ello Rebecca !
Quite naturally, I find this review disappointing, but thank you, nonetheless, fot taking the time to make it.
It is obvious, from the previously favourable comments, that your experience is very much an exception – and I am, of course, sorry for that.
You raise a number of points – some of these are within my control and I will, of course take action on these.
I am no fan of excuses, but, for what it's worth, here is my response.
Firstly, the apartment was totally decorated at the end of 2015.
The photos on the site were taken by a Trip Advisor representative soon after that.
The décor is “renewed”, where appropriate at the end of every season.
Because of its Central location and fair price, the apartment is let almost continuously all Summer long.
It has a very hard life.
Sadly, most guests do not treat the place as carefully as they would their own home, that goes with the territory - and keeping it presentable is a continuous battle.
Small breakages (and indeed thefts) occur and, if they are not mentioned to me (and most people say nothing) and the cleaner does not spot it, I cannot do anything.
A few points:
What is in the shower is not “mould” but lime-scale.
Prague water is very hard and this accumulates continuously.
The whole shower enclosure has to be disassembled, scrubbed and reassembled a couple of times a season,.
Sadly, the turnaround time between guests means it is impossible to do as often as I would like.
The sofas, which are both bed-settees, are quality IKEA items and only 3 months old.
The previous pair were both broken by some (sadly very rowdy) guests in April.
No-one has previously remarked upon either their comfort factor or a stain.
I mentioned the missing cooker knobs to you upon arrival.
The old ones were reported missing only very recently and locating replacements for an oldish cooker was difficult.
Some have been found and ordered. I am, at time of writing, still awaiting their arrival.
The under mattress slats do break occasionally.
When this is reported, I replace them. This will happen again, now.
Some of the points you made, whilst I accept them and seek to mitigate against them wherever possible, are simply out of my direct control.
The windows of the flat are the property of the House and not of me.
A replacement program IS underway, I am awaiting my turn, but it is centrally managed and I am not able to do anything myself.
The curtains and nets are, as is everything else, totally laundered at the end of each season. I have delayed replacement to coincide with the new windows.
The lift motor failed and the House opted for complete replacement.
The work on the new lift is now over 9 weeks beyond its projected finish date.
Every week the company promises completion – but it doesn't happen.
It has appeared “ready” for over a month now and the House is all over the contractors – but the final touches just don't happen.
Sadly, I can only wait and can proffer no firm schedule to my guests as I cannot get one myself.
When we last spoke before your arrival, I had just received a reassurance that it was finally ready.
The dust is a City wide problem.
You must have noticed, during your visit, the almost unfeasible amount (apparently the most ever) of roadworks and construction going on absolutely everywhere.
The air across the whole City is just full of dust and has been all Summer.
The work on the lift can only make this worse.
With no rain for over 6 weeks, this dusty air, coupled with the unusually hot, dry weather (which means the windows are open a lot) can have only one real end result – and encroaching dust does, naturally, exacerbate any tiny cobweb.
I have asked the cleaning service to make extra efforts.
Sadly wasps and mosquitos are a natural occurrence.
The same heat/window problem as above presumably made it worse.
Despite months of hot weather, this has not been mentioned before.
What actually concerns me most is the Shuttle Driver.
Whilst it is actually unlikely that he had been drinking (there is zero-tolerance and a life ban) – a lot of people DO drink alcohol free beers for refreshment – scary driving and using the 'phone is unforgivable.
I contacted the company, which I have used many hundreds of times before without incident and reported this.
David Perry
All bookings are direct with the owner 