La Serena

The one real plus is the location, close to the beach and shops. When we arrived, nobody was there to greet us, and we couldn’t get into the apartment until 16:45. There weren’t many kitchen utensils, and the ones provided were very old and worn.

We paid for four people but got an apartment for six, and I’d happily stay there again. We were there for six days. The Wi-Fi was excellent, the location was great, and the air conditioning was ice cold. The refrigerator and kitchen worked well too. My car didn’t fit all the way into the garage, so the gate had to stay open, though the area is secure.

After an eight-hour trip, what should have been a pleasant stay turned into a mess. The place was neglected, filthy, and not fit to live in. The refrigerator was dirty and smelled bad, the bathroom tiles and kitchen outlets were caked with grime, and the bedding and every room smelled musty. The owner, Frederico, was there to receive us but sent a friend after 30 minutes, and that person had no idea what was going on.

I would’ve been more comfortable in a tent. The bathroom was locked when we arrived, and honestly the place was a pigsty. It’s far from the center, and when it rains, everything floods. There are cockroaches, ants, worms, and lizards everywhere. The air conditioning worked until the power went out and everything exploded. There’s just one outlet in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. The TV comes on, then shuts off after 10 minutes. Wi-Fi only works in the kitchen, not the bedroom. The closets are wrecked, and there are two faucets on the wall by the bed. It looks like this used to be a kitchen and they never took them out.