Apartment Battin 44 Uckermark

We had a relaxing weekend in a quiet spot, with open space all around and a covered terrace. There were four adults and two kids in our group, and we had everything we needed. The house is large, has plenty of room, and is nicely furnished. It was clean and warm, and the Wi-Fi worked well. The landlady was very friendly. We'd happily come back.

We stayed in the Marion holiday apartment at Battin 44 for nine days. The playground and ping-pong table just behind the house were a nice feature, but the garden we saw in the booking photos was the owner's private property and wasn't available to us. The small garden we could use was uninviting, with old concrete slabs, broken tools, rusty metal, and damp animal hides lying around. The owner also crossed the veranda several times a day carrying laundry, so privacy was limited. The apartment looked charming at first, but there were a lot of problems. We had to wash pots and many plates left by the previous guests before using them. The kitchen was only moderately equipped, with no toaster or kettle, and the fridge freezer was mostly iced over and practically unusable. There was just one trash can in the whole house, and the cutlery and dishes were sparse for six people. The double mattress in the bedroom was too small for its frame, leaving springs exposed that we had to step over. Some sheets didn't fit, and one of our daughters ended up sleeping naked on a stained mattress. The listing didn't actually include the washing machine or dryer. As a mother of four, I depend on having a washer when I travel, and this became a real issue with Zaneta. She said it used too much water and made the septic tank overflow because there was no sewer connection. I understand that concern, but not the inaccurate amenities information. It would have been better to say that a washing machine is available on request in an emergency. We understood the musty towels and bedding, leaves left on the terrace after the storm, animal hides wet from rain, dead insects on the windowsills, and dirty corners because Zaneta was busy. We can accept all that, but please, not a second time.

We booked the Lona and Rosa apartments at Battin with high hopes, looking for something a little different. A few days before arrival, when we contacted the owner, we learned there had been a double booking. We were given Marion, described as a “semi-detached house,” alongside Lona as compensation. On the website Marion looked appealing, with a large eat-in kitchen, two bathrooms, and an upstairs lounge with a pool table. But when we arrived, the tour was a letdown. Lona and Marion are next to each other, but their connecting passage is closed, so you have to go out the front doors to move between them. That was particularly awkward in the evenings with small children asleep. Wi-Fi was unreliable, which made the baby monitors hard to use. Marion's advertised eat-in kitchen, large fridge, breakfast bar, and one bathroom couldn't be used at all. The kitchen entrance had been blocked and sealed with expanding foam, and the landlady was using that kitchen and the second bathroom privately. We were five adults and three children, so we had to share Lona's small, dark, cramped kitchen. For a place advertised as child-friendly, it was missing children's cutlery and dishes, and there wasn't enough tableware for eight people. There was no dishwasher as advertised, and the tiny fridge had to serve all eight of us over Easter. Washing up meant using a small 10-liter hot water boiler. Calling this a fully equipped semi-detached house when neither that kitchen nor the second bathroom was available felt like fraud to me, especially at €165 a night. There was barely any storage or any trash cans in the bathrooms. Marion had no door handles, let alone locks. The upstairs bedrooms had wardrobes, but they were screwed shut by the landlady, presumably because those rooms were still being used privately. We weren't expecting five-star accommodation, only what the website promised. The basketball court, skateboard ramp, and soccer field were actually part of the public playground across the street. The advertised trampoline was two properties away, on what seemed to be the landlady's private property, where she is currently building her house. That's apparently the 6000 square meter property. We raised our concerns with the landlady and got a one-night discount. She promised to update the website information right away, but it still hadn't been changed by the time I wrote this review. That's why I'm leaving a negative review. The apartments are only partly suitable for children because the wooden stairs upstairs are steep, so you have to watch the little ones carefully. I won't even get into the lack of stair gates.

The apartment is in a beautiful setting and is furnished nicely for children. Cleanliness cost it some points, as there were a few cobwebs in the corners. Wi-Fi only worked now and then, and there was almost no mobile reception inside, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.