REVIEW 1669
Stefano M.
Third-party distributor
Summary: Misleading listing and very poor service I liked: Good location with easy access to public transport, and overall decent apartment. I did not like: I rarely leave negative reviews, but in this case I feel it is necessary given the price paid and the expectations set by the listing. The apartment itself was decent and well located, with convenient access to public transport, but it was absolutely not “luxury” as advertised. More importantly, the overall experience was significantly impacted by poor communication, lack of service, and several operational failures. First, the listing advertised access to a swimming pool, which was one of the reasons I chose this property while traveling with two young children. There was no indication on Booking that the pool was closed. I only discovered this the day before arrival after proactively asking about opening hours. This is misleading and unacceptable. Communication throughout the stay was consistently poor. All messages received were clearly copy-paste responses, with no real customer care. I asked multiple times about the possibility of early check-in and was told I would be informed depending on availability, which is perfectly reasonable. However, I never received any update at all. We ended up accessing the apartment at 5:00 PM (later than the official check-in time), without any proactive communication from the host. Additionally, I asked in advance about luggage storage and was told there was no solution whatsoever. For a property marketed as “luxury,” this level of inflexibility and lack of support is disappointing. A baby crib had been requested and confirmed via Booking, but it was not present upon arrival. I was told it was too late to arrange it that evening, forcing us to improvise and let our 2-year-old sleep in an unsafe setup on a sofa bed. The crib arrived the next day, but it was impossible to assemble. Even with good manual skills, it simply could not be put together. We had to wait yet another full day for someone to come and fix it. On top of that, the bedroom door got stuck and could not be opened.
Philadelphia, PA