Kika

Be careful renting at Casa Armonia. I paid a €300 deposit for a three-week October stay in the Turquesa apartment with my small dog. The owner, Jessica Hensing, returned just €81, keeping nearly all the rest over alleged damage to an old screen door. She provided no photos, other evidence or invoice, only an online price for a new screen. I later heard from the previous owner that the screens were many years old, and that all the screens in the complex had been measured for replacement that same week. To me, this feels like pure fraud. A.van den Boomen

The price is okay, but there are a lot of things that could be better. The chairs and kitchen utensils were dusty, and some utensils were sticky, stained or greasy. The old doors were hard to open and close, and the loud fridge door could wake everyone else. Mosquitoes seem to come with the place and will be around at bedtime. Wi-Fi is slow and unreliable, so remote work isn’t a good idea, though it’s fine if you’re on holiday. Also, the lovely courtyard fountain should be switched off during sleeping hours, please. Thanks!

We travel a lot and stay in all kinds of places, but we’ve never had a stay like this. We were there for a month, and several serious problems were left unresolved or barely addressed, with no compensation offered for the loss of comfort or the room we couldn’t use. The children’s bedroom developed mold. It was cleaned at first, but the mold came back within days, so eventually the room had to be emptied and repainted. The paint smell then lingered for a long time despite lots of ventilation and heating, and affected our airways as soon as we entered. The owners said it was safe to sleep there, but we didn’t think it was responsible to put our four-year-old daughter in a room with such a strong smell. We couldn’t use it for much of our stay. They suggested leaving early, but finding another place for a family at short notice wasn’t easy. The air conditioner’s swing function wasn’t working from the start, so cold air blew straight down instead of circulating and it was hard to cool or heat the apartment properly. We reported it several times. The host said she’d come check, but only did so after three reminders and almost at the end. It turned out the unit didn’t have that function at all. There were also repeated strong smells in and around the accommodation, caused by a loose toilet and a septic tank problem. Its access point was right outside our door, and it had to be opened several times for inspection and cleaning, causing a lot of odor disturbance. The toilet wasn’t repaired during our stay. For a while we couldn’t use our own toilet or shower, so we had to use facilities in another accommodation in the complex. We also had to stay in several times for extended periods to give maintenance people access. It didn’t feel reasonable to leave strangers alone in the accommodation, and it seriously cut into our freedom to go out. At the end, there was a discussion about a glass that broke during our stay. We were made to pay €10 because the owner said a whole new set had to be bought. We were also told the bedroom issue might be submitted to insurance for possible compensation. Months later, we had to chase it ourselves, then were told the claim had been denied, with no written confirmation or update beforehand.

I’m really disappointed. For almost 15 years I visited every year, sometimes as many as three times, and recommended them to families. I always paid promptly, looked after the apartment and left it spotless, and treated the owners kindly, as they treated me. But when I wrote to book a few days in July, they ignored me. Maybe they need travelers who are even more generous than I was. Anyway, I’m not going where I’m not wanted. Good luck!