Varennahouse

The room was freezing, and the heating never came on despite us asking several times. There was no milk or coffee, no curtains on the windows to protect our privacy, and the room was in very poor condition. We’d booked a lake view but were given a view of a wall. When we asked customer service to change rooms, even offering to pay more, the man shouted at us, told us to “go complain to Booking.com,” and hung up. I have the chat logs as proof. He talked over me and wouldn’t let me speak. Then checkout was meant to be at 10:30 AM, but at 10:00 AM the man unlocked and opened our door without knocking while I was still getting dressed. I’ve booked many places through Booking.com, and this was by far my worst experience. The place was rude, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional. I would never recommend it. Book somewhere else and spare yourself the stress.

The place was poorly maintained and not very clean. They’d left cups from previous guests, and there were spider webs and a few large spiders in the toilet. The TV volume wouldn’t even turn on. The host was slow to respond to messages, often taking a couple of hours. The pillows had water stains, and there were red wine stains on the bedsheets. Really disappointing, and not worth the money.

The apartment was modern and well located, but it felt tiny, more like a hotel room than an apartment. There was only one coffee mug for the two bedrooms, and despite asking management several times, we didn’t get another during our two-day stay. The bed was uncomfortable because some planks seemed to be missing from the base, letting part of the mattress sag through. Water from the leaking hot water cylinder soaked our belongings in the bathroom. The bedroom lighting was inadequate, with no ceiling lights, and the window had no curtains or blinds. Wifi was slow and patchy.

There was no dishwasher or dish soap, so after using a few dishes I could only rinse them. After checkout, the cleaner and her husband followed us to the train station demanding €100 in cash. It was frightening and intimidating. He threatened to call locals and started phoning his friends. I paid him in cash and begged him to leave us alone, then we rushed to the station and took the earliest train. Please be careful. It’s a small town where everyone knows each other, and they take advantage of that.