Wonderful Two Bedroom Duplex Apartment With Panoramic Sea Views - Antibes, Provence Reviews

My husband and I were looking forward to a trip planned partly in Antibes at this property and partly at another VRBO property in Italy. While our Italian rental was wonderful and just as advertised (much like our other VRBO experiences!) this property was disgusting. First of all, the owner prefers to handle transactions/payments outside of VRBO- which I should have thought twice about, but I do know some attempt to avoid fees that cut both ways, so I really didn't think much about it.

Upon arrival, it was beautiful on the outside- a serene location and wonderful views! But as we walked inside it was a different story. It immediately smelled of mold and mildew, which we chalked up to possibly being closed up for awhile. The property was also dirty- there was dried food in the kitchen sink, empty paper towel holders, dirty floors and all sorts of dirt and dead bugs in the grill (which the contract clearly warns that if you use it and don't clean it you'll be charged a fee). Then we walked downstairs where the bedroom is (which I did not clearly understand from the description) and along the hallway wall tile there are huge patches of black mold. The bathroom tile was covered in red and black mold and we found mold on dining room chairs- it was everywhere. We proceeded to turn on the freestanding air conditioner to try to get some air moving and see the the filter on that was just filled with dust and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in quite some time.

Given that we had been traveling for many hours and were exhausted, we decided to eat and try to get some sleep- sometimes things seem better when you're not exhausted! Sadly, sleep was difficult with the thick air/mildew and mold smell. The next day we decided to contact the host to let her know the conditions were unsuitable and we needed to leave. We were told by the host that "she was traveling and would work things out with us". Many months later, we finally received our deposit back, but no refund. We requested even just a portion refunded, knowing we had it booked for a week and she had money lost by not being able to fill it, but we were told that if we would have contacted her immediately and not waited until the next morning, she would have refunded us. This seemed like an excuse to us and really didn't make sense, but that is how we ended things and are out a considerable amount of money.

I would avoid this host and this property, unless you don't mind mold and mildew.

Lindsay R.