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jamesqI mostly have good luck with AirBnB. Mostly. While on the train, after getting my new (old) phone working, I found that my host wanted to meet at 6 pm instead of 5 pm. Inconvenient, but OK, I had time to kill. I cooled my heels at Brutopia (best beer Queen Heffy), and then they asked if they could make it 7:00. Um. Ok. I guess.
On my way there, I get another message:
More on the show in another post.
I returned to the suite about midnight. There was a final message from the host. See if you can spot the giant problem with it:
As for the rest of the suite, it was described as a Penthouse condo in the heart of downtown Montreal!.
So... it was on the top floor. The place was clean in the sense that there was nothing in the condo to get dirty. That said, the shower didn't function quite right (it had a shower fitting, which didn't work, and a hose-shower, that was added after the fact. One of the light switches broke off in my hand. Whatever the host had to do once I'd left didn't include running the dishwasher, probably because there wasn't dish soap. I ended up buying some.
Generally, the whole place just seemed half-assed. All the furniture looked like it was whatever they could get for cheap at a thrift store. The suite (which in subsequent messages was described as "newly renovated") was clearly never well maintained and still had fixtures that were original issue if a 1980's brutalist way. Lots of crooked cabinet doors and exposed wood because the moulding is missing.
When I left the suite two days later, I didn't make the bed. I was kinda looking for a fight, so I told the host.
Now I've stayed in some cheap places on AirBnB before - I don't expect the ritz when I'm paying $100/night. And I've stayed in some run-down places too. But I've never stayed in a place where it was so clear the owner did not give a shit about the place. The run down places were still clean and tidy - often with a personal touch, or the cheap places were off the beaten track. Sometimes they were very generic - a standard IKEA show room. But this was the worst place I've stayed at. Maybe I should be glad it wasn't a dive?
And the funny thing is, without the lateness, or the linen-related heebee-jeebees, I'd have shrugged, given a generic good review pointing out that the place was good value for the location. Instead, I'm turning it into a story. At least it had AC.
Oh, and for those of you wondering why 33/36, and not 35/36, Last year's Vancouver suite was kind of a gong show (but still comfy for all the weirdness), and a 2016 trip had a last minute cancellation that I had to scramble to fix. For a 90+% success rate, I'll stick with it.
On my way there, I get another message:
"Can we make it 7:30?"I get there at 7, because I was already on the move, and I know how to read a map and estimate travel time. I cool my heels there until 7:20, when "someone" shows up. At this point I'm suspicious that the person texting me and the "person sent" are the same person. It's a blond woman in her mid twenties, but dressed in business attire. We greet each other and she tells me how to get into the building and the unit, and walks me up to it.
"No. I have tickets for a show, I need to get the keys now."
"Ok, I'll send someone right away."
"I need to ask you not to mention AirBnB to any of the residents."I was pretty terse because I was pissed off, and in a hurry. She showed me the particulars of the suite, I dropped my bags off, and left her there because she "had things to do in the suite." and I had about fifteen minutes to walk about a mile to the Bell Centre.
"Sure."
"We could get into trouble."
"This isn't my first rodeo."
More on the show in another post.
I returned to the suite about midnight. There was a final message from the host. See if you can spot the giant problem with it:
"We expect you to leave the suite in the same condition you found it. Make sure all the dishes are clean, and make sure you make the bed before you leave."Now keep in mind that I did pay a housekeeping fee, and I generally do leave my suites pretty clean. Anyway, did you spot the problem yet? Let me highlight it for you: make sure you make the bed before you leave. What possible reason could they have for me making the bed, since they'd just have to strip the linens off to launder them, right? Right? Did the guest before me do the same thing? Am I sleeping in someone else's grungy sheets? Note that the suite did not have it's own laundry (though I imagine the building did), and there weren't any clean linens in evidence. And now I was wondering about the rest of the suite, and getting itchy. I slept, eventually, wondering why my pillow smelled like it had been dipped in Febreze.
As for the rest of the suite, it was described as a Penthouse condo in the heart of downtown Montreal!.
So... it was on the top floor. The place was clean in the sense that there was nothing in the condo to get dirty. That said, the shower didn't function quite right (it had a shower fitting, which didn't work, and a hose-shower, that was added after the fact. One of the light switches broke off in my hand. Whatever the host had to do once I'd left didn't include running the dishwasher, probably because there wasn't dish soap. I ended up buying some.
Generally, the whole place just seemed half-assed. All the furniture looked like it was whatever they could get for cheap at a thrift store. The suite (which in subsequent messages was described as "newly renovated") was clearly never well maintained and still had fixtures that were original issue if a 1980's brutalist way. Lots of crooked cabinet doors and exposed wood because the moulding is missing.
When I left the suite two days later, I didn't make the bed. I was kinda looking for a fight, so I told the host.
"I didn't make the bed because there were no clean linens."I really wanted them to come back with something like, do it anyway, so I could object to needing to. What I got was:
"That's fine."And that was it. I left for the airport well ahead of my checkout time.
Now I've stayed in some cheap places on AirBnB before - I don't expect the ritz when I'm paying $100/night. And I've stayed in some run-down places too. But I've never stayed in a place where it was so clear the owner did not give a shit about the place. The run down places were still clean and tidy - often with a personal touch, or the cheap places were off the beaten track. Sometimes they were very generic - a standard IKEA show room. But this was the worst place I've stayed at. Maybe I should be glad it wasn't a dive?
And the funny thing is, without the lateness, or the linen-related heebee-jeebees, I'd have shrugged, given a generic good review pointing out that the place was good value for the location. Instead, I'm turning it into a story. At least it had AC.
Oh, and for those of you wondering why 33/36, and not 35/36, Last year's Vancouver suite was kind of a gong show (but still comfy for all the weirdness), and a 2016 trip had a last minute cancellation that I had to scramble to fix. For a 90+% success rate, I'll stick with it.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-20 02:13 pm (UTC)