De Luca 6 Apartments

The room deserves 5 stars: D1 was spacious, spotless, lovely, and exactly like the photos, in a great part of Salerno. Getting in was stressful enough to spoil our arrival. The XDOM-BNB app was confusing, and its “Show PIN” button kept showing a gray folder with an X while we were outside with our luggage. I eventually found the physical key-box code buried in a side menu under three lines, then Booking Information. I messaged through Booking.com several times from 11:00 AM about dropping off luggage, which the app supposedly allows, but heard nothing until 3:30 PM. There was no property name or floor number on the intercom. It's on the 3rd floor, but guests have to work that out themselves because there are no signs. One star for check-in and communication. Management should make the instructions simpler and respond when guests need help.

Everything is automated, including the front door, which opens with a tap in the app, and check-in with document uploads through check-out. We never met the host. It's probably great for younger guests, but I find it hard to believe how easy it is for people of boomer age to use. The apartment itself is well furnished and clean, with a comfortable bed in a modest room, a nice and very comfortable walk-in closet in the bedroom, working air conditioning that seems new, and a spacious bathroom with a walk-in shower tall people can use. It's about a 10-minute walk from the station and very close to the seafront and lots of restaurants, so I recommend it. Keep in mind that the apartment is far from the train station, which can be a nuisance during the day because of the noise. Salerno has separate waste collection, so be careful with your rubbish.

I left a Booking.com review with some of these details, and the owner denied what was obvious and practically insulted me. It's a real shame to see tourists exploited like this. The apartment looks well furnished in the photos, like a new, clean, elegant place, but when I walked in there was a tuft of hair rolling across the floor. The sheets were stained, the glasses visibly dirty, and the bed so uncomfortable we'd rather have slept on the couch. We had to run the plates and cutlery through the dishwasher before using them. Since pets are accepted too, thorough cleaning should be the bare minimum. There wasn't even a toilet brush, which was embarrassing. The microwave sat on a cabinet with no outlet anywhere nearby, or anywhere at all, so we had to move it by the TV to heat something. There were no waste sorting instructions for this city or neighborhood. I messaged to ask and got no reply.

The historic center of such a beautiful city and its hospitality business are being run by a phony salesman, and a mediocre one at that. He always blames tenants and says what they report never happened. The house photos leave out a lot. The air conditioners are so poor and noisy that even sleep mode doesn't let you sleep. All the appliances have Schuko plugs, but the wall outlets are 2-pin, so the kitchen microwave can't be used unless you move it. When I contact the host about these things, he usually says guests aren't used to his high-quality appliances. There's no guidance on recycling either. If you ask, he'll say you should already know how to sort waste. There's not even a toilet brush to clean the bowl after use, and he says all of this is lies. The website promises daily cleaning, but nobody came for four days. On the fourth day the cleaner tried to open the door from outside. We had kept the lock on, so she didn't get in. After we complained, she apologized for there being no “do not disturb” sign. We always contact our super host, but he just says it isn't true. A house promoted by a snake oil salesman.