Shura Reviews 21

I'm a Canadian traveler and was booked for a stay at "Colonne di San Lorenzo - Iconic Bilo" and had the worst experience I've had while traveling.

To enter the apartment buildings, you had to get a key from a lockbox that is placed away from the building (and given very obscure directions to get to). After searching the streets for 1.5 hours, I was unable to find it and I tried to contact the company through the number provided during their supposed business hours, but there was no dial tone. I was only able to contact them through Expedia, and even then that took another 30 minutes to get a response.

When I did get a response, they sent me a video of where the keybox is only for me to tell them that there is no box where they showed it to be. Turns out Milan had removed these boxes from the streets at the beginning of the year, but the fact that this was overlooked by the staff and no one had thought to check it was still there prior to my stay is ridiculous.

When I informed them that there was no keybox and therefore no key to let me into the building, they told me to buzz a specific apartment and it should let me in. It did not. Their next suggestion was to just sneak into the building. While I was able to do so, I wonder what my option would have been in I hadn't been able to. They offered me no option/back up if I was unable to get into the building, meaning if I hadn't gotten in, I wouldn't have had a place to sleep for the night.

Additionally, I was able to get into the building and room, however now I have no guarantee of getting back in if I needed to get out. It was 5 PM by the time I got into my apartment and I did want to explore Milan more when I initially got in, but I was hesitant to leave the building since I wasn't sure I'd be able to get back in. I had to get European friends to use their food delivery apps to have food delivered to the entrance of the apartment buildings since I couldn't step out to grab dinner.

After this experience, I emailed Shura hoping for a partial refund since this experience was a mess. Being unable to enter/exit the building when I'd like to warrants some refund, in my opinion. They denied my request for even a little bit of money back, because "since you was entered the home[...] she is unable to agree to a partial refund."

I was given no sympathy for the stress of this, and the fact that if I was unable to sneak into the building, I would have not had a place to stay is ridiculous. If I had known that my ability to enter the apartment would have prevented getting any of my money back, I would have just went to a hotel and honestly spent less on that than this one night + cleaning fees charge.

I would never recommend this company to anyone.

Edit on April 6, 2026:
I was going to let this slide because it's been months and I doubt I'd get my money back, but then they had the gall to essentially call me a liar, so here's some texts (copied verbatim) I got from the company while I was trying to get into the building and how that worked out for me.

"📍 How to Get In
Head to Corso di Porta Ticinese no. 38. Ring the bell labeled Cav. Emilio Pometta, wait a few seconds, and the main door will open automatically." - I tried to do this several times, it did not work.

"if someone come out or enter, please you enter too, because the upped door doesn't need the key" - they literally told me to sneak into the building as someone was entering/leaving, which I managed to do but the fact that my ability to stay inside my paid-for accommodation literally relied on pure chance is absurd.

"we are sorry about the keybox, my colleague said probablu the municipality removed it from there" and
"dear, unfortunately or they stole the keybox or the municipality removed it so we need to ask another key from the landlrod because we don't have any copy, and now our working time finished, we can do it tomorrow morning but i saw that tomorrow morning you will do check-out, we are very sorry for this inconveniene but unfortunately we can't do anything for tonight" - again, there was no keybox and therefore no key to get me into the building and I understand that the city removed it so they couldn't do anything about it, but the city removed it at the beginning of the year, so no one bothered to check it was still accessible prior to a known stay? And they had no backup option if I was unable to enter the building so I'd be stuck with no place to stay the night if I couldn't get in? Poor business.

I stayed with Shura Apartments for six months while working in Milan, coming from Brussels, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

The apartment was in a beautiful area, cozy and well-equipped — it immediately felt like home. The Shura team took care of absolutely everything: from the contract and paperwork to setting up all the utilities, so I could just focus on work and everyday life.

Whenever I needed something, they were always available, quick to respond, and genuinely kind. Everything was handled with great professionalism and care — even the final steps, like the return of the deposit, were smooth and perfectly on time.

I truly felt supported from start to finish. I also visited their office — it’s such a lovely space, and the team is super welcoming and full of positive energy.

I wholeheartedly recommend Shura! ❤️

Before I moved in it was mentioned, that there was a construction going on, but that it would be finished before my stay. Also Wifi was promised. The construction went on my entire 6 month stay and was extremely loud, also Wifi was not present and nothing was done after many requests. Also the apartment wasn’t properly clean when I moved in. Looking at other reviews I’m hoping I will get my safety deposit….

I booked an apartment listed by Elena Nardella from Shura Apartments through Spotahome, paid the initial fee, and got a confirmed booking — only for Shura Apartments to cancel the booking just one day later. Gilnaz coldly informed me the apartment went to someone else who submitted documents earlier.

I was never told I was competing with anyone, never asked for any documents after confirmation, and they showed zero professionalism or respect.

Instead of mentioning anything about an immediate refund, they had the audacity to offer me a different apartment at a rent €1000 more per month. This is not a “solution,” it’s a money grab and a slap in the face.

They haven’t processed my refund, haven’t issued any proper cancellation on Spotahome, and completely disregarded the stress and time I invested.

This is borderline fraudulent behavior.
Do not trust Shura Apartments with your money or your plans.
They are unprofessional, dishonest, and completely unreliable. Stay as far away as you can.

Shura Apartments, Elena, advertised Tortona Stylish Studio having a dryer in the unit on HousingAnywhere. (dryer since taken down) I wired Elena $2100 euro the day before my stay per her request. The next day I arrived and there was no dryer in the unit and I immediately notified them stating I could not stay there for months without a dryer so I needed to cancel. Elena is keeping my deposit even though Housing Anywhere states if the unit is not as promised you are entitled to a refund. They are both playing a game saying I should seek the refund from the other party, although the wire was sent to Elena. Do not send her any money as you will not get a refund if the unit is not as advertised! It is the Property Manager's responsibility to make sure their listings are correct on all platforms they advertise on. If the platform made a mistake, Shura is not a reputable company by keeping the deposit. STAY AWAY from Shura Apartments and Housing Anywhere.
Now we need to seek legal counsel.

I rented an apartment from Shura Apartments for a short period and it was a terrible experience. Despite paying a cleaning fee, the apartment was dirty and filled with damages upon arrival. Despite reporting these issues, they were never addressed. After holding back the security deposit after I moved out (I had to ask for the return several times), they also attempted to keep a large portion of my security deposit for damages that were already present before I moved in. Overall, I would strongly advise against renting from them.

I rented an apartment from Shura Apartments (shura.apartments) for a limited time. I was in another country, so I was not able to visit the apartment beforehand.

- I had to send the security deposit before being able to move in, even though the contract clearly stated differently
- Luckily, the apartment existed at all (that's the only good part!)
- Even though I paid 150€ cleaning fee, the apartment was completely dirty and I had to do a multi-hour cleaning session to be able to use it
- The apartment had multiple damages which I reported on the first day. They told me they'd fix them, which never happened
- The damages (e.g., a crack in the floor) got worse over time, even though I was very careful, which was to be expected because they didn't get fixed in time. Now they want to keep most of the security deposit to repair the whole damages, even the ones that were already there before moving in!
- They told me they'd keep parts of the security deposit to repair the plumbing that was functioning completely fine when I moved out (even though this should not be covered by the tenants as per Italian law).

Overall, this was a really bad and frustrating experience. I'd say it's better to not rent an apartment at all then from them.