Premium Home 2.0

It didn't feel premium, and it definitely didn't feel like a home.

The apartment was clean and the rooms were large, and the kitchen had utensils, plates, mugs, glasses, a kettle and a few pots. Its location was handy for the center. But trams start running early, and with the windows open, the noise was really noticeable. There were four of us, and we found just one face towel. The larger towels in the closet didn't seem fresh and smelled unpleasant. We also weren't sure the bed linen had been washed after the previous guests. There was no air conditioning or fan, a problem in August when it was 30 degrees, and no Wi-Fi, which seemed odd these days. A pan of food from previous guests was left in the freezer, and we had no idea how long it had been there. We were given only four toilet paper rolls, none of them full. There wasn't much furniture, no bedside tables, and the wardrobe was locked with a padlock, which seemed funny. We also found cockroaches, something I hadn't come across in a long time.

We left after finding cockroaches throughout the apartment, so the €70 we paid was wasted. There were also plenty of other disgusting things around. Before that, we'd found filthy, torn, stained fitted sheets, rotting onions in the kitchen and food inside the kettle. When I called Eva about the cockroaches, which we'd seen first in the kitchen, then the bathroom and finally the bedroom, she didn't sound surprised. She said she was out of town and had no solution, then even blamed me for bringing them. We'd stayed in Miskolc the night before, and the owner of that other apartment can confirm we weren't there. The place was filthy, and the owner was extremely disrespectful. Getting in was difficult too. The listing said check-in was at 2 PM, but we were told we couldn't arrive before 4 PM. I had to message five times and call three times to get the access codes and instructions, and the response came well after our scheduled arrival. I would avoid this place at all costs. I'm thinking of complaining to Booking.com. Apartments like this should be illegal.

We booked one night and received two confirmation emails, including one saying our stated arrival time was fine. One email had a PIN, and we assumed there would be a key card at the property, since neither message explained anything else about entry. When we got there, it was a panel building with only an intercom and no key card. The emails didn't tell us how to get in, which floor to go to, or which apartment it was. We called five times and nobody answered, so we couldn't enter. We contacted Booking right away, but got no response then either. We had to book somewhere else at short notice just to have a place to sleep. The next day, a woman called to apologize. She said she hadn't seen our booking and would speak to Booking about a refund. But why send two confirmations if the accommodation hadn't seen or approved the reservation? Two weeks later, we'd received no money back. The accommodation wouldn't answer when I called, and Booking said it couldn't help and couldn't reach them either. It was their fault we couldn't stay, they weren't helpful, and they still hadn't refunded us. Booking didn't deal with it either. I wouldn't recommend this if you don't want to throw away your money, since it's impossible to get hold of them.