UAApartments... A horrible experience ...

[sa44]

Hi
   I had a horrible experience with UAApartments. I will suggest that do not even think of using them ever. Here is account of my nightmare with them.
 I booked on line for my visit to Kiev. They confirmed and I rang them for reconfirmation. The Price was $89 that was fine and agreed. They wanted first night rent in advance it is fine by me. They sent me a link when I entered the Card Details it all of a sudden charged me in UAH equal to $100. I immediately rang them. The answer was the company they use charges them. This was not mentioned anywhere.

They agreed that they will cancel transaction when I reach and I pay them in cash. I said that is fair enough but ..???

On my arrival I was told sorry the apartment you booked is not available anymore and we will give you another apartment. I was never informed. They had my mobile number and email address. It was evening raining and in new country and not knowing the language you are virtually a hostage.
When asked ok now cancel the transaction as agreed as I will pay all in cash. They said it is will take very long and we will give you money in UAH. That would have meant that they will only return 79 Dollars where as they had taken $100.
The New Apartment was on 5th floor and its entrance was at the back of building where  there was no light. It took my interpreter some time in finding. Finally we managed to open the door to building and were horrified to find the state of lift and entrance. The lift was very dodgy even from Ukraine standard and my Interpreter refused to use it. So with the boxes we climbed to 5th floor. Our cloths and luggage was full of  cement , sand and other stuff as there were major construction works going on.
   
 When reached Apartment it was a nice apartment.

When I was checking in I was asked what time you will vacate the Apartment I said at 1400hrs they said that is fine. But then a day before I was to leave I was told it has to be 1200hrs I again protested and it just fell to deaf ears.

I am uploading the photos of the state of building and lift. SO BE WARNED OF UAAPARTMENT..

[docetae]

Welcome to Ukraine...this is the normal state of apartments building... nothing strange here...

[Enot]

The Ukraine is famous for "over-booking", the highest bidder gets the best rooms and the others have to suffer.  This is why I always get a hotel and have someone check it out before I make a reservation.

[Shadow]

Airlines or hotels never inform you if they are overbooked, why should apartment services be different ?

If you wish to 'bother' them let your interpreter ask them for an official invoice which you need for taxes. They are obliged to give it, but for obvious reasons are not happy about making one. 

[kievstar]

Ukraine is all about personal relationships.  Booking apartment form someone you have not used before can be a bad experience in Ukraine.  More than likely you got bumped by a repeat customer on your first apartment.

[GoodOlBoy]

I am uploading the photos of the state of building and lift. SO BE WARNED OF UAAPARTMENT..

Hello SA44,

IMHO I see nothing wrong. Nothing Unusual. I think for a fair and balanced discussion about your experience, it would be nice to post some pictures of the inside of your apartment.

BTW...When I met my wife in Siberia, her flat was the typical 5 story building. She, of course, lived on the 5th floor and there was NO elevator in her building. Her flat was beautiful inside, but it was a real SOB dragging my suitcases up those stairs after flying (with layovers) for 26 hours. 

GOB

[ScottinCrimea]

It seems that until recently not much attention was paid to the exterior condition of apartments, or other buildings for that matter, but, as you have witnessed, they take great pride in the internal appearance and it's not unusual to enter a building that looks like it should be condemned and inside find a very beautiful, well apportioned and comfy home.

[sa44]

Hello GoodOlBoy

   I think you have missed the main issue. The main issue was selling wrong services , deception by the Company.
   For you it may be normal but for me it was not acceptable to be cheated ,  promises made are broken. The service for which you have paid are not provided.
  The condition of the building is secondary issue. The main issue is the service which you are promised is not provided to you.
I have already written 
" When reached Apartment it was a nice apartment."
  Its matter of principle, customer services and most important is that if any one like me is making his first trip should be mentally ready.
  I have served in army and can survive in situations 100 times worse and hostile but here we are talking about some one selling you a bad service and deceiving you.
  So the aim of the post was warn those who are planning to travel to Kiev and if they come across this company. I can not comment on others as i have no experience.
   Regards
     SA 44
 

[docetae]

I have used their services several times (more than 5 times) and never had one problem with them. But I was targeting budget of 140$ and + per night, so it depends perhaps of the time/budget of their clients...

[Snowwww1980]

I have used both Ukraine Apartments (definitely get a different response as a returning customer) and Kiev Apartments for stays in Kiev.  Was pleased with both, however Kiev apts gave more personal service. And in Odessa was arranged by Solo East Travel, also excellent.  But always the same outside terrible,much different inside, and in my girlfriends apt too.

[tfcrew]

Just curious ...did the place smell bad?
I mean like garbage or a toilet?
That happens too from time to time...
Better luck next time----

Karl

 

[Vinnvinny]

I too have used UAApartments many times and, ‘relatively speaking’, I have always found them to be pretty good. Once you have done 10 – 20 trips to Ukraine then you might look back and think they weren’t so bad after all. 

The Price was $89 that was fine and agreed. They wanted first night rent in advance it is fine by me. They sent me a link when I entered the Card Details it all of a sudden charged me in UAH equal to $100. I immediately rang them. The answer was the company they use charges them. This was not mentioned anywhere.

Are you sure about the above? Whenever I have used them then 1) Their website has made is very clear that the payment is being taken by a 3rd party and 2) The amount that the 3rd party will take is clearly stated in UAH BEFORE I enter my card details. The exchange rates used will be dependant upon several factors but you can be sure that it wont be favourable. This is nothing to do with UAApartments or Ukraine but standard practice worldwide.

On my arrival I was told sorry the apartment you booked is not available anymore and we will give you another apartment. I was never informed. They had my mobile number and email address. It was evening raining and in new country and not knowing the language you are virtually a hostage.

As docetae said, welcome to Ukraine. Attitudes towards service levels are very different to what we are used to in the west. My advice is to just accept this as you sure aint gonna change it.

When asked ok now cancel the transaction as agreed as I will pay all in cash. They said it is will take very long and we will give you money in UAH. That would have meant that they will only return 79 Dollars where as they had taken $100.

Why were they only going to return $79 to you?

The New Apartment was on 5th floor and its entrance was at the back of building where there was no light.

It had a lift? Wow, you got a good deal there! 

When I was checking in I was asked what time you will vacate the Apartment I said at 1400hrs they said that is fine. But then a day before I was to leave I was told it has to be 1200hrs I again protested and it just fell to deaf ears.

Midday departure is pretty much a standard everywhere. Presumably the apartment hadn’t been booked for your departure date but whilst you were in residence that situation changed.

If you had been arriving at 2pm and they told you that you had to wait a few more hours for they keys because the outgoing guest had kept the apartment for a few more hours, I assume you would have also protested? You can’t have it both ways.

Looking forward to your warnings about which restaurants, bars, shops, agencies, queuing, airports, taxis, ladies etc we should avoid. 

[Simoni]

Greetings Sa44,

The entry way you descried is typical of Ukraine.  And the price was quite good.

And most of the time in my experience, there was no lift.

Reading Trip Reports here before you left would have given you perspective.

The good thing was that the apartment itself was in good shape.

Next time, ask here about apartments and providers.  Then use the reference to the apartment provider so they will give you better service.

Other than the flat, how was your trip?  W'd love to hear more..

[Patrocle70]

Hello,

I would like to try an apartment next time I go to Kiev.

Did you the service of kievapartment.com ?

Sorry again if the question was posted previously but I could not find it and that kind of service may really change with time !

Thanks !

[Simoni]

I have stayed many nights in apartments in Kiev.  I'll PM you info on the ones I used, and can recommend...

~Si

[gxamer]

Hello,

I visited Ukraine in the beginning of the fall of 2009. Earlier I stayed in Kiev in hotels
that may be graded as 3-4 stars, but service level/price ratio is very poor and you don't
get what you expect for your buck. Friend of mine recommended me company Kievrent as he had
a very good experience working with them in the past. He was right: I booked the apartment
online, using their website http://www.kievapartments.com.ua , without any problem, company representative
met me in the airport Borispol and I was in the appartment in 35-40 minutes after I left
the airport. Appartment itself is in very good condition and located in the downtown of Kiev,
just walking distance from Independance Square and central Kreschatik Street. Apartment is
in the the historical part of the city, very beautiful place considering Kiev's history: if
you step outside of the apartment you can see the beauty of Sofia's Cathedral with your own
eyes.
Company represenative left me his business card, so I can call him if I have any questions.
Maid service is available and cleaning is done every 4 days. Before leaving Kiev I got a call
in advance from the company to confirm the time and date of my flight back home. Company
represenative picked me up and gave me a ride back to the airport. Make sure you leave for your
flight early, because of traffic conditions. Company staff is very friendly and professional,
always willing to help if any issues arise during stay. Company representatives I dealt with
speak very decent English, so there were no problems to understand each other.

I recommend using this company if you want to experience real Ukrainian hospitality and get to
know the city without staying in expensive hotels. I know that KievLux has a lot of different
apartments spreaded in the city (mostly central part), economy and business class, in decent price
range, so you have a lot of variety to choose from.

Enjoy your stay!

[Admin]

Hello,

I visited Ukraine in the beginning of the fall of 2009. Earlier I stayed in Kiev in hotels
that may be graded as 3-4 stars, but service level/price ratio is very poor and you don't
get what you expect for your buck. Friend of mine recommended me company Kievrent as he had
a very good experience working with them in the past. He was right: I booked the apartment
online, using their website http://www.kievapartments.com.ua , without any problem, company representative
met me in the airport Borispol and I was in the appartment in 35-40 minutes after I left
the airport. Appartment itself is in very good condition and located in the downtown of Kiev,
just walking distance from Independance Square and central Kreschatik Street. Apartment is
in the the historical part of the city, very beautiful place considering Kiev's history: if
you step outside of the apartment you can see the beauty of Sofia's Cathedral with your own
eyes.
Company represenative left me his business card, so I can call him if I have any questions.
Maid service is available and cleaning is done every 4 days. Before leaving Kiev I got a call
in advance from the company to confirm the time and date of my flight back home. Company
represenative picked me up and gave me a ride back to the airport. Make sure you leave for your
flight early, because of traffic conditions. Company staff is very friendly and professional,
always willing to help if any issues arise during stay. Company representatives I dealt with
speak very decent English, so there were no problems to understand each other.

I recommend using this company if you want to experience real Ukrainian hospitality and get to
know the city without staying in expensive hotels. I know that KievLux has a lot of different
apartments spreaded in the city (mostly central part), economy and business class, in decent price
range, so you have a lot of variety to choose from.

Enjoy your stay!

gxamer,

I sent you a PM asking you to explain some inconsistencies.

Please reply to my PM ASAP.

Thanks,

- Dan

[Sculpto]

Dan isn't that an obvious shill?

[Admin]

Dan isn't that an obvious shill?

Maybe - maybe not.

Allow me to remind you of the RWD Guidelines for Civil Discourse (http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=7223.0), which encourages giving other members the benefit of the doubt.

Rather than jump to any conclusions - even those some may consider "obvious" - instead, I prefer to ask a straight-forward question. Assuming a straight-forward and honest reply, a new member is likely to be given some 'wiggle-room' to make a mistake or two without repercussion.

- Dan

[easyukraine]

I have used and even recommended UAApartments. I think 4 times so far and stayed in places ranging from 69-120 a night and have had no problem. even showed up in Kiev at there office to rent a place for a day. Most rental places want you to stay at least 3 days to book a room since they don't own the apartments. they now have what they call guest suits only thing missing is a place to cook. kind of like a motel room microwave mini fridge sink and since there newer Jacuzzi tub with shower and a small washing machine.