This is the first time that I have ever given a negative review. The reason is primarily the attitude and poor communication of the host. The location is excellent and the apartment was clean and generally nice (except for very few dishes in the kitchen).
I see many reviews saying that the host was very responsive, etc. but our experience was quite the opposite. Prior to our visit I tried to enquire about the second parking pass. After sending three messages (July 11th, 14th and 17th), which all went unanswered, I contacted her by phone (July 18th). When I reached her, she was immediately defensive and rude. She mentioned that this was a busy time of year for her and she was “slammed” and also at a conference of some sort. I chalked up her poor responsiveness and unfriendliness to stress and asked that she let me know more information when she could. On July 20th (the day prior to our visit) I sent another message asking for an update, as I still had not heard back from her. In response, she informed me that a space was available and would cost $85. Our second phone interaction with her was even worse than the first. She would not release the entry codes on the Airbnb web site when the first guest arrived because we hadn’t yet paid for the second parking pass – even though she had never communicated to me how she would like to be paid (it turns out she prefers payment through Venmo for that, rather than through Airbnb). She was also very defensive and rude during that phone interaction, including hanging up on the caller while he was trying to provide the information that she said she needed. On the second day of our stay, we returned to the apartment after a long day and found that there were no spaces available in the parking lot and that it was illegal to park on the street at the time. Because of our previous experiences with the host, we were a bit reluctant to call her, but the person at the bar downstairs said that while the bar manager might be able to help us, he wouldn’t arrive for some time. (I believe that the host also owns the bar and parking lot.) So, we called the host. But that was a mistake. She was again rude and condescending.
The interactions with the host really put a damper on our enjoyment of the apartment. It looks like most people have had favorable interactions with her, so this may be an intermittent thing. She may have been overwhelmed by the busy period, but I do see a few past reviews that refer to things like “nonexistent” communication from the host prior to the stay, and the host being “aggravated” with the guest. I normally wouldn’t bother to post a review but her behavior was really remarkable and unlike any experience that any of our party has ever had with an Airbnb host.