Apartment rented eight weeks May 5th - June 30th 2012. Before renting we met owner and were reassured about condition of apartment. We specifically enquired about the kitchen because: it was not visible in any VRBO or owner provided photos and we planned to use fresh produce in preparing lunch and dinner.
I provide separate lists of good and poor features.
Good list: Street door-double lock; hot water-gas heat; radiators; sea view, park, sea wall (NO beach view as stated in description); garden view; sectional sofas; internet; crocks; living room spot lights.
Bad list: Decrepit exterior (stairwell windows, weather wall blister); steep stairs (badly worn, poor railing –three steps short at bottom-my granddaughter slipped and fell); no upper landing light-we were given a flash light; cluttered 3rd floor landing (mattress, sewing machine, broken lamps, old paint pot, boots); old door key, door lock (broken metal housing, exposed mechanism, dead bolt did not engage); poorly light kitchen, no kitchen cabinets, badly scratched frying pan, no sharp knives, small refrigerator poorly insulated, broken toaster tripped fuse, electric hot plate did not work, very old electric oven barely functional (broken rotisserie, no thermometer), counter tops with black algae in cracked grouting, under countertop space stuffed with plastic bags, personal clothing, tools, repair items, wire frame tray under oven with plastic bags, open food packages, gin bottle; uneven apartment floor (tiles-many irregular, broken or loose, disintegrating grouting required frequent sweeping, vacuum cleaner did not work); NO CARPETS on floor - contrary to photos; bathroom with small shower (turning around was a scolding experience, pan edged in black algae, shower head could not clamped in a fixed orientation, smelly toilet seat with peeling underside, broken shelves, shelves occupied by plastic bags of owner items); no pillows for bed (we were told to stuff sofa cushions into pillow cases); TV with wonky stand, DVD player stopped working after three weeks; old Aiwa music system only played tapes, disks usually hiccupped; one small terrace table for the entire apartment, no make-up table, no study table, no dining table; coffee table with broken leg; very small closet space; bric-a-brac items in corners; information brochures stuffed into magazine holders; broken cabinet used as repository for broken items like floor lamp; trolley bag with broken wheel (fell off on first trip to market).
