While the flat is in a great location with great transport links, and the host was responsive when I contacted them with questions, there were many other issues.
- An overwhelming smell of old cigarette smoke (as if it had been smoked in for a long time and the smell had permeated the walls) and mildew (coming from pillows and towels), which permeated every fabric item we had in the flat including all of our clothes and luggage.
- Dirt in the corners, mildew inside the washing machine, dust caked on the provided fan.
- Furniture is worn and was selected for looks, not comfort.
- Bed is hard and worn out.
- Listed as a 1-bedroom. It is actually a studio with a ½ wall between the living and sleeping areas.
- This flat is on the first floor facing a VERY busy road. We did not feel safe leaving the windows open when we were away or asleep, sot the flat was perpetually stuffy. The one time we decided to try to sleep with a window open we had to shut it anyway because the road noise was keeping us awake. The provided fan did not really help.
- Our 2nd night we were awakened abruptly around 8:30 pm by the cleaner entering the flat with a key to check on the cooker (which I had asked about earlier). The host had sent me a few messages earlier in the day on the VRBO app asking if he could have her stop by, but the app hadn’t notified me. I was extremely disturbed that they had someone enter the flat when we hadn’t agreed to it and it wasn’t an emergency.