Rio Central Apartman

What a bad place. There was no quilt on the single bed when we came in, and a towel was missing too. The bathroom was dirty and moldy, with someone else's underwear in it. The socket by the bathtub was broken and the shampoo had been left on the floor. How are we supposed to sleep like this?

I completed the online check-in, arrived late at night, and found the lock box empty. The host couldn't be reached, so I had to book a hotel. The next morning, the host said I'd opened the wrong box, which was ridiculous. I went back and the key had somehow appeared inside. The apartment was a mess: towels left hanging in the room, a dirty bathroom and an unmade bed. It seemed someone had slept there the night before. When I tried one last time to sort it out, the host called me “darling” and said the reservation was cancelled. After I submitted a claim through Booking.com, he replied that I had been rude. Some hospitality.

The bathroom had a broken shower head that poured like a tap, no soap, and only a bad smelling bottle of shampoo. It also had a pungent odor. The room itself was dirty and smelly, with stains on the floor, old filthy furniture, and windows that wouldn't close. There was no air conditioning or heater, so it was too hot or too cold, and the advertised terrace wasn't there. A busy road right beside the building made it loud and cold. There weren't enough outlets, some were faulty, the microwave was tiny, and the TV remote didn't work. The bed was an old, noisy bunk bed instead of the double bed advertised, squeaking whenever I moved. Check-in was a problem too. I had to upload my passport and other documents through an unsecured link. They didn't answer for hours, and the phone line was always busy. The front door link they sent wouldn't work without internet or battery. I never met the host or anyone who could help. They ignored my complaints and requests and offered no refund or compensation. The place was nothing like the ad. I won't come back, and booking through Agoda was a very bad decision. Avoid it at all costs. 😡

We booked through vrbo.com well ahead of Easter and paid a lot because prices are high then. That part wasn't the complaint. What bothered us was that vrbo.com changed the place without telling us. We found out by accident one day before arrival. We'd wanted somewhere near the central station for easier access, but the new address was the opposite. We objected and asked for a better place, and surprisingly they managed to arrange one. But it hadn't had even basic cleaning. Someone's belongings were scattered around, the floor and sheets were dirty, the dishes weren't washed properly, and I won't even get into the bathroom. It just wasn't somewhere you'd want to stay. I'm writing this partly to ask people who offer their homes to tourists to keep them to some basic standard. The original idea was to stay with locals and pay for good service. What vrbo.com does feels like pure business with very bad service. Please think about that before booking your next stay. V.