My partner and I, our dog and our two friends arrived in Yuulong to find the Airbnb property looking completely different to the pictures on the listing.
As we drove down the gravel path past car parts and scrap metal, we were greeted by a number of dogs tied up, barking furiously at us making us feel scared and unwelcome immediately. As we had our small dog with us, we felt extremely uncomfortable letting him out on the property. So he stayed with us the whole time unable to pee or poo due to the distraction of the other dogs constantly barking.
We weren’t happy with the state of the property but as we were travelling with our two friends and our dog there were no properties left to accomodate us in the area, so we had no choice but to stay.
We didn’t meet Vivien, however Vivien’s son greeted us and showed us around the property. He was nice and accomodating. We were shown our rooms, kitchen and living room. As the water from the pipes weren’t drinkable, we were told they had filtered rainwater for drinking.
We were told about several animals on their property, including a Kangaroo, which we were told was orphaned. The RSPCA is actively opposed to keeping native animals so we were very uncomfortable with this.
They had, at one point, Ostriches, which we were told had died as they were caught between some trees. If you have a farm, whether it be professional or a hobby farm, you should know how to take care of animals. Exotic and native animals should not be kept unless you have extensive experience or a license.
As we were loading our things inside, we started to notice the property for what it was. It was extremely cluttered with scrap metal and car parts, lots of junk, the smell was horrendous and that was just outside.
Once inside the place stunk of cat urine which was attempted to be covered up by incense and air fresheners. The place was cluttered with nicnacs and more junk. I tripped on a piece of scrap carpet (not a rug, a piece of scrap carpet) cut into a square to cover a stain.
We were shown a room full of cats and kittens. I wasn’t able to count how many there were, but the room was full of them. The room stunk of cat urine, which to be fair is the only room that should. We noticed in our brief inspection, some cats were actually sleeping in the cat litter box.
Our room smelt terribly and had car air fresheners hanging from the roof beams. The view from the room is of a white gravel area with tarped fencing and big tree stumps. There is no view as shown on this listing. A couple of dogs sat outside the windows and barked all night.
Our friends room smelt strongly of cat urine, they had to sleep with a sheet over their mouth and nose to block the smell. They had also found a used Q Tip next to their bed.
The filtered drinking water was contaminated by larvae which we later identified to be mosquito larvae. I’m not an expert, and as it’s probably not dangerous to drink this water, it’s still extremely unsanitary. We didn’t drink water the entire stay.
As the property looked nothing like the photos in listing, the house cluttered with expired foods and junk, and the outside feeling to be unsafe to roam, we feel that it is not worth it. The expired foods include the liquified jam that was for sale (around $12) on the dining table, the expired sofa at the front door which was 4+ years past its use by date.
I should also add that I lost my sunglasses, meaning that I had to go back to look for them after checkout. As I inspected the bedroom I noticed that the sheets were exactly the same as the sheets we had used, except the beds were made perfectly. Meaning the next guest were not getting clean sheets, this was roughly an hour after we had checked out.
I should note that my review is 100% honest and our own experience and is as objective as possible. I’m shocked to look back at all the 5 star reviews as our experience is nowhere near that rating.
Due to our experience I recommend avoiding this listing and find something else. You shouldn’t feel scared at an Airbnb. You should have clean drinking water, and you should have photos that represent the property accurately.