There’s only one word to describe “The Ultimate Beach Shack”- filthy. No-one minds “old”, “rustic”, or “basic”, however to expect guests to live in other people’s filth is unacceptable. At $1800 for just 6 nights it is nothing short of outrageous. Visiting from Sydney, we had invited family from Melbourne & London to share a beach-side Christmas with us. Arriving 2 days before Christmas Day, we were confronted with a lounge room ceiling in terrible repair showing signs of leaking but that was nothing compared to the level of filth found at ground level. Sofas with dirt & crumbs under the cushions, an old and broken oven that didn’t appear to have ever been cleaned (& a door that did not seal),kitchen cupboards with various dead and alive insects and their droppings, a bathroom with dirt and hair, an old sock under the bed, inadequate number of clothes hangers and drawers too dirty to use (half of which filled with nappies), and a washing machine that was so filled with hair and dirt that we used the local laundromat instead. The floor and windows were uneven and expanded so much so that we couldn’t open them properly and the back door required Herculean force to open. To add insult to injury, not only did we spend Xmas eve cleaning with products we had to purchase ourselves but thanks to the aforementioned oven, we had to find last minute reservations for Xmas lunch for the 4 of us. Far from the relaxing family time we anticipated. Naturally we emailed the host to try and resolve the situation during our stay (email being the only source of contact provided - no mobile). Despite 2 emails during our stay requesting contact (the first within 36hrs of arrival, early Xmas Eve, Sunday morning, having arrived late Friday night), she failed to make contact during our 6night stay. In fact, this host only contacted us after AirBnB had initiated contact with her (in relation to our complaint at the end of the stay - lesson learned, contact AirBnB within 24hrs of the start of a stay, and before they release payment to a host). Incredibly this host then advised us that “Unfortunately I have been out of mobile range over the Christmas period and have returned to Melbourne today” - meaning she chose to be unavailable to her guests for the full duration of our stay. She also advised that we should “adjust your expectations based on nighty (sic) price” and that she’d “recall advising you when you booked that the house was very basic”. Again, “basic” is not a synonym nor an excuse for filthy. Ironically we were seemingly chastised for not contacting her sooner than after 2 nights (“I was surprised that you only raised your concerns on Sunday after already staying in the house for two nights”) - this from the host who admitted to not being in “mobile range”. Of all the AirBNB properties in Australia, Europe and North America that...