Domus

Having to leave

I recently had the misfortune of booking this apartment through Booking.com, and my experience was nothing short of awful. I feel compelled to share my experience to prevent others from going through a similar ordeal. To put this into perspective, I've booked accommodations through Booking.com numerous times in the past, and my lowest review has always been 7 stars or above. This experience, however, was a stark departure from the norm. Our initial apartment reservation had to be canceled due to an unexpected flight delay, so we hastily booked another (this) apartment in a different town, 24 hours in advance. This is where the nightmare began. First and foremost, we were slapped with an exorbitant late check-in fee of a staggering 50 euros, despite our genuine explanation for the last-minute booking. It felt like the host was capitalizing on our misfortune. To make matters worse, we were hit with an unexpected charge of 10 euros per day for using the air conditioning. This fee was never mentioned during the booking process (check fine print) and came as a complete shock upon arrival. It's disheartening to see such nickel-and-diming tactics from a host. Before arriving, the host sent us a seemingly endless list of rules and regulations. While it's reasonable to have guidelines for guests, this host went overboard, outlining how almost everything was subject to additional charges. It felt like every comfort was being monetized, and it left a sour taste in our mouths. Furthermore, the apartment itself was in a state of disrepair. While most of the outside furniture was functional, one of the chairs had a broken backrest, rendering it unsafe for use. There were also noticeable stains on the walls, and the shower was a nightmare in itself, malfunctioning to the point of pouring scalding hot water at one moment and turning into a stream of freezing ice water when someone in the building opened a tap.