SonderReviews of sonder.com

My family and I stayed in Belcourt and truly enjoyed our home away from home. The unit we stayed in was clean and close to restaurants and shops. It was very spacious for my family of 5. Their customer service team was also very attentive. I recently had to cancel another Sonder booking in Miami and received my deposit back within 2 business days. I will definitely stay with Sonder on my next vacation.

Although precipitated by some (lack of information) communication hiccups associated with checking in for a recent stay, I have had consistently great experience with Sonder customer service. In fact, Sonder’s Operations Manager recently followed up with me to let me know they assessed the property in light of my concerns and have implemented changes so other guests do not experience the same difficulty.

This is a long overdue review but seeing an advertisement from Sonder reminded me that I wanted to write it. I stayed with Sonder in the Edgware Road in London back in January. The check in experience was mostly straightforward. The room, though small, was more than satisfactory. The location was excellent for my needs as I was there for work in walking distance. But really I just wanted to compliment the overnight security staff member who, when I received the distressing news from home that I had lost my mother, noted that I was upset and really was just so kind. He gave me tissues and sat with me in the lobby while I composed myself and spoke with me for some time until I was able to move myself. I didn't get to see him again during my stay which was unfortunate as I was not able to thank him properly. (I forget his name but he was a tall Mediterranean looking man with a shaved head). I see many negative reviews here about the company but I can only speak from my experience and I believe they're certainly hiring the right sort of people in London at least which is a very large part of what makes up a good stay.

I had an awesome stay at Sonder Houston. They were the best value place in the area. Service can be a bit more difficult because there's no front desk, but text support worked great. Main thing to be aware is that their check-in is at 4pm, so I had to wait longer than usual. Despite that, the unit was perfect. Exactly as pictured and twice as big as anything else neabry for the same price.

If you're reading this, you're probably wondering if you should stay with Sonder. At least, that's why I first came to this page. The reviews here are pretty disturbing, and I was very concerned about renting from them. But I needed a place to stay for a month with not much heads-up, and the pictures on their site were very enticing. So, I took the plunge, though I rented an apartment at one of their New Orleans sites through Airbnb, whose customer service I trust much more and who will help you find alternative accommodation if the host cancels your trip or something else goes awry, which was a recurring theme in the reviews I read. I'm now writing this review at the end of my month-long stay. I don't usually write reviews, but I know there are a lot of people out there who are like me and need a place to stay and are hoping Sonder can be it. Overall, my stay was very pleasant. Sonder texted me the building and room code the day before my stay, and both worked just fine. The room was very clean, and equipped for a month's stay as expected. At one point during my stay, the lock to my apartment door (it's an electronic keypad) was running low on battery. I messaged Sonder through the Airbnb app and they responded within half-an-hour and someone was at my apartment to replace no more than almost fifteen minutes later. When I was first messaging them about renting the place (I had some initial questions about the availability of some of the amenities re: Covid) they were also very prompt in their replies. All in all, communication was very good. A few knocks against the place: the room was smaller than expected and did not look like the pictures on their site (or the Airbnb site) for the location. I had expected a king-size bed according to the post and I was given (and paid for) a queen. That being said, it was a perfectly fine room for one person, had nice decor, and I was satisfied enough that I didn't try to argue about it. Another knock: one time someone came to my room to check that the fire extinguisher was there and full--which is fine-- but I had heard him going to the other rooms/apartment and just letting himself in if no one responded. It is concerning that they thought it okay to just let themselves in without even some kind of warning, but it happened only once (I was always in my room during working hours). Those were the two notable negatives about staying with Sonder. There were some other small issues with the building itself, but that's on the company that manages the building, which is not Sonder. Though that is another issue in that there is a disconnect between the building manager and Sonder (e.g. Sonder told me I couldn't leave my bags in the building before check-in, but the staff said it was fine to leave them in the mail room. Sonder told me the rooftop and gym were closed due to Covid; they were not). I'm relieved my experience was good based on the other reviews. I will say this for, again, those who are like me in trying to figure out if Sonder is a scam. I don't think it is. I did some brief research on the company before renting from them, and they have serious investors (e.g. JP Morgan). That doesn't mean they can't be bad, but they also can't be screwing around. I read an article somewhere that they had to cut about 30% of their staff at the beginning of the pandemic, so I suspect that explains a lot of their poor customer service reviews. Again, I found their customer service to be very prompt, but I did notice that usually a different person would respond to each message, kind of like Paypal. It can make an extended conversation difficult at times, but it wasn't problematic. A lot of the people in these reviews had trouble contacting them through the phone. I did, too, the one time I tried to call because of the keypad battery. Messaging them always proved quick, and I think that's because they have staff outsourced abroad who can more easily respond via message. So, my advice is that if you're going to rent through Sonder, to try to do so via Airbnb. I can't promise it will be a smooth trip as mine was, but I don't think you're necessarily setting yourself up for a disaster, either. I know the negative reviews on this site can be frightening, but remember that the people who are leaving reviews here are those who had negative experiences, not those who had good ones. If you look at the Airbnb reviews, they're much better. I gave Sonder five stars because I had a nice stay and am rather complacent, but despite that I probably would not try to stay here again simply because of the price. You definitely pay for location with Sonder-- I was seconds from the French District--but there are plenty of nice Airbnbs out there that can be had for cheaper. If Sonder were cheaper, I'd have no issue staying with them again. I hope this essay helps you find your next stay. Good luck.

I am writing this because I feel people need to know the truth. I read these reviews and almost canceled my stay, but decided to try out this terrible experience myself since I've stayed in the worst hotels in manhattan before. My friend and I are staying in a 2 bedroom in NY. We have been extremely happy so far. Great wifi, comfortable beds, A/C units in each room which is AWESOME. Clean clean clean bathrooms (thank god), and great views. The price was amazing. I honestly am so glad I didn't change to a hotel. Please don't take the bad reviews to heart I think these people expect the plaza for a price cheaper than a small hotel in NY. If you aren't a needy person the Sonder will be an excellent choice for your stay!

Currently living in a sonder at Minneapolis MN. Initially i did have a little trouble to get hold of customer service as i was booking for more than 30 days. Once the team connected with me, i have nothing but good things to say about the service as well as the sonder unit im living in. It's top notch, clean and very very comfortable. Definetly recommend and might end up extending.

Staying in the Phoenix McKinley property for a month. The property is PHENOMENAL. I cannot overstate that. The rooftop pool and gym are on-par with the ultra-lux amenities in NYC buildings. The room is awesome, easily a $300+/nigh hotel experience. Sonder staff was extremely helpful during the booking process and everything has been super smooth going. The only negatives are 1) To access most everything you need the building key-fob (normal) but you only get 1, which means coordinating A LOT if you're staying with a partner especially since you need the fob to use the elevator. Two fobs would be awesome. 2) No mail delivery to the building, you can however get items sent to the local Sonder office and pick them up and this is stated up front so this was a surprise just inconvenience.