Where to start?...First of all, this review is about the "villa"/house in the hills of Malibu. We noticed that this house's Airbnb reviews are mixed in with reviews from other properties this host owns (a total of 17!), which in and of itself is not transparent, and also seems suspicious. Further, this host's name has changed since our visit there. It used to be "Javad" and now suddenly after the issues we had at this rental, it's "Mani".
The original Airbnb post for the house had mentioned that the house was a "Sanctuary, 5 minutes from the beach". In fact it was a filthy home, with noxious fumes, and located about 20-30 minutes from the beach at the top of a hill in the Santa Monica mountains, only reachable by a small (one way) road. There is no cell service within miles, however, it was easy to connect to home WiFi once we got there.
We noticed issues right away after we arrived though. There was a musty, noxious odor emanating from the laundry room that filled the lower level and that gave everyone headaches. Also, the countertops, range and appliances were all dirty and smudged with fingerprints. The inside of the fridges were dirty and had not been cleaned in some time and smelled rotten and stale. There were even feathers and twigs in the washing machine! We found holes in some of the walls and even noticed tape covering up a non-functioning light switch. Rust was coming out of an entrance level bathroom faucet which makes you wonder when the house was actually last cleaned, or even occupied. We did notify the host immediately after arrival of the issues and to send a cleaning crew. He arranged for cleaning the next morning, but given the state of the house we found it in, we had already decided to "evacuate" and find other nearby accommodations for the rest of our trip.
Interestingly, after we submitted a complaint to Airbnb, the host responded to Airbnb that "Information from the guest is inaccurate," even after submitting photos. The host was dismissive of our request for a partial refund and apparently did not agree to cooperate with Airbnb. In the end, Airbnb support was great! They listened to our complaints and were quick to reply. We are very grateful to Airbnb as they refunded us most of the cost of the rental as the host refused to refund us any amount at all.
Overall, the experience was quite unpleasant and it is obvious that the house is poorly maintained. Our advice is to be warned of this host (Javad? Mani?) and as usual "buyer beware".