We left the property soon after checking in and stayed elsewhere at last minute, as it was clear the property was in a foul unhygienic state that definitely does not comply with the enhanced cleaning process that this property apparently has signed up to.
There were lots of rubbish bags spewed all over the front garden and a mountain of bottles and cigarettes at the back in the garden (despite having a no smoking rule for the property). The bins in the bathroom and kitchens were full of previous guests rubbish and the kitchen was very smelly as a result, even when we opened the windows. The surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom had not been cleaned properly, with stains on them. There were sticky marks from previous guests’ drinks in the kitchen. There were crumbs all over the toaster. The hob had marks of old food on it. There was a spider web with dead flies on it in the corner of the kitchen. The washing machine had lots of black/green mould on it and something damp and smelly sitting in it. There was dirt and dust under the radiators in the kitchen and on the carpet in the sitting room. The hoovers were full of dirt and dust. The loos had marks which looked like poo and wee on them. There were hairs in the bath-shower. There was thick dust - what looked like months worth behind the bed head in the top bedroom.
I have never seen an Airbnb property in such a disgusting state before - every other property I’ve stayed in has always been presented in a sparkling clean condition and this was a real shock. It felt like walking into a house the day after a massive party when someone’s tried to clean up whilst still drunk and then given up because their hangover has kicked in.
The only positives were 1) it was an easy check in process and 2) someone had changed the sheets on the beds, 3) it would have been a good location and a reasonable price if it had been cleaned 4) the house itself was nicely laid out and would have been great if it hadn’t been so dirty and unhygienic…
When I spoke to Pillow’s customer service team after checking in, I was told that there was no way they could get a cleaner into the property until the following day, and that they couldn’t do anything else apart from apologise. There was no way I could have my toddler sleep in such an unsanitary place, so we left and fortunately found somewhere else last minute for the weekend. Subsequently we have received a full refund from Airbnb.
I hope this was just a one off issue from Pillow, and hopefully they will have learnt from this and ensure a much better level of cleanliness in their property moving forward, but I feel it is important to describe the state we found the property in, as when we booked there were no reviews as it has only recently been listed. Had I seen that someone else had had a similar experience to mine, I would definitely have booked elsewhere.