The location of this Airbnb was wonderful ! It’s very close to third street promande and the 3 & 7 bus are the next street over ! The bed was comfortable and room is quite spacious. However, I found the host, Mary Ann to be quite difficult to deal with. When I booked the room- it was clearly outlined for me that check in was flexible and check out was 10 am (I have this in writing directly from host). 25 mins before I arrived in Santa Monica, the host let me know that early check in would not be available (despite discussing this when I booked and the very night before). She said I could check in at 4pm. However, I wasn’t able to actually check in to my room until 4:51 pm because the cleaning lady was still at the home and wasn’t finished. This made me late for my evening plans. When I politely brought this up to the host she said I was lying. I also found it weird that a few of my bags seemed to have been moved when I first arrived, or accidentally fell and were placed back. I’m not sure what happened but the cleaning lady’s car keys were at the bottom of one of my tote bags.
—The first night I came home, there were piles of dishes in the sink and cat food tins which truly smelled (I love cats btw so this isn’t a pet issue but a cleaning one).
—-The next morning I was woken up before 8 am by the sounds of the host’s very loud blender- violating her own quiet hours policy.
—-Later that morning when I met the host, she was on her computer and didn’t turn around at all when I said hello and introduced myself. She just stared at her computer screen and said hi that she was struggling with taxes or something. I never met a host that kept their back turned to me. It was off putting honestly.
-The host also didn’t respond to any of my messages on the first day. She doesn’t give out a phone number -so if there’s an issue or question you’re out of luck.
—Things deteriated when I asked the host where a nearby laundry mat was- she then offered her laundry ( I did not ask to use it- she offered unprompted) but said I wasn’t allowed to use the dryer. Without a clothesline available, that didn’t make much sense. I did at this time share that I wasn’t comfortable with some of the things going on and she went back to refusing to respond after telling me I was lying.
—-When I purchased the rental, check out time was clearly stated at 10 am. The host changed her mind on my second to last day that my new checkout time was going to be 9 am -she said the reason was because she was busy with school. While that’s understandable, I paid for a 10 am checkout when I booked the room and changing that less than 24 hours before I leave is just super inconsiderate. At this point with everything I had put up with, I was firm on the 10 am checkout I paid for just because I needed my sleep- host was adamant I leave at 9 am and said I wasn’t welcome in her home anymore. She just got very disrespectful and rude at this point. I let her know I didn’t want to engage with her further and wished her well.
After leaving the room cleaner than when I found it, I left at 9 am on the dot the next morning. However as I was peacefully leaving Mary Ann got into my personal space and filming me with her camera. As I was trying to exit from her door she refused to step back, had her camera in my face and starting yelling “it’s 9 am you need to leave !!!” as I was putting my sandals on. I was more shocked than anything. The host brought a lot of needless drama and hostility to an otherwise normal situation of someone putting their sandals on and exiting a doorway. It was just weird honestly.
I think Mary Ann’s home is great, and I’m not sure what she’s going through personally that caused her to act like this because it seems so out of character based on her other glowing reviews. Regardless I wish her well but respectfully, would not recommend this Airbnb.