We went to Barcelona in August 2011 amd had a very unpleasant experience at this property. We had booked this apartment via [--]. We got unpleasant surprises after one another at this property. First of all the address they have for this property is WRONG. This address is only for their office which is next to "La Ramla" and not for the actual apartment where you might stay. When we booked it, we thought we will be staying 5 minutes walk away from the city center because the price for one night was Euro 146 per night which justifies but when they gave us the apartment key, the apartment was 3-4 KM away. Also on the HRS website, they had advertised that we can check-in anytime of the day. When we arrived at the location which was 11.00PM in the night, they charged us Euro 25 fees for checking-in after 10.00PM which was not mentioned on the HRS website and the apartment people said the HRS website didnot disclose this info. My question is why customer has to suffer for wrong information and the apartment people should take the full responsibility. Anyway, after we entered the apartment, we did not find any sugar, salt, oil, etc. in the apartment which is not common. When we called the office, they said we have to buy on our own all these things. We have stayed in the apartments before and these things are always there as the visitors are not expected to do grocerry shopping when you go on for vacation. Another bad surprize was that they charged 4% on top of total amount because they expect to get paid in cash and if someone pays with the credit card, there is an extra charge. This information was also missing on the HRS website. They also made us put Euro 150 deposit for any damage, etc. When we checked out and I went to the office to take my deposit, they asked me to come after 3 hours as they want to have the inspection done of the apartment before they could return my money. Thank God my flights weren't until evening, otherwise I don't know how would I have gotten my deposit back. Anyway when I returned after 3 hours to get the the deposit, they deducted Euro 10 saying one of the top of water tap in the bathroom is missing. This time I had lost my mind and I gave them my piece of mind. Also the lady who was there at the time of checkout was so "Rude" in talking. All in all, they spoiled our vacation to certain extent with so many bad experiences. The only good thing was that the apartment was nice, but I also expect a good service when I go on vacation. I would not suggest people to stay at this place.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
22 November 2011
Dear Sir,
As you booked through our partner website we are only allowed to insert there one location and our apartments are all distributed in the city center of Barcelona. It is written though on the HRS website and all our partners' websites that the location in Fontanella 18 is our office address only. The apartment where you were staying is located exactly 1,6 km from our office, in the center of the l'Eixample district, near Passeig de Gracia and Gaudi's attractions, and has a very convenient public transport communication from the office, and we always give the map with all the directions of how to get to the apartment.
Also the HRS websites informs that our reception is open until 22:00 on the weekdays. Of course we receive our clients who arrive later, but we charge an additional fee for this service, which is 25 euro between 22:00 and 1:00. We could have avoid the late check in fee and checking in in the office by offering you the self check-in option directly in the apartment. However, this partner does not provide any contact details to us of our clients, so we could not offer this option to you. In the future i recommend that you try to contact our office before your arrival and we will be happy to give you the most convenient options for your arrival, especially if you arrive after the office hours.
Regarding your complaints about the lack of groceries in the apartment, I need to remind you that we ofer self-serviced apartments, which means we don't provide any food, except some sugar, tea and coffee to welcome you. Besides, I remember we sent a cleaning lady with some more sugar to your apartment on your request, as we discovered it was very important for you. We can also provide a "welcome pack" service for our clients, for additional fee and you will find all your grocery shopping in your apartment at your arrival.
As regards the charges, I can see we returned all your security deposit back (150 euro) and we did not keep any ammount. We charged you a 1,25% surcharge for the payment with the credit card, which is a normal procedure in case of credit card payments, that is why we recommend cash payments if you want to avoid any additional charges.
The security deposit could have been returned to you immediately in the apartment, but as you informed us you would like to leave your luggage in the office, we knew you have a later flight, so we needed to send somebody first to check if there were no damages in the apartment. If you ever have and early flight and don't want to come to the office to get your deposit back, you can always leave your credit card details as a guarantee, or arrange with us to send our staff to the apartment on your departure and the apartment would be checked and the deposit refunded immediately in the apartment.
I personally appologize if anyone from our staff was rude to you. We try to keep the highest standards of customer service in our company. If you remember the name of the receptionist please write to us directly and this person will suffer the consequences.
I hope with your future reservations for our properties we will have a better communication. We always try to react to all the complaints of our clients as soon as we hear about them.
Kind regards,
Urszula Sajor dos Anjos
Managing Director of Old Town Apartments SL
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
