I travelled down to Perth from an extremely remote part of WA and booked this AirBnB for a week of isolation, cool air and serene ambience. As I’m sure most others do as well.
The block is lovely and the accommodation itself is absolutely amazing, clean, really well presented and the extras added for pets are really nice. I have no doubt that had I not experienced the following issues, forcing me to cut my stay short, I would have had a very enjoyable stay;
-Early on the first morning a man, who I was later told is one of the many gardeners, drove around the AirBnB/block on an extremely loud diesel ATV for hours.
-He then proceeded to use a petrol blower vac to clear the area right next to the chalet & then spent the next hour or so using a petrol chainsaw.
-At about 9.30am I witnessed the same man/gardener sneak into the back patio area of the AirBnB and trespass upon the AirBnB, using the adjoining toilet/bathroom, before sneaking back out & leaving the toilet door open. He obviously didn’t see me inside the chalet watching him. This invasion of privacy was completely unacceptable & left me feeling very uneasy for the short remainder of my stay.
-Every night at about 11pm and again at 6am in the morning the possum in the roof space (directly above the bed) begins screeching extremely loudly, this often lasts for 30-60min, is very disturbing and was loud enough to wake me up & keep me awake. The owners are aware of the possum/s as it is listed in their check-in instructions & occupancy agreement.
-The Wi-Fi was very hit and miss, for most of my stay it didn’t work. Even after I located the dongle and relocated it within the house, it still provided poor connectivity at best.
As a result of these issues, I made the decision to leave on the second morning of my stay. I did the right thing and contacted Junko to advise her of what had been occurring and respectfully requested a refund, which I thought and still think is a very reasonable outcome under the circumstances (which were very much under her control). Unfortunately Junko essentially washed her hands of all responsibility and told me to re-read the occupancy agreement, which I did.
I respect that Junko has minimal leeway when it comes to possums, under current legislation, however having lived in the hills previously I do know that they can get them trapped & safely removed by a licensed pest controller. Given that they were aware of its/their existence 'on or around' the AirBnB itself (as it was mentioned in the check-in instructions), it would have been a reasonable & hospitable action to have them removed prior to occupancy of the AirBnB, both for user comfort & safety. I also noted that the possum was not 'on or around' the AirBnB as per the occupancy agreement, it was 'in' it.
Also, I noted that the occupancy agreement did not cover off on unauthorised trespassing of gardeners upon the AirBnB or the unauthorised use of the private toilet facilities by gardeners. It also doesn't mention any provision for excessive noise created by said gardeners around the AirBnB.
Unfortunately I have received radio silence from Junko after challenging her with the above, which has forced me to write this negative review.
Hopefully Junko can rectify these issues (which I will be pursuing further with AirBnB) and if she does I would recommend this AirBnB to anyone looking for a beautiful, comfortable, pet friendly stay in the Hills.