Zahara Centro Apartamentos & Chalets

I wouldn't book again or recommend Apartamentos Zahara or Zahara home. A man called Zoylo Terry manages both tourist-apartment websites and, in my experience, has no idea what customer service involves. He hangs up as soon as there's any issue, doesn't send the house location until just hours before arrival, and gives terrible information about what's included. In conversations he can be challenging and rude, to the point that it made me wonder if the whole thing was a SCAM. There are loads of similar reviews on triadvaisor and Google, and he still hasn't changed. I should have read them before booking. The house decor didn't match the photos, which made the stay uncomfortable, and there was no maintenance. Please don't be swayed by the pictures or deals. You'll pay for it with dreadful service and constant uncertainty about what you booked and what you'll actually get. He's a disgrace, the worst person I've encountered in the service industry.

I want to be fair. We booked on January 26th and got the apartment in the last week of April. Communication from management was terrible. They gave us no information, and the website reviews had us wondering if it might be a scam. We didn't learn the meeting point until the night before we traveled. The woman who met us there was very kind and explained everything clearly. We were given a clean, lovely apartment in Atlanterra, Mar de Plata, with underground parking, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms as requested. The complex is spectacular, and access to the beach is good. There's a beach bar next door called Lola. If I could rate things separately, communication would get a 0, while the apartment, shared areas, and beach would get a 4 or 5. I hope this helps other travelers. The manager's name is Jose.

I booked and paid for María Luisa 5 three weeks ahead, but received no instructions for collecting the keys despite calling several times. On arrival day, while already on my way to Zahara, I was told someone had died and that was why I'd heard nothing. I was sorry for them and understanding, even offering to have lunch and meet later if that suited them. I did, then waited around 40 minutes when I met the person. To my surprise, another family was checking out the next day from the apartment I had reserved. They had given it to someone else. Nobody apologized or explained; instead, they sent me to Atlanterra to see if anything was available. The two women handing out keys then went elsewhere and wouldn't answer or come over, leaving me waiting another four minutes. The next apartment was in an area I hadn't wanted, and they rudely said it was all they had. It was much worse for space, rooms, quality, and cleanliness: damp-smelling, dirty, and without a bed for my son, just a sofa. When I complained, they threatened me, saying, "We bet we won't give you the apartment," and made an already stressful situation tense and unpleasant. It was late, I had lost nearly the whole day, and had to accept a deplorable place. I looked on several sites for somewhere else, but the whole town was full, or I'd have left. I also saw the man with the keys for the available apartment, 722 in Atlanterra, arguing with one of the women because he wanted to compensate me with a checkout later than 12. The next day they messaged that staying longer required submitting a survey, so we left at 12:30 and got out of there. They pressured me to leave a good review to extend the stay, when I just wanted to go home. It was an awful experience, from not getting the place I'd booked to the waiting, poor treatment, and dirty replacement in the wrong location. I hope they take this seriously and improve their service.

We didn't pay and left, then had to find somewhere else to sleep. Luckily, Booking.com sorted things out for us, and we're already trying to get his listings removed. It was the worst experience we've had, and it felt like a scam. We'd traveled from Malaga and went to the meeting place the woman had given us, then let her know we'd arrived. After 40 minutes waiting, we called again and were told to go somewhere else. A man answered, immediately agitated, and took us to a different house from the one we'd booked. When we pointed that out, he made excuses, changed his story, and got angrier. There was no private parking as advertised and no reception, although that same morning they'd said we'd be met at reception. Other phone numbers we called all belonged to the same man, who had several phones. He was disrespectful, insulting and threatening. He confronted me and challenged me to come outside and fight. After all those threats and insults, I honestly don't know how I put up with it, because I had an incredible urge to beat him up. Joaquín, a man around 50 or 60 years old, with a gray beard and a very beer belly.