My kids and I traveled from Chicago for a week of SI at the Rock School. We booked well in advance but arrived at 10:30 at night, & I hadn't received check in instructions so I reached out to the host. While awaiting a response, I parked on the street, walked up the stairs & into the lobby, stepping over condom wrappers & needles, to the desk. There was a man sitting on one of the couches talking to himself & picking at his face. I couldn't get too close to the desk attendant because there was trash everywhere; bags of trash, boxes of trash, trash on the ground & the counter was covered in trash. The place smelled awful. The host messaged me back & sent the check in instructions. The unit was located near the desk & I entered it with the instructions provided by the host.
The unit looked nothing like the photos; it appeared those photos were taken decades earlier and/or photoshopped to make the unit appear brighter, cleaner and newer than what it actually is. The unit smelled foul & there was a lot of yelling upstairs. The front door had only a yale lock; the chain had been broken off. I went out to the desk to ask where the parking garage was located & the attendant gave me instructions on how to get there. After which, he said he was new & couldn't help much but that I shouldn't go into the garage alone because it wasn't safe.
I drove my car around & entered the garage, it was unlit, windows broken out, & very dark. We drove up to the second floor & were surprised to see a man urinating onto the hood of a car, but proceeded to the third floor where the host instructed us to park. I unloaded our suitcases, & kept my children close as we watched the video and followed its instruction to get though the dark passageways & over to the unit . My kids were scared and so was I.
We got into the unit and I contacted the host stating the unit wasn't what was advertised & that it was unacceptable and unsafe. The host didn't respond. Suddenly, screams from the surrounding units sent my 3 kids running into my arms. At 11:45pm, I called customer service for help & I made hotel reservations for the week. I notified the host that I would be leaving in the morning. That night my kids & I sat awake & frightened as people screamed & pounded above us. Early in the morning, I left the unit exactly as I'd found it & moved to a hotel.
I've been fighting for a refund for over 2 weeks. I have requested the host refund me; the host ignores all messages & requests.