This was a nicely appointed cabin in a remote rural setting. When approaching the property down a long driveway there is a part where two raised, unfinished concrete strips with wire sticking out of the ends needed careful navigation. This section of the drive may prove challenging to nervous or inexperienced drivers due to the height and narrowness of the concrete strips.
The ‘Rules of the House’ attached to a clipboard included instructions to “turn off all appliances, heaters and lights when out” and that “In the case of something still on when you are absent, expect us to walk inside the house without asking permission”. I thought this was a bit harsh and probably in breach of reasonable guest privacy - unless entering in an emergency of course.
And the “keep the kitchen clean, ready for the next guest” rule could have had a friendlier tone - for example ‘Please leave the kitchen clean and tidy’.
Unfortunately I experienced some concerns around privacy and security in this accommodation. I noticed that one of the doors out to the deck had a broken latch on the lower end and could only be secured with the top latch which was quite a lightweight one. I pushed the base of the door with my foot to check it was secure at night but it actually opened a significant distance with light pressure applied which made it feel a little unsafe and vulnerable to intrusion.
When I demonstrated this to Alice the next morning she said that they were aware that the whole door needed to be replaced. Hopefully this will be done in the near future.
This may not bother some people, but as a woman travelling alone, this and other issues caused me to feel unsafe. For example, there
was no blind on a tall, large kitchen window which felt exposed, especially at night when the exterior sensor light turned on unexpectedly several times, lighting up the deck area outside. In the sleeping area, the blind above the bed looked fine when standing up looking at it but when lying down on the bed there is a gap of 3-4 inches between the end of the blind and the window, compromising the feeling of privacy when trying to sleep. In the bathroom a clear glass window was draped with a flat, loosely woven light curtain. Fine for in the day time but if showering at night with the bathroom light on this curtain becomes see-through.
The noises caused by tree branches brushing against the exterior corrugated iron cladding and knocking on the roof in the wind and rain were disruptive to sleep. When I mentioned this to Richard the next morning he said that the tree grows very quickly and needs trimming. With this awareness I would have expected this to have been done ahead of a guest using the cabin.
Unfortunately my polite and constructive feedback seemed to be received in a defensive and dismissive manner by the hosts.
I requested an extra half hour after the 10am check out time because I had had so little sleep. The hosts agreed to this but subsequently only allowed me an extra 10 minutes before before entering with mops and buckets and stripping the bed. I thought this was inconsiderate under the circumstances.
I reported feeling unsafe to Airbnb during the night as recommended on the site but found the support at my first phone call to be inadequate due to language difficulties. In the next call my request to speak to a woman support person was denied as it ‘isn’t Airbnb policy’. I think this policy needs to be reviewed as if a woman is feeling unsafe it can be more comfortable to speak to another woman about it.
All in all, unlike the many positive interactions and friendly hosts that I have met through Airbnb, this this was a disappointing experience.
Based on the above I would not recommend this accommodation to a woman travelling alone who likes privacy, security and a good night’s rest.