***COCKROACHES AND BUGS!!!***
I booked this spot for a week with my girlfriend but left early after two separate encounters with live cockroaches: one in the bathtub, another crawled through the living room, OVER my girlfriend's BARE FOOT. UGH. On top of that, there were dead bugs & bug turds in one of the kitchen cabinets when we arrived, dead mosquitoes in a spiderweb in the bedroom, and silverfish under some pool chair kitchens. Clearly the place hadn't been properly cleaned before we got there. There ARE things to like about this listing, and I'll get to those in a second, but a pest problem is an absolute dealbreaker, and it was made all the more frustrating by the host claiming there were only cockroaches because I left a door or window open. Are you kidding me?! You're saying I opened a random window and THAT's why your place has cockroaches crawling out the shower drain?? Ooof, give me a break.
Here's a positive: the pool! There's not much in the way of heating, but this part of LA gets hot in the summer, and you won't need it. It's a really nice little back yard with a good-sized pool. Plus, the neighborhood is quiet, making it a good location for a relaxing getaway.
Aaaaaaaand that's all the positivity I can muster up for this listing. Aside from the, you know, PEST PROBLEM (again, that's a dealbreaker by itself), the house was in a state of disrepair when we arrived: broken kitchen cabinets, a shower curtain that collapsed every time you touch it, parts of the patio awning are caving in, the gutter/aluminum siding is falling off the shed out back, half of the pool ladder got ripped out of the concrete, leaving a jagged, wood & metal stump at the edge of the pool, plus there was another rusted bolt jutting out of the ground on the other side of the pool that's apparently just there to give you tetanus.
The place has other amenities that are... almost provided? You get a grill! ...but not enough propane to cook a single meal. There's a washer and dryer! ...but no detergent. There's a full kitchen! ...but no baking pans or measuring cups, plus the knives are all dull, chipped and warped. You getting the picture? At one point I grabbed a pretty wooden bowl from the cupboard to serve a salad and the oil started GUSHING through a bunch of cracks in the bottom. I honestly wasn't mad by that point, 'cause it was a perfect metaphor for this Airbnb: a cute little thing that's too rotten and beaten-up to use.
Listen, I don't expect any Airbnb to be perfect and -- believe it or not -- I really don't like to complain. I have a pretty high tolerance for b.s., but this experience pushed me past my limit. This place ~could~ be a real gem with a little TLC and some regular upkeep. Sadly, Allison and Aaron aren't willing to put in that kind of effort.
I think Confucius said it best: "There is beauty in all things, except for when A COCKROACH CRAWLS OVER YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S BARE FOOT"