Valparaiso by ACV

The shared pool and common areas were well kept, apparently because owners there pay community fees. The agency’s apartments were another story: badly maintained, dirty, smelly, and, to me, unsanitary. It felt like a rip-off and a huge disappointment. We were told to leave by 11 a.m. so the apartments could be cleaned, and they warn about a €40 cleaning charge if you don’t leave things tidy. That seemed ridiculous given the state we found them in. The agency only attended from 5 to 8 p.m., so keep that in mind. After getting the keys, we had to figure out which parking space was ours because they weren’t numbered. The first apartment was a mess: damp, dirty floors, unmade beds, and torn, dirty mattresses. There was a bad smell, and most appliances were dirty, rusty, or didn’t work right. The taps were corroded with limescale or broken. I know coastal areas get more limescale, but with proper upkeep, taps can be cleaned or replaced. After I spoke to the agency woman, she gave us keys to two other apartments so we could choose. That seemed fair. The second one smelled like sewage, had broken furniture, a shower door hanging off, stained floors, a foul-smelling fridge, and dirty toilets. It was disgusting, and I wasn’t going to stay there with my two-year-old daughter. I settled on the third, though the sink smelled of old food scraps, the microwave jammed when opened, the glass cupboards were cracked, and the inside handle on the front door was missing. By around 8:30 or 9 p.m., the woman from the “real estate agency” had gone. I spent ages cleaning, and thankfully they didn’t charge me. If you booked through Booking.com, they say they’ll cancel the booking when you arrive and make you handle it directly with them for a better price. I did end up paying less than I otherwise would have. And if you plan to pay the deposit in cash, expect to be wandering around the area from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or you’ll go home without it.

Three families went for a weekend, and each of us got a different apartment. These were the worst we’d found: the beds were uncomfortable, and there were cobwebs around the facilities, as the photos show. The staff were unfriendly and didn’t seem to understand our questions. The price was incredibly high for the condition of the hotels and apartments. I wouldn’t recommend the Magic World Resort apartments.

The mattresses were stained, bloody, and covered in spiders. The sheets were just left on top instead of being put on the beds, and the entrance door didn’t open properly. None of the air conditioners worked. We had a fan, but to get its hose through we had to leave the patio door ajar, which let heat in and made a horrible noise. The bathroom taps and showers were rusty, with spiders, dirty shower rails, and hair from the previous guests. The small bathroom curtain leaked everywhere. A bedside table was broken, the sofa had odd stains, and opening it as a bed revealed used papers and spiders. The living room chairs were stained too. They threaten to keep your deposit if you don’t leave everything clean and tidy, yet they don’t even provide a sponge or toilet paper. The garage entrance wasn’t explained, nor where to find it. We wandered around trying the remote until a door finally opened. The one star is for the location, around a 10-minute walk from the beach and near supermarkets, and for having a parking space. Practically everything else was negative.

The location is the one good thing, and might make it worth a two or three day stay. The apartments themselves are run down: the air conditioning doesn’t work, wires are frayed and taped together, and furniture and doorknobs are broken. I spent five days calling and messaging the managers, but they ignored me and never replied.