Hello everyone, I feel obliged to point out a problem that I had at Long's. I will describe what happened, so you can see for yourselves the potential issues that might confront you should you stay at Long's.
I booked his accommodation on mid August 2018, to stay with him in mid October. At that stage, his advertising stated that his cancellation policy was "moderate" requiring 5 days notice. More than 5 days before check in, I was advertised by the train company that that the train that I was travelling on was delayed by about a day. I contacted Long telling him that I would like to cancel the first days stay. Long replied that I could not do this, as his cancellation policy was "strict" requiring 2 weeks notice. His advertising on the airbnb website still stated his policy was "moderate". I contacted Airbnb support, highlighting the discrepancy. They contacted Long, offering him assistance to change his website to reflect his wishes. In the end, I decided not to continue to pursue the issue of cancelling the first day's booking, as the train company clarified that the train would only be about 12 hours late.
At time of writing this review, 2 days after we have checked out, his advertising still states "moderate" cancellation policy. Be prepared for some issues if you book Long's accommodation, and you would like to cancel or change the dates. Be comforted that airbnb support give great assistance, and it will be resolved in your favour ( assuming you meet the requirements of the more than 5 days), but it will involve a hassle.
Additionally, I also feel obliged to mention this event -
Long offered transport to his home. He quoted a price of $25, mentioning that taxis normally charge $35 from the airport. I pointed out that I was coming from the station ( again), and although the station was closer in distance to his house than the airport, he still quoted $25, stating the reason that it was because of rush hour. In the end, we took a taxi, and it cost us $15 - the time that we took the taxi was at 0830 i.e.. in rush hour.
When it came time to leave, we took a taxi to the airport. It cost us $27.
I got the overall feeling that Long was trying to take advantage of his guests. Which is a shame. His accommodation is quite nice, clean and under certain circumstances quite appropriate considering what you want to do.