La Plage A 2 Pas

The rental was much too expensive for what we got, and the cleaning lady was unpleasant. There was dust everywhere, the fridge hadn't been cleaned, the bedding smelled bad, and the towels were very old. The bathroom was tiny, with a toilet awkwardly tucked into a corner. It was hot inside, and the kitchen skylight faced a small courtyard where people could be heard talking from 7 in the morning. Noise was a problem late at night too: music from the two nearby bars stopped at midnight, but people could still be heard talking until 4 or even 5. Parking was hard to find. The narrow stairs were awkward with a suitcase, the kitchen table was too small, and the two fabric chairs and little armchair were dirty.

The noise carried on all night, from passing cars and a bar to the morning garbage collection. The apartment and the whole building also had a bad smell. The finish was terrible: the flooring was badly laid, poorly finished, and dirty, all the bed linens smelled, the bathroom was disgusting, and the bunk bed was in awful condition. The photos show more. When we arrived, we told the host the pillow protectors hadn't been changed and smelled unpleasant. He answered aggressively, saying, "I have a solution: leave the apartment," then hung up without offering any help. I attached a photo of the phone call to refresh your memory. That is indeed your number.

We spent three days here with our two children. It's very well placed for exploring Dieppe, and in high season it's best to leave the car parked once you've found a spot. But anyone hoping to sleep should look elsewhere. The apartment sits over two pubs that stay open until 4 a.m., and there's no soundproofing between apartments owned by the same person. We heard upstairs footsteps, loud conversations, and plumbing, and barely slept. The owner replied quickly when we raised the cleaning issue, but the kitchen and fridge should be properly cleaned between guests, especially given the current health situation and the nightly price.

I booked through Booking.com and gave 10 PM as my arrival time. Thomas, the local contact, messaged me, so I repeated that we'd be arriving late. He tried calling, then texted about, in his words, "the problem of your arrival outside the indicated hours." I offered to call back, assuming we could work out a way to collect the keys later. After work I called him, and he bluntly said I had to cancel. His reason was ridiculous, just like the conversation. He said, "Don't you realize? You're going to climb four flights of stairs at 10 PM on a wooden staircase with suitcases??!!" I tried to explain that we weren't going to bang the suitcases on the floor and that we weren't savages, though I had my doubts about him listening. He wouldn't hear it, but kindly agreed to refund us without charge. I read other reviews saying Thomas could be dishonest and that the apartments had "non-existent" insulation. I understand his suitcase concern a little better now, so maybe we didn't miss out.