“Scam Scam Scam DO NOT BOOK
THEY KEEP YOUR DEPOSIT ON FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF DAMAGE
AVOID LIKE THE PLAQUE
BOOKING .con waste of time and no help
We had serious problems of accessing the keys when we arrived running to two different places to get keys in 30 degree heat very poor standard of operating”
“Unfortunately I cannot recommend nor SingularStays, nor the apartment they provided for us. The SingularStays website, the apartment advertisement and the price paid made us believe that we were renting a high-end apartment from a reputable agency. In reality, the apartment provided was shabby and tired, and SingularStays were a disorganised, unprofessional and unreliable agency.
Read on for the full review.
POOR COMMUNICATIONS:
When emailing SingularStays prior to arrival with questions about the apartment, emails went unanswered or it took over 7 days to get a response. Often the information provided was contradictory or the agent in question was ill informed, curt and unhelpful.
Communications were received via automated emails, WhatsApps, agent emails, phone calls and communications via a portal, which also added to the confusion. Why use several different communications streams with clients when 1 is sufficient?
CHECK-IN AND KEYS:
SingularStays informed us that we would: 1. Receive check-in instructions on the day of arrival and; 2. That we would be met at the apartment.
At midday on the day of arrival, no instructions had been received. I contacted SingularStays and spoke to an agent who had no idea that we were arriving and then informed us that we would need to come to SingularStays offices to collect keys (huge inconvenience when travelling with 2 small children, with transfers already booked). After further phone calls and negotiation, SingularStays agreed to send the key to the apartment in a taxi. The bemused driver handed us the keys in the street, and we were left to find our apartment ourselves in a large 6 stairwell apartment block - with 2 small children and all of our luggage.
In addition, only 1 set of keys were provided - which for a family of 4 staying for 2 months was insufficient. An extra set was requested from SingularStays on a number of occasions throughout our stay. These were promised but never provided.
APARTMENT SHABBY AND TIRED:
The apartment ("Alameda II") pictured on the website looked very attractive. With 2 workstations, an armchair and nice furniture. Upon arrival we discovered that: The two workstations and armchair were missing. The wardrobe, kettle, coffee machine and living room lamp were broken. The beds were steel framed, cheap and creaky. The mattresses were worn and required replacing.
Overall, the apartment was shabby - with old worn furniture and fittings. It was also very noisy, with neighbour noise almost 24 hrs a day, and a screeching sounds from the plumbing when a tap was functioned. The master bedroom had no shutters and was therefore very hot during the day and light at night.
The only positives: the communal areas were very well kept, the pool was great and the WiFi was quick and reliable.
SECURITY DEPOSIT
As per contract, Singularstays were due to return the security deposit paid 30 days after the date of departure from the apartment. After 40 days, I contacted Singularstays requesting repayment and received no reply. After weeks of unanswered calls and emails, eventually Singularstays responded and initiated repayment. It took a total of 83 days for the money to be returned. No explanation for the delay was provided. I doubt that the funds would have been returned at all had I not forced the issue.
For all of these reasons, I would strongly suggest avoiding SingularStays. Our experience with them was laborious, stressful and unpleasant throughout.”
“SCAM they are stealing the deposit!!
Me and my wife gave them 400e for deposit and as the otherones also told they are sending generic answers and in our case its 2 months passed but we didnt recieve ou money even after dozen phone calls and emails”
“DO NOT BOOK A STAY HERE! They take your deposit money! I have been fighting to get my deposit of 400 euros back and still no sign of it. They just send you automated customer service emails and you will never see your money. Also, if there are problems with the apartment, they do not fix it while you are there, they just copy-paste same answers to every question. REALLY TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE!”
“They scam you by asking to pay a deposit to stay, BUT, they don't return the deposit no matter what. Dozens of calls and emails, including VRBO (I booked through). They say they will process/return deposit, but they don't. I think all BOOKINGS, VRBO, AGODA, and any other sites that use them should drop their properties from the list of take responsibility for this. We need to spread the word about these deceitful practices. I for one, will look into how to report them to a Spanish regulator.”
“Still waiting for my deposit back. At the payment it is requested that you pay a 400 Euro deposit, a month later I am still chasing to have this returned. The apartment is great, in a great location and it was easy, however the customer service and communication regarding the deposit is not great. I complied with the guidance and cleaned the apartment before checking out taking out all the rubbish as stated on the rules. As it has now been over a month and I am still waiting for the deposit to be returned, I have submitted an official complaint to booking.com and will have to pursue getting my money back from my credit card company.”
“I had paid this company €500 in late 2019 as a reservation deposit for a 6 week occupancy in one of their rental apartment in Valencia for a stay that we scheduled for early 2020. Then the events of the pandemic unfolded, thus halting all international travel and causing the booking to be cancelled. So because of Covid, it was not possible to travel into Spain to occupy the apartment as per the reservation. After another 6 months had passed this company sent me an email asking me to provide them with additional bank transfer information so that they could refund my deposit. I immediately provided them all the bank transfer information that they required, however I never received any money back from them at all. Now another 15 months has passed by and I still have not received any refund from them of my €500. I have sent them emails and text messages to follow up and most recently I sent them a very polite and detailed letter in regards to the matter. However, I have not had any further contact from this company in regards to the refund of my €500 deposit. This is not the type of treatment or experience I expected from Singular Stays and it is certainly not how I would ever treat one of my own customers.”
