BSuites Apartment

Tripadvisor states that 'The following do NOT qualify to be listed as accommodations: Property management companies. If this is the case, the company BSuites is committing fraud/ misrepresenting themselves. The company moreover, does not list the complete address in order to keep the business out of view of other leaseholders in the apartment block . The management company has no actual presence in the accommodation (no front desk/ no set hours in which one has contact with them. In fact, they try to keep their clients at bay by never replying to requests/ queries - they only message you if it suits them [for example, if they remind you not to unplug the plug near your bed because it serves as a TV connection for all other permanent residents in the apartment].

The description promised non-smoking rooms throughout. But the shared spaces all reeked of smoking. As the property is unattended, there was nobody there to enforce any non-smoking rules [if indeed there were any, I didn’t see a sign to this effect]. As I suffer from allergies and asthma, this was indeed a problem. The description furthermore promised a private kitchen [‘all rooms boast a kitchenette’], a patio, a shower, a desk, a private entrance, a fridge, a kettle, an iron, a radio, a hair dryer, a socket near the bed . In addition, my room confirmation included a tea/ coffee maker and kitchenware, None of the above were available. Instead, there was a rudimentary kitchenette outside the flat, to be shared with a large number of other residents, which needed to be opened with a special key. To do this, one needed to leave the flat, enter the stairwell where it was very cold, and the kitchen itself was unheated. There was no dining table, kettle or coffee maker in the kitchenette. The socket near the bed was needed for the bedside table lamp; the socket beside it for the TV. It turned out that this socket was in fact servicing the TV connection for all the other rooms occupied in the property. Hence there was no free socket available near the bed to plug in one’s personal device for an alarm call in the morning, or for listening to, for example, sleeping aids on youtube whilst recharging it overnight. As the owner/ manager is permanently absent [there is only cleaning personnel that comes once a day], nobody looks after security. The ‘private entrance’ is a communal entrance shared by all parties, and the rooms do not have secure doors. Mine was a thin internal glass door, with a single sheet of glass, not reinforced. This became critical when one of the residents tried to get in later in the evening. Since I did not open, he hollered, swore, and banged against the glass door for at least 45 minutes. The doors were so flimsy they buckled under the banging. I did not understand what he shouted and did not dare go out to use the bathroom or toilet. Needless to say, this was an experience nobody booking with a renowned agent like *********** should go through. I chatted with *********** but the agent, although sympathetic, told me she didn’t know what to suggest. She tried to contact the owner but as could be expected, they did not reply. In addition, contrary to the description, no ‘additional safety measures’ are in effect against Covid. There is nobody to check whether masks are worn and none of the other inhabitants of the apartment wore masks. There is a serious misrepresentation as to the correct complete address. This is not indicated on the *********** website. Guests are left standing in the street with their luggage without any means of finding out what bell to press, as the name of the company, Affittacamere Gaspari, features on none of the door bells. Perhaps this is done in order to avoid the attentions of the taxman.