Airbnb + Sextant Apartments = Travel Scam. READ BEFORE YOU BOOK!
Airbnb + Sextant Apartments = Travel Scam. READ BEFORE YOU BOOK!
1. Listing is fake. This is not the flat that you’ll get. In the photos they show a large, bright and airy flat with a table and 4 chairs. In reality, you’ll get a small, dark and crammed bunker with a bar-like table and 2 high chairs (not for kids). They do state in their terms and conditions that they may accomodate you in a similar flat and not the one in the photos, but they are abusing the term similar. This flat is nothing similar to the one in the photos. I don’t understand why Airbnb allows this travel scam and why they don’t check the accuracy of the listings, but I have taken steps to take Airbnb to the small claims court and recover my money. I’m pretty sure this is illegal in the EU.
2. In the photos, you’ll see a bright flat with large windows. The real apartment has 2 small windows at the back of the building where you can only see the concrete fence and nearby building. You can’t even open the shades.
3. They claim to clean to CDC standards and that their cleaning staff does such an amazing job. This one’s the best :)) The flat was filthy when we checked in and had to call them to send somebody to clean. They only came the next day and somehow managed to do a very poor job. When we came back to the room, the floor was not as dirty as before but still dusty, and they did not vacuum the carpet. We had to roll the carpet and put away because we were traveling with our 1-year old and he was crawling through the dust. Unhealthy, unsanitary and filthy, these are Sextant’s understanding of the CDC standards. Then we decided to clean ourselves and used the vacuum cleaner from the cleaning staff. This was an old, run-down $50 vacuum cleaner that was barely pulling any dust and that’s why the cleaning ladies did a poor job.
4. You won’t be able to sleep due to the outside lights. They have 2 exterior lights, right outside the bedroom window. These are very strong and lighten up the entire room during the night. If you are a Navy Seal and can sleep in any conditions you’ll be good. If you’re like the rest of us, this is torture. You will literally sleep with the lights on as if it was daylight.
5. The washing machine is not working. They claim to have a washer but that’s not working. I asked them to repair it and every time they say they are sorry and that they understand me and they forwarded my request to the responsible team. Somebody came in to repair it while we were away, and they started the washer with our clothes inside. They haven’t finished, probably due to the washer being completely broken, and left the clothes inside without telling us. After 2 days, we found our clothes were all wet and moldy. We’ve signaled this and got the same answer, nobody repaired the washer and nobody cared that we didn’t have any clothes for our baby that day.
6. The apartment is incredibly noisy. Even though the flat is at the back of the building and not on the main street, we could literally hear all the cars passing on the main street. I don't even understand how this is possible. We could even tell which one is a small car, which one's a truck, and which one's a bus. I dread to think of the noise that can be heard from the flats directly positioned on the main street. The funniest of things, you'll even hear planes landing in Miami. And if that's not enough, the building right next to the flat uses a generator that makes a very annoying noise throughout the night.
7. Sextant's apartment has ants and roaches. To be honest, that's not even a big deal compared to all others, but definitely worth mentioning.
To summarize, in Sextant's apartments, you'll feel like sleeping on the street with ants and roaches and with the lights on. So good luck sleeping in these conditions.
I will never book through Airbnb again. With their competitors, at least you see exactly what you’re renting.