Hinterzarten Windeckweg by Kuckucksnester

It’s a nice apartment, though it clearly needs more frequent cleaning. There was coffee spilled down the kitchen cupboard, the terrace ashtray was full from the previous guest, and lots of things were visible under the cowhide. The bathroom was okay, but many of the cupboards wouldn’t close properly.

The bed was really comfortable, and the kitchen was lovely and very well equipped, though a few more cups, glasses, and pieces of cutlery would have helped. There’s also a modern TV. I wanted to give this four stars, but the problems made that impossible. We stayed in the basement room. It seems to have been renovated fairly recently, though not all of it. The entrance door looks very old, and you can hear even the slightest noise from the hallway. The terrace is weedy and looks neglected, with no ashtray. There was visible mold on the shower tiles, and the bathroom heater was covered in dust.

The comfortable bed and the location near hiking trails earned the one star. The accommodation was in the basement, which wasn’t mentioned, and we could hear everything happening in the hallways. The bathroom drains smelled like sewage, and the seals were moldy. I rented it for two nights so I could work remotely during the day and evening. Before arrival, I asked the tenant how to check in because the listing said self-check-in with a key box. He replied only, “Code XXXX,” without saying where the box was. When we arrived, I called, but nobody answered for an hour while we searched outside in 2°C weather. There was a paper with the Wi-Fi name and code inside, but no network showed up on any of our devices. We tried a PC, two phones, and even the neighbor’s phone. I messaged the tenant and got no reply, then called with the same result. I tried several times the next day and the day after. Just 20 minutes before checkout, someone from his “hotline” finally replied. You can’t reach him directly, and the response only gave me the Wi-Fi name and code, which we already had. The advertised TV and Wi-Fi didn’t work. The oven was listed as usable, but without a rack or baking dish, it couldn’t be used either.

The apartment has a lot of potential, since most of its problems could be fixed or cleaned up with a bit more care. As it was, though, the lack of cleanliness made our Friday-to-Sunday stay in Apartment 1 quite unpleasant. The price didn’t feel justified, there were too many deal-breakers, and we won’t recommend or book it again. There were some good points: it’s available for short stays, check-in and checkout were easy, dogs are allowed, and the layout worked well for four people. The location was very nice, with everything walkable. Towels and bed linen were clean, the heating and hot water worked perfectly, and the sitting and dining area was great. A lot of the details let the place down. The apartments aren’t labeled, so you have to guess which key fits. The hallway rules say dogs are allowed only if quiet, which should be made clearer before booking. Most dishes and the toaster were dirty. Coffee had splashed over the kitchen cabinets, there were no garbage bags, only a quarter roll of toilet paper, and no dishcloth, sponge, or tea towel. The shower door wouldn’t close properly and needed a thorough clean. The bathroom blind was very dirty, the bedroom curtain was stained, the doormat was stuck to the floor, and dirt and hair had collected under the living room rug, seemingly for weeks. There was a full ashtray on the terrace when we arrived, the bedroom lamp didn’t work, and the sofa bed was completely worn out and unacceptable for two people. All the closet doors except the bedroom one stayed open because they wouldn’t close properly, and the serving hatch was missing its knob.