Please do your research before booking this accommodation! It was appalling!
Deceptively advertised as ‘luxury waterfront accommodation,’ on the Airbnb website, with its high price to match…for less than 3 full days we paid over $3000.00
Interestingly, the host now has changed its title by removing the term ‘luxury.’
From the moment we pulled into the driveway we were faced with bins near the front door overflowing with rubbish onto the ground.
As we entered the kitchen a dirty cracked glass bowl was on the bench. The black glass-top table was covered in smears; and the chairs lacking cleanliness with greasy hand marks all over them. And, when we sat on them, the chairs were unstable with numerous loose screws.
Then, on opening the curtains to the balcony, we were greeted to a disgusting, unusable outdoor area covered in bird excrement (Obviously, this balcony had not been recently cleaned). The excrement covered everything. The walls and floor were completely covered; as well as the outdoor furniture. We could in no way remain on the balcony nor leave the sliding door open as it was a health hazard-not fit for humans. (I was told the birds would return tonight so not worth cleaning! We saw no birds during our stay?)
As l pulled the bed cover back I was aghast with the top sheet being so creased, like it had been rolled up into a ball for a long period of time. It did not appear clean either. I could not sleep under it.
The cutlery in the drawers were not clean. We were hesitant to use the plates so we poured boiling water over everything we needed as there was no detergent to wash them up.
The kitchen has a dishwasher but no dishwasher detergent/tablets were provided; and when opening its drawers the dishwasher falls forward as it’s not attached to the wall. Very dangerous for young children!
The toaster is old and dirty. The items in the cupboards are all old and the worn frypan was disgusting with its cooked-on residue. No bowls to use for serving and only 1 stained plastic bowl to put your food into (ie salad.)
The gas hot plates were greasy and old with all the knobs worn and so creating a horrible look.
When we moved the coffee table and the rug closer to the lounge we discovered under the rug: broken glass, an old sock, excessive dirt and grit and several UNO cards. Plainly, filthy!
The glass sliding doors were all smudged in hand marks and birds’ poo.
The window in the family room had a huge black cob web hanging from it. The (flimsy) window treatments provided no protection from the afternoon sun.
The down stairs patio was covered in old bird stains and the outdoor furniture was aged and not inviting at all to sit on.
The bbq was old, dirty and looking like it should have been on the verge pick up!
The fence that backed onto the canal had
cobwebs over it.
The yoga mats were dirty and wet in the basket.
The wall near the kitchen bin had dirty marks all over it. The walls in general had marks though-out the house especially on the stairs where people hang on to the walls. Installing railing would help prevent this.
There was no brush and pan to pick up the dirt when we swept the floor.
In the upstairs bathroom toilet the lock did not work, and the system ran all night.
The air conditioner in the main bedroom stopped working on the second day; with indicator lights flashing all night. The lamp also was broken and unable to be plugged in.
I could continue…!
The host always responded to my messages with ‘I am sorry.’ But these apologies did not help our situation nor resolve most of the issues.
When I asked for detergent for sink and dishwasher on first night, the reply went ‘the cleaner must have forgotten to replace a new bottle from the store room.’ Then I was told he would drop some off by 11 am but at 12.54pm there still no dishwashing detergent and it did not turn up till after 2 pm. This was in no way acceptable with us having 6 adults, 2 children and 1 baby. How can you possibly wash up baby bottles with out detergent? This was totally unacceptable.
We booked this luxury waterfront escape in good faith, paid up front but what we got was no more than a beach house.
I was offered by Airbnb to leave the premises the next day when I rang them. I questioned where am I going to get accommodation at short notice, in peak season, in this seaside town that has been booked out with accommodation for months?
So I was offered a small refund. I was not happy with this result and explained I wanted a refund from the host / owner of this property as well.
Unbelievably, they charged me $399.00 for the cleaning fee!
It was not clean to the standard of ‘Luxury’ accommodation; but perhaps that of an old beach shack! We paid a substantial sum for luxury accommodation.
Realizing their false advertising and excessive pricing, the hosts have now changed the name of the accommodation to ‘Waterfront Escape.’ So are they are admitting false advertising?
Much of my time and effort has been consumed trying to get a fair hearing and outcome from both parties.