The views are outstanding. The balcony is the perfect place to watch the sun rise and set everyday.
Firstly the house is managed by a real estate agency. On our way to the property I received a text message asking me to fill in a contract and upload my drivers licence. I rang the agency and advised that that I was uncomfortable uploading my personal details (and those of my guests) to another third party and was one of the key reasons I booked through Airbnb. I was advised it’s a mandatory requirement. The office ladies were very friendly and pleasant but couldn’t really explain why they were asking for this information. They did advise me that I could provide this information to them when I went to pick up the key and would be required to complete a manual form. I contacted Airbnb who said that given I wasn’t advised of this extra contract regarding terms and conditions, that I didn’t need to sign anything and that I could cancel the booking and book elsewhere. Of course we were already on our way so that wasn’t an option. I’ve rated the communication as average as along with the ‘normal’ Airbnb messages I received, I also received 3 emails and 5 text messages from the real estate. We only stayed two nights!
The house. Some of the furniture is great, like the table and chairs on the balcony and back deck. Other furniture is not that great. The chairs around the dining table are too low for the table and are very unstable. One of them was a plastic outdoor chair, not what you would be expecting when your paying a substantial amount for the holiday house. The king size bed only has standard pillows and the sheets are crisp. The bunk beds are small and are only suitable for children. The house had large black spiders both dead and alive and the whole balcony was covered in cobwebs. The windows don’t appear to have been cleaned recently which is a shame given the beautiful views. The dishwasher was packed full of dishes and although some dishes appeared clean others were dirty and I had to wash every thing again. The bbq hadn’t been clean from its last use. The freezer was filthy. It had half eaten ice cream melted and frozen into a plate in one of the drawers and I was reluctant to actually use the freezer. Of course the hosts will wonder why I didn’t bother contacting them but we didn’t want people at the house cleaning while we where there. These things should be checked by the host and not left to be reported by guests.
The house had every single item that you could possibly need including a Nespresso machine. Bring extra pods. They also supplied wood for the excellent wood fire. The table tennis table was a lot of fun with plenty of room as it takes up one side of the garage. The ‘play’ room was off the garage and had a strange smell but couldn’t been because it’s not used much. Our bedroom also had an ordinary smell to it but I’m not sure what it was. The bathroom is roomy and there’s a separate toilet accessed from outside.
The yard. It is fully enclosed for any dogs but you also need to know there’s no grasses areas. You need to follow your dogs around to ensure you collect any droppings as the yard is full of plants with a path up to a lovely sitting area. We have long haired dogs and spent quite a long time getting burrs and seed pods out of their coats but this wouldn’t be an issue for many dog owners.