Friendly Rentals Reviews 440

Ran into a lot of problems with our apartment (Almeida) in Valencia:
- bed bugs (four of them, send picture of three)
- defective dishwasher (which was confirmed, we had to clean up all the water it had leaked. Reported, no technician was sent. Also had to solve the electricity problems caused by the defective dishwasher)
- stairgate loose (if you have younger kids, don’t book this apartment!)
- defective floor on lots of places (quality is very poor)
- lots of places with water damage (again, quality is poor)
- malfunctioning lights
- Outdated and defective furniture

Informed Friendly Rentals, spent over 25 hours on cleaning/reporting/re-reporting/reminding/rereminding and the only answer is please remain patient. Terrible communication (Friendly Rental informed us on the day of arrival that they did no longer manage this apartment). Any complaint remains unanswered, reminders are answered by requesting patience…for over a month!)
In other words, aftersales is absolutely terrible.

My advice: don’t book at Friendly Rentals!

[Update 16-11-2018]
"shortly"...haven't heart from Friendly Rentals ever since! Again, complaint was reported in person and by email on September 30th. Will update this review periodically.

[Update 12-12-2018]
Again, no communication whatsoever, used Facebook as new communication platform (as Twitter didn’t resolve the lack of communication either).

[Update 5-2-2019]
After over 4 months the outcome was disappointing:
FR doesn't have a relationship with the appartment owner any longer and they no longer rent the appartment. Because of this, there is no offer from FR at all. They are responsible but don't take responsibility.

This outcome was told me over the phone, it required 4 phone calls (from my site) in the last two days. No official statement, no letter, no nothing.

James, the very polite emplyee of FR, suggested that this review might have influenced the decission.

[Update 6-2-2019]
FR responded:

"Antwoord van Friendly Rentals
3 uur geleden
Emiel, as mentioned before we no longer have this apartment online. We apologize for ones more for the inconvenience caused. Please feel free to reach out to James anytime if you need further explanations. Kind regards, Friendly Rentals."

James suggested yesterday to sent an email if the outcome was unacceptable. So that he could forward it to the FR management. As if over (around) 20 emails wasn't enough in the first place. Big fail, never will book at FR ever.

I spent one week in Barcelona in a Freindly Rentals apartment on La Rambla.
There were many things that did not function and the cuboard had a crack in it which I showed too my family which was staying with me.
It was obvioulsy a damage that had been there for a long time.
When I did not recieve my deposit I wrote too them and they claimed that I had damaged the cuboard and that they would inform me of the costs. Aside from the fact that we did not do the damage, they never answered me again, despite my endless mails!! 200 Euro gone and they managed this through blatently lying!! I will never rent a place again and will tell all my freinds rhe same thing!

Used this form a couple of times with mixed results. Had a great experience with an apartment in Madrid and a terrible one in Paris.
The flat in Paris was dirty, drab and poorly furnished. I posted a review to FR but they did not put it on their website. They did not reply when I contacted them to ask why.
Terrible practice.

Londres apartment

Before even going I regretted booking with them. However, over the phone, they were extremely friendly. I read soooo many reviews and most of them seemed fake to me because people only had 1 review and they were giving 5 stars!! It simply seemed dodgy. I took a leap of faith and went anyway because I was not going to get my deposit back of 25%!

I got to Barcelona and called them to let them know that I will be at the office in an hours time (as instructed in the booking email) but I don't think the lady on phone understood or cared which brought back the fear of that this holiday is going to be awful!!! Anyways, I went to their office to pick up the key. The office is at a good location and not that difficult to spot. It is quite a fancy office, was extremely busy with clients/travellers so it did put me at ease thinking things won't be too bad. The ladies were very professional, polite and spoke good English. I collected the key, paid the deposit of 200 Euros on the card, signed whatever was needed to be signed and was on my way to the apartment.

The apartment was really clean and well kept when I entered. There was a little welcome pack with kitchen essentials in the kitchen. The kitchen had all the cutlery, glasses, plates, cooking utensils etc one would need. There were crisp white linen and towels in every bedroom. There was also a blue file with all the instructions that I needed to know like wifi password (wrong password btw we used the correct password from under the router), where to take the trash etc. It also had the very important information to always double lock the apartment.

I only realised the kettle was broken when I wanted to make tea the next morning. I reported this immediately by phone and was told someone will replace this today when I am out. I was sceptical but agreed anyway and didn't leave any valuables at home just in case!! Came back at 11 pm and no kettle was replaced. I emailed them at night and received an email around 9 in the morning to say that it will be replaced today. It was replaced with a brand new kettle on this day. Honestly, I don't mind the broken kettle too much but I wanted to make sure I reported the broken item because of the deposit I had paid, I didn't want it affecting the deposit.

The tv in the apartment only had Spanish channels. I would have liked some English option. The apartment also had travel plugs etc but we had brought our own so didn't use them but it was good to know there were some around.

We had a pleasant stay overall. We tried to leave the apartment in good condition i.e. took out all the trash, cleaned the kitchen, brushed the apartment, folded the towels, made bed etc because I think it is only fair we leave it in a condition as close to as how we found it.

Will I book with them again? Probably, but getting a key from a different location is a huge turn off from the actual location. Perhaps, they can charge a little extra for providing keys on the location as they do if I was to check in after 9pm.

We booked Villa Buda, Miraconcha, San Sebastian, Spain (June 2-7 2018) through Friendly Rentals Barcelona and met the owner of the property Marcarena on arrival. She was paid €1,705 cash and she explained that the fridge-freezer was broken, but did not point out any of the other numerous faults.

On closer inspection after her departure we found the house to be in a disgustingly filthy state, (see photographs). We, (three couples), contacted Friendly Rentals two hours after our arrival requesting alternative accommodation and that they should send a representative to inspect the premises.

Friendly Rentals contacted the owner who sent in a cleaner the next day to give the place a cursory wipe over, but the dirt had accumulated over a long period .and would have needed deep cleaning.

Friendly Rentals, on our behalf, requested compensation which the owner has refused and they have accepted her judgement and continued to advertise the premises.

Our contract was with Friendly Rentals and we as stated Villa Buda is excellently situated but because of the unhygienic condition we received it in we were not supplied with the property as advertised.

No one should contemplate renting this property in that condition and Friendly Rentals should not continue to market it in this state. We therefore strongly recommend people to avoid Villa Buda and Friendly Rentals until the situation has been rectified.

Excellent service and apartment. Very helpful and friendly staff. We stayed in Sitges at the Barbara apartments and had a lovely holiday. I would use them again.

Accommodation was excellent and we had an enjoyable problem free break in San Sebastien. However, they are still holding our security deposit after promising it would be repaid. Cannot get their Barcelona office to answer the phone and emails are being ignored. Lots of contact before but hopeless customer after service.

Update. After numerous unanswered emails and telephone calls. I threatened to send a collection agent into their Barcelona office. They then contacted me and the deposit was returned a week later. A stupid situation because the accommodation was perfect and booking service good.

Brilliant apartment in a great spot in Sitges. Everything you could want with amazing views and a wonderful rooftop terrace overlooking the beach and the church. Highly recommend and very easy and simple handover. Will be back!

If I could give zero stars I would, my daughter and 4 friends rented an apartment, there was no concierge, and the safe also did not work in the room, girls went out came back it wasn’t until the next morning all their money was missing, clearly no signs of break in! They spent the last day in the police station, they weren’t even prepared to check cctv it help 5 young girls, but had the nerve to charge them 20 euros to let them back in the room as something was forgotten, what place tells you to leave the keys in the room when you leave, they must also have a spare set for when your out too!

UPDATE

When I called the company they told me they would update me they sent a response they wouldn’t do anything until a police report was made which it was, but can you believe they didn’t look at cctv, the door was locked, it can’t be double locked from outside, but check other reviews on how this company take money from people when there is no check out process and charge people for breakages etc and yes I am going on as many reviews on sites there is to let people not to deal with them. Readers please note they stated that the girls didn’t lock the door properly, if we apply some common sense due to no check out process and you have to leave the key in the room, why would my daughter have to pay them 20 euros for locking herself out, this clearly shows the doors locks behind them, absolute idiots and they clearly thinks their potential customers are too.

super service, friendly & efficient staff, lovely apartment, modern clean & well equipped,we enjoyed our stay immensely.

I really enjoyed my stay in Madrid booked via Friendly Rentals. The apartment was very comfortable and lovely and clean. We had all the facilities we required. The attention of the staff was fantastic and I would recommend booking in Madrid through their office there.

No issues, seamless transaction, apartment with a central location and close to amenities

The apartment was excellent with ample appliances for self catering. It is light and bright and pleasantly furnished.The local Central market is at the end of the street and there are other food shops nearby. Restaurants and cafes abound in the neighbourhood.The apartment is close to the main tourist attractions.
The service received from Friendly Rentals was excellent and we will use again.

Lovely accommodation. Fantastic location, everywhere we wanted to visit was only meters away! ☺️ Clean and the bed was super comfortable. We also were overlooking the santa plaza Ana square which was a nice touch especially at night! Would highly recommend

Friendly rentals (Valencia)

Had a wonderful experience with Friendly Rentals 19/2-22/2 2018

Staff at Friendly Rentals:
The staff who received us (Angel and a new female colleague) were extremely friendly and accommodating. As we were early for our check in, Angel and the female staff took the initiative to prepare our check in even though they were on the way out for lunch! Thanks a lot!

Also, he explained the check in info in detail, provided us with a map and sharing with us the areas to visit and also transport (tram) and the estimated fare.

Apartment:
One of the best! Apartment was clean and cosy. It has EVERYTHING! From hangers (MANY), dishwashing liquid, laundry power, sponge, thrash bags to details such as umbrella..... :)
Apartment faces a compound where people gathered for food and drinks. Felt very safe / secure throughout the whole stay as there was constant activities just one level below and it is almost impossible for anyone to attempt to climb into the apartment without being seen by the public! Haha! (For those who prefer a little privacy, fret not the apartment windows have wooden doors which can shield you from public view).

The only drawback for us (small drawback) perhaps was the bathroom "screen" . It allowed for some spillage to the dry area as we bathed. Also there was no holder for the shampoo etc. We had to put them on the floor.

Location:
Although not close to any metro but very accessible to the places we would like to go. Bus stops were easy to spot and very convenient!

There are many eateries around the apartment. Right downstairs, there is a kebab place that sells nice food at a great value! and it opens until 12:30am.

Despite that, Friendly Rentals has our vote. Will be our 1st choice of holiday stay from now forth!

Thank you team @ Friendly Rentals. A good job done! :)

I booked the so called chueca town II apartment in Madrid for 4 months which was a big mistake. the apartment is way too small for the amount of people its is said to be for on the website. Many of the rooms did not even have windows and the ones that did have a window were facing towards the patio so the apartment was contantly dark. Another downside of the apartment is that it is located above a bar/ club called THICK, which is having loud parties at least 2-3 times a week and of course every sunday. I dont know why there is a room for children, since it is definitely NOT suitable for children to stay there. In addition my roommate was disturbed many times during the night by other nioses than the loud club, such as the male neighbours having intercourse- again not suitable for families and children. The friendly rentals team was always available and open for questions however not always so friendly. I would deifinitely not recommend anyone to stay in the overpriced CHUECA TOWN II Apartment

Friendly rentals was a great company to do business with. It was fast, friendly, responded quickly to any questions or concerns. I would definitely use them again. We rented an amazing apartment in Barcelona. It was incredible, clean, very well appointed, a binder full of information, i could go on and on about it.
If this is your first time using a rental property instead of a hotel, you can put your mind at ease. This is a class act!

Booked an apartment, gave them a deposit, booked flights, then got an email that the apartment was already booked
Had to threaten to sue to get the deposit back

We travelled to Barcelona in August and stayed at Sta Anna Atico apartment. This was a cute little apartment with a rooftop terrace and although compact, it catered for all our needs and only minutes walk from Las Ramblas. It was spotless, reasonably priced and made such a difference having a little terrace, we could enjoy a little rest in the sunshine with a small drink before heading out in the evening. Booking was easy and we were allowed to leave our luggage at Friendly Rentals Office on our last day. Unfortunately our last day was also the day the terror attack took place in Barcelona. We were fortunate enough to find our way back to Friendly Rentals and the staff could not have been any more helpful. A male member of staff (whose name I didn't get and Icould kick myself for this) came out onto the street with us and made sure we got a taxi to the airport and made our flight. He honestly went way beyond anything we could or would have expected and for that we are eternally grateful. I would have not hesitation in booking with Friendly Rentals again, so much so we are off to Venice in the summer and our booking will be with them