and the coffee table in the living room was the only item recognizable from the photos. There is, however, an apartment's worth of furniture and items/trash stacked against the wall in the hallway. Someone had also left some wadded up sheets on the couch. Street noise isn’t an issue but the train runs right under this apartment and rattles the whole apartment every few minutes. I ended up walking out after 5 minutes, booked a hotel and requested a refund. My suggestion to the host is to respond to check in questions before check in time, update the listing photos and drop the price. I did chat with the host about a refund but he declined and said “For $600/night your expectations might be a little different.” He also said that he was there at 4pm to let me in, but then why didn’t he respond to my question about how to get into the apartment earlier? As for the $600 comment - I’ve never stayed in an Airbnb that cost $600 night. I was not expecting a luxury hotel experience. I have however stayed in many Airbnbs for less than the price of this one ($225) in New York that were significantly nicer and where the host didn’t wait until the very last second to communicate how to get inside.