Local Host Cyprus — Hotel in Larnaca

So we stayed with this host in an apartment in Floria Court for about a week.

At first, everything seemed perfect. It is an absolute health hazard. I still feel sorry that we didn’t report them to the authorities. The apartment was infested with bed bugs. The host inists that we brought them there. But how could we? When we opened the door on the first day the specific smell of the bedbugs was so strong that we had to air the apartament for some good hours. We tought it was just dirty/smelly, we couldn’t imagine that such a well reviewed host could have those little critters. After the research on them, the smell was spot on(musty, sweet, and a bit mouldy). Under the couch there were dozens of excremets from the bugs, which would have been imposible to happen in the few days before we realised what our problem was. I belive that they were in the couch, as the bite marks begun after we moved to the couch (due to the horrid condition of the matress, which gave me severe back pain).

The host then sent the pest control to the apartament, who CONFIRMED the infestation. The host kept trying to blame us. They didn’t reimburse us the money for laundry or for our unsalvageble goods, including expensive electronics that had bedbug eggs in them( we stored them in the nighstand beside the bed). They didn’t even refund our stay. They gave us the money for the few days (after we realised the apartament was a health hazard and unlivable in) we stayed at another hotel. I guess the fact that they had a bed bug infestation was on us and we were at fault for not realising it on the first day. (Which is impossible due to their feeding times: once a few days). If the apartament was just vacated, it means that the bedbugs just had been fed and were going to be dormant anyway for a few days.

Another sketchy part: the host kept almsost all communication on whatsapp, not on the airbnb app, and used another number than the one listed on airbnb. It had the same name and photo so we didn’t notice the difference at first.

When we were calling the host, they were picking up almost instantly. But as airbnb tried calling them, they did not pick up the phone for days, in an attempt to make US look like scammers. I’ve never seen such horrible management in the hospitality word before.

Okay, beside the bedbug infesteation, the sketchy method of communication and the fact that the host tried to blame us,

the apartament was absolutely miserable on the closer look. Sure, at first it looked amazing, when we weren’t searching for bugs. Mold, ants 24/7 , dead cockroaches in hard to spot corners. Under the sink: a huge dead cockroach, right next to the filthy gas canisters. The toilet did not have a seal and it was dirty at the inside ream. The toilet paper didn’t have any kind of indication that housekeeping replaced it. I’ll attach all of the photos below. Even outside the apartament, near the front door, we found not 1 or 2, but 5 huge dead cockroaches next to the fron door, after 5/6 days. My guess is that they spray the apartament before guests arrive so they don’t see the problems at first and can’t complain to get their money back. When the guests notice the problems because the critters start showing themselves, the host can accuse the guests that they brought them there. The water pots had a very strong smell of oriental food which we couldn’t get rid of. If so much as a chip fell on the table, in a couple hours you’d see dozens of ants there.

The bathroom was full of mould, seen in the photos attached below. Small items such as nightlapms and fake plants absolutely filthy, as seen in the photos below.

Oh, and the second day after we left, the apartament in question was already occupied!

Get a hotel or literally anything else. With Local Host Larnaca, you’ll get bed bugs, ants, moldy showers, disgusting and sticky kitchen utensils and accusations of being a fraud and bringing THEM bedbugs...

Stressful stay – not worth the money or nerves**

I would absolutely not recommend this place to anyone who values their peace or wants to enjoy their vacation. If you decide to stay here, prepare yourself for a lot of disappointments, stress, and misleading communication.

They take a €200 deposit, and from that moment on, it feels like they are trying to scam you in every possible way. I booked an apartment that clearly stated it had 3 beds, and I even messaged them in advance asking for two separate beds since I was traveling with my dad. Instead of simply preparing it (which should be standard), they told me they would only do it for an additional €30, despite this being listed as part of the apartment features.

When we arrived, nothing was prepared as requested. Later, the entire power went out in the apartment, and it took them over three hours to do anything, all while we sat in the dark, in high temperatures, without air conditioning. Their "technical support" was not only unhelpful but also lied to us multiple times about calling an electrician — we later found out the electrician had been notified an hour before he arrived, not immediately, as we were told.

We were eventually moved to a different apartment, but it didn’t match the original location or sleeping setup — just one large bed and an unusable sofa.

To top it off, the Wi-Fi was completely unreliable, so if you plan to work remotely: forget it.

Avoid this place...

We rented an apartment from this company through booking.com, then we needed to stay longer and we rented another apartment in their office. It was a terrible experience. The company asks for a deposit of 200$ or euros. But the apartments in which we lived were in terrible condition, where everything is beautiful and comfortable only on the photo. The first apartment had problems with hot water no matter how much you heated it. The legs of the sofa were falling off, the dishwasher didn't work. The second apartment had a horrible sagging mattress, the front door to the apartment was constantly banging because of the draft. Then we got our deposit back, the bills were stapled together with the receipt and now they refuse to change them in the exchange office as damaged. There were ants in the second apartment. I do not recommend this company...