Mint House Downtown Detroit

The apartment and the people there were amazing, but I’m still trying to get my deposit back. They took it on the first night, without telling me about the deposit beforehand, and said it would be returned at the end if there was no damage. We left the place spotless and caused absolutely no damage. When I called, they kept the entire deposit and wouldn’t explain why. I work for an apartment complex, so I know how this usually goes. If I’d known they’d charge me over $200 extra for just two nights, I’d have chosen somewhere more affordable. We were only there for a concert and mostly used the apartment to sleep. I just want my money back.

I booked a Mint House apartment on Airbnb for the Mo Pop festival in Detroit. The location was perfect and the price seemed very reasonable. Before confirming, the host messaged to say they were excited about my stay and shared check-in information, but they never confirmed the reservation, so it expired. When I tried to book again, the price had gone up significantly. It seemed they hadn’t known about Mo Pop until I told them, then raised the price. I asked for a refund of the difference between the old and new prices. They said they’d look into it, but again never responded to the reservation, and it expired.

There was no onsite team to help during my entire three-day stay, and the building is very old inside. If you’re older or not comfortable with technology, staying here would be impossible. I use booking.com often when I travel, and this was by far my worst stay. After already paying $296, I was charged another $153 without my consent. Customer service said it was for taxes. They also took a $200 security deposit that I still hadn’t received back almost three weeks later. At first, they told me it would take 7-10 business days. When I called again, they said I had a pet, which is completely made up, and refused to return the deposit. My stay ended up costing $649 instead of the original $296. This felt like the biggest scam I’ve experienced. The place is overrated, and even the worst motel elsewhere would be better value.

Having a home-like space for a weekend concert trip was nice, and the amenities were what I expected. The room was very clean. The only thing keeping this from a five-star rating was that the mattresses in each of the rooms were broken down and needed replacing.