Reviews are always tough because everyone looks for something different. My intent is to give an honest assessment because we very much rely on the reviews of others when seeking Airbnb homes for getaways.
Pros:
Location of course- RIGHT on the water. Hard to beat.
Communication with Waverly was outstanding.
Very easy check-in and check-out.
Very comfortable bed.
Balcony furniture was plenty (nice set of umbrellas for shade if needed).
Private parking directly in front of the unit clearly labeled by host.
Easy access to shopping (short drive away).
Cons- again, I don't mean to sound extremely critical, but for the price we paid, we expected a lot more.
I will preface this by saying we do not have pets (and we were aware that this rental allows dogs). However, my husband is very sensitive to smells and upon entry there was a faint smell of pet urine (although for a place that old at least it didn't smell moldy).
Carpet runners are very old and looked like they haven't been cleaned in awhile- we felt skeevy walking barefooted in the house.
Different color pet hair visible on the floor (very visible with the black flooring). They claim to charge extra for pets in order to clean, but clearly it wasn't done well. We noticed from the notes left by guests who checked out the day prior that they had a dog. So maybe just not cleaned well that time?
The pictures (except for the view) are deceiving. The place is very old and the exterior paint and stucco is falling off. We live on the beach so know it's hard on structures, but for the amount of money people pay to stay in this rental, we'd expect better upkeep.
The tile in the kitchen floor and countertops is cracked and dated.
The shower curtain was pretty gross and moldy at the bottom. I'm sure they could afford a cheap replacement.
Beware there are dogs next door who bark quite a bit (if you're bringing your own dog you may not care).
It's also a bit off putting to be charged $40 more/day to use the portable air conditioner in the back room. Again for the price, this should be included.
They also charge extra to use the SUPs etc... We stay at a lot of beachfront rentals (including in Malibu) and haven't been nickel and dimed for these types of things. Just disappointing.
All said, we didn't have a bad experience. We spent most of our time on the balcony. We just didn't feel that the value matched the price point. A lot could be done to update this rental and make it pretty amazing.