The check-in instructions said the host would meet us there, but no one answered when we arrived. Upon contacting the host they said we were to use a lockbox to gain entry and that they had to turn their phone off as they were in court. I used the key to enter the building and then spent 20 minutes searching the 4 level building unable to find the unit. This property is apparently unit 4, there is a door on level 1 marked 8, one on level 2 marked 8 and then one on level 3 marked 9. Then there are some doors which look like electrical cupboards. I asked a staff member from the jewellery store downstairs if she knew where unit 4 was and she said it was ‘upstairs’. When I asked if she knew more detail she said “I just know unit 9 is at the top”. One door I opened led to a restaurant kitchen and I also asked a staff member there who said she had no idea. I went back to all levels and tried the keys provided in every single door with no luck.
At that point I had been at the location for half an hour and had no way of knowing where the unit was or how to access it. I had no choice but to call a local hotel and take whatever room they had available (meaning my friend and I had to share a bed), more than doubling my costs for the trip.
When I told the owner my experience they said “doors clearly marked” but... they just weren’t. I don’t know what else I was supposed to do in that situation.
I am unable to review the actual apartment of course, but the entranceway and stairwell was really unpleasant. The carpets had been ripped out, there was barely any light (at 2pm), and frankly we didn’t feel safe there. The whole building did not feel clean or comfortable at all, it seemed deserted.