I am sure, like me, you work hard to earn your money and when you spend it, you want value for money and “what it says on the tin” to be accurate! When I viewed the property and saw “Modern Luxury on Capitol Hill” I felt compelled to book. The apartment has excellent reviews bar one, which I can now sympathize with. THIS IS DEFINIETLEY NOT LUXURIOUS. Arrived from the UK after not sleeping for 24 hours and phoned the contact “Miles” who kindly assisted with directions to the accommodation. He asked me to text to advise that I had arrived OK. I put the milk in the fridge and saw a bottle of wine. I text him “we are in and everything looks lovely. Thank you for the wine, that’s a very nice gesture”. This was undoubtedly my first mistake… I should have taken a good look around, prior to sending this. I just wanted to sleep… however, as you do, I also wanted to use the bathroom. My first issue was that I couldn’t remove the plug from the basin so I was confronted with a bowl of dirty water. On Sunday morning I text Miles to ask for assistance. No response. Monday morning, I rang him, went to voicemail, I rang “Kellie” whose name is in the welcome pack and on a card in the accommodation for any issues. Kellie advised me that she hadn’t worked for Melissa, the host, for 6 months and hung up the phone! I then rang Melissa (who unbeknown to me was in Australia) she didn’t pick up but I left a voicemail. I eventually got hold of Miles, who stated that he did remember a text message and would pop round. He didn’t pop round! 2+ days with a bowl of dirty water and having to wash hands and clean teeth over the bath. I found some pliers in the apartment and removed the plug on the Tuesday. Apparently, Miles had text me back, suggesting that I use a kitchen fork to remove the plug, although I never got the message, I wouldn’t have deemed this appropriate action!
Having struggled to get a response regarding the plumbing issue, I didn’t report the state of the apartment, this was my second mistake. Would they have attended if I had reported the following? In fact most of the issues listed could not have been rectified from a single visit. I was on holiday, trying to relax……
The apartment was dirty; thick dust under the TV cabinet, dusty skirting boards, carpet not vacuumed thoroughly, stain on the bedroom carpet, long dark hair in the bed, a broken bedside lamp, a stain on the draylon bedframe, no bath plug, the grouting in the bath was discoloured, a burn in the toilet seat, a showerhead that couldn’t be adjusted and had very little power, stains on the edge of the work surface, the internet wasn’t connected and the apartment smelt of beef extract. The communal stairs were dirty and the smell made me heave. I WISH I COULD UPLOAD THE PHOTOGRAPHS I TOOK TO SHOW YOU, WHICH THE HOST, DESPTIE HAVING THE PHOTOS, IS DENYING! The picture of the bathroom on the advert for this accommodation isn’t the bathroom in the apartment, I believe this to be false advertising.
Third mistake, I tried to resolve my issues with the host via Airbnb messenger, rather than going straight to Airbnb’s customer service team. I have been accused of fabricating this to get money back and my messaging is considered harassment!
I paid £70+ for cleaning, yet the welcome pack states that you should strip the bed and place any dirty linen and towels in the bath on leaving. I did adhere to this, however, found it strange that guests are asked to undertake, what I would determine, part of the cleaning service!
Not sure how this accommodation has all these lovely reviews? I have been advised by the host that they own more than one apartment in this block, hence the picture being incorrect, and maybe the reviews apply to their other properties… I couldn’t comment, but I was very disappointed and would advise to avoid at all costs.