I booked Justine's place as a birthday present for my partner. I was apologising to him all weekend for the lack of privacy and average condition of the unit. Fortunately, he's a very good sport.
Pros: the beautiful water view
use of the kayak to paddle to waterfalls
the spa pool
Cons: Grab a cuppa and settle in. I don't know what the state of the studio was when other reviewers stayed there, but it was far below what I would expect at this price. More about maintenance (lack thereof) later.
First, privacy: we knew the studio sat on a property near the main house, but failed to appreciate just how close it is, and how much we could hear from our bed at night, when people were outside talking. We could've joined in their conversations! Also, the husband was out in front of us building a retaining wall for much of the Saturday of our stay. I know he was doing his own thing, but it really pierced the veil of "couple's getaway."
Maintenance: the photos don't show that the garden in front of the spa pool has become an overgrown weed jungle. They were huge and detracted from the water view. The small deck has one wobbly old weathered table in need of replacement. This would be cheap and quick to fix. An overhang above the deck is crusted with dirt and bugs. Again, a relatively easy job, but this has been overlooked. A beam in the interior with flaking paint could also use a refresh. The toaster requires a bit of wrestling with to get it to work.
We could probably ignore these issues if we were friends or family staying for free. However, we paid market rates for a place lacking privacy, which was also badly in need of TLC. Next time, we'll stay at a motel instead.
I would also suggest using G Maps or G Earth (which I failed to do) to check out the proximity of the accommodation to the main house. I know this is mentioned in the listing, but again, it was even closer than I could tell from the photos and the open cane fence fails to afford privacy or screen out voices.
All hosts say they strive for 5-star reviews and to please let them know if they can do anything to improve our stay while we're there. However, it's not possible to ask a homeowner to complete in short order maintenance that should have been done before the guests arrived.
Talk about live and learn! At least my partner and I have something to chuckle about for years to come. And we'll be much more circumspect about our next Air B&B adventure, should we decide to risk it again.