BoYa apartment

U-N-F-O-R-G-E-T-A-B-L-E I arrived late Friday evening and my taxi driver struggled to find the place. This room turned out to be an apartment in Building 51 on the 7th floor of a high-rise inhabited by tenants who lived there. There is NO 24/7 reception as advertised. In fact, there is no reception AT ALL. Downstairs there are a few signs in Chinese language. My driver saved my life by figuring out which was the correct one and then phoning the landlady, who, naturally did not speak any English. I realise one could argue that when you're in China and don't speak the language, you can only blame yourself and not others. On the other hand, this apartment is marketed internationally and advertised 24/7 reception, thus it would be expected that some attendants would be able to communicate in some minimal English, to treat client needs. Access to the apartments works through door locks that you can open with a code. This code was not provided to me beforehand. My driver had to find out for me on the phone with the landlady. The same thing he kindly did for the wireless password. The apartment was UNFORTGETTABLE. I was not greeted by reception but by dust, filth and mould instead. The cupboard in the bathroom was broken and only held up by either faith or the thin duct tape around it. My first order of business was to manually clean the bathroom to be able to use it. Back in the main living space, there were some empty cupboards, a stove hood and a counter all pretending to be a kitchen. There was also a washer in place of where an oven should have been so I could only assume the host/ frequent sojourners put their food in there in some unorthodox manner of food preparation. The floors were dusty, there were hairs on the sheets, there was a hole in the floor ...and I could go on about the litany of defects. On day two I found help from someone with a Chinese translation app and requested to be transferred into a new apartment. This eventually happened on day three. The new one was on the 20th floor of Building 51. While it was not as filthy as the first one, it was still unclean. Again, the bathroom needed to be cleaned before use. The soiled couch was concealed in white towels flecked with dried bloodstains upon later discovery. This apartment had a fridge and upon request, the attendant managed to bring a microwave, exactly one bowl, and two plates. The most interesting thing to note is that the bedside table had a machine attached to it that dispensed condoms, toys and lube. This was not surprising considering the peculiar stains that could be found on the glass railing which led to the bedroom. Towards the end of my stay the toilet drain clogged. I contacted the landlady and asked for help. They sent a very nice and friendly lady (again, no English, communication happened through apps only). She actually came three times, twice with a plumber, however they never managed to fix it. I asked to be transferred gain or be given access to a different apartment to use the bathroom. I was told that all other apartments were fully booked. As a result, I spent the past 2 days without a working toilet and I had no choice but to opt for a nearby shopping mall. In conclusion, both apartments were quite spacey and bright. The area was lovely, teeming with convenience stores and a lovely view from the window. The daily rate is reasonable if you're travelling on a budget. However, you really should not be sensitive when it comes to dust (and frankly filth). You should be prepared to do some cleaning yourself and not expect support from the landlady.