This house is in a great location and is very spacious. That’s the only positive feedback I have. There’s obviously been a lot of time and money initially put into the property to remodel and furnish, but the problem is that it is not being maintained: the linens, towels, and blankets are old, worn out, and stained; upholstery is stained and dirty; things are broken such as cupboards in the kitchen. On top of all of this, the house is very dirty and grimy—I had to clean the kitchen before using it (which happened to be Christmas morning, so you can imagine how happy I was to have to clean first thing). For a $200 cleaning fee, I would expect it to be at least SOMEWHAT clean—if not immaculate with that fee. There was even dirty sheets in hampers in the closets. Considering it was on the high end for price per night (we splurged with it being Christmas, and unfortunately were disappointed) and the high cleaning fee, this was not what I was expecting. We also did not experienced the “well stocked” feature that was referenced in the listing: no toilet paper, no dishwasher detergent, no shampoo or soap, etc.
Also, a big issue for me was the lack of communication from the host—I messaged a few days before our arrival as well as during our stay because of an issue with the internet and never once had a communication from him at all.
To sum it up: this is the epitome of what’s wrong with the CA housing market—investors willing to come in to buy a property, fix it up, hire a half-interested host, and allow the property to fall in to disrepair. No one truly invested in their short-term rental business would allow a guest to have an experience like my family and I had for our Christmas getaway.