**CAUTION-BEWARE; WE HAD TO CALL THE POLICE**
My companion and I had a nightmarish experience so please read before you subject yourself. I’m not a confrontational person. I’ve never given less than 5 stars on this app prior to this experience. I’m not quick to complain. And I’ve fortunately never had to call the police before either. I’ve lived a calm, quiet life. So it feels surreal that a one night air bnb visit would lead to such terrifying chaos.
The spot itself was perfectly sufficient- clean bed and toilet, which is all I truly required. But the host, Nigel, had some sort of aggressive, psychotic episode that made the whole stay unbearable. We were there for less than 30 minutes before he was shouting obscenities and making threats. Sounds unbelievable, right? It was. It should take something dramatic or significant to provoke that sort of reaction? It didn’t.
First off, we arrived and the site is a far cry from the charming paradise advertised. There is no hot tub. It had been completely removed. This was a disappointment because that had been a distinguishing accommodation in choosing their home versus others. There was no pond. But perhaps it had dried up, no bother. There also was no WiFi. Again, a bit of a let down. However, we’re cheerful people and can roll with it. We didn’t say a word. We just asked for a bucket so that we might hand wash some clothes and then hang dry them in the sunshine. Nigel says no to giving us a bucket. He says he has a washing machine and we can pay to use it. My travel partner says “could we use the washer for free since the hot tub and the WiFi are out of commission?” That, my friends and readers, was the question that started an absolute hellish war. With God as my witness, that single question caused an absolute fiery meltdown. I’m not sure what is going on in Nigel’s personal life or what kind of war-torn, shell-shocked traumatic memories we unleashed, but he went berserk. He completely lost all semblance of sanity and reasonableness. He had an absolute temper tantrum- manageable with a toddler, but terrifying with a large adult male. He started shouting (with lots of color & profanity) about how greedy people are always trying to take advantage, how he wouldn’t be had, how awful and ungrateful we were, how we were dangerously close to being thrown out, etc. Note that throughout this onslaught of insults, Nigel is the only one speaking. This is all in response to a single question. This is not a back and forth dialogue. This is not a two sided conflict. This is Nigel pouring all of the resentment and ill-will he’s ever felt towards the world out on his air bnb guests. This isn’t just unprofessional for someone running a small business, but it was concerning to see that kind of breakdown up close. The man needs some heavy drugs and a soothing therapist for his own sake and the security of all visitors. Finally, Nigel shouted that we better not stand too close to him and that he knew what car we drove (thinly veiled threat, to be sure) and his partner, Karen, finally told him he better go inside.
We were absolutely terrified. We left some of our clothes behind in a panic and Nigel said he immediately threw them out. But that’s just clothing and can be replaced. What really bothered me was that as a young woman I feared the threat of bodily physical harm. His aggression was so unwarranted and shocking. I called the local police when I left to let them know what had occurred. The female officer that responded stated that Nigel got all riled up with her as well. If you don’t believe me, call the Greymouth Police Department and inquire about the report made on Feb. 18, 2019 at their residence.
I am dumbfounded. It is one of those situations where you can only stand eyes wide, perhaps nervously laugh and ask yourself if it’s really happening. And I certainly hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else. I’d prefer another hotel, motel, air bnb, shack, tent, van, or roadside cardboard box filled with broken glass to this experience. Thank you all for reading my account and I hope your travels are never so unpleasant.