Unfortunately we were unable to stay at the property as when we arrived we found that the pool was empty and being very deep was totally unsafe for our toddler and 2 beagles who could easily fall in. We called the host to discuss this and were told that work was due to be done on it the following week which had been delayed due to weather conditions and it could not be rectified for our stay.
I then expressed my frustration as if we had known about this in advance we would have cancelled the reservation and booked alternative accommodation, coming from the UK in the car with the dogs and a 2 year old the outside space with pool and secure garden was our main priority and reason for booking. The host acknowledged that they should have informed us in advance and then offered a partial refund. I explained that we would not stay at the property as the outside space was unsafe and unusable for us. They eventually agreed to contact Airbnb to discuss cancellation and then came back to me to advise I discuss it with Airbnb myself, which I did and they were extremely helpful. They advised me not to cancel it myself and that they would contact the host to discuss the matter. After 2 days they had not received a response back from the host and so cancelled the reservation on my behalf with a full refund, on the grounds that the property was not as advertised and unsafe, we provided photos for them to see.
It was very stressful as we then had to quickly find somewhere else suitable for our family to stay the same day, which we luckily managed to do through Airbnb.
Prior to arrival communication had been fine and check in was easy so it’s such a shame as the property itself seemed nice. I appreciate that properties can have faults and require repairs at times but we felt something of this nature which was known about in advance should have been communicated to us prior to arrival so we could decide whether we still wanted to stay there.