First off, let me start by revealing that I did reach out to the “property managers” John and Jenny and tried to reason with them.
I gave them very thorough feedback about our experience and how they could improve this experience for others in the future. They were completely dismissive of my message and I had to tell them to please read it again.
Sadly, all they care is about a “5 STAR REVIEW” and making their money.
My friends and I booked this Airbnb because we were successfully fooled by the listing. What do I mean by that?
- Images on the listing are inaccurate. The kitchen and living room images area are the only ones that matched the studio.
- No bed linens, hand towels, extra pillows, and blankets as listed/shown.
- The kitchen had nothing but salt, pepper, oil, and a few dishes (not the ones shown on the listing).
- There were 3 small towers in the bathroom cabinet and nothing more.
- There were also no cleaning products except for dish soap and a cheap sponge.
- NO smoke or carbon monoxide alarms.
- You get the view of a random rooftop from across the balcony, not the absurd images they list of Petco Park, etc.
- No FREE parking as listed.
Since booking, I had to reach out 4 different times before I got a response about early check-in. We had a 2-hour drive and wanted to have a plan, but that was not possible due to the lack of communication on their end. I got a response the day off and I had to pay an additional $30 via V, CA, or Z, (can't spell them out on here) just FYI. Early check-in was supposed to be at 1:30 PM, but we didn't check in till 3 PM, since we went in circles for a whole hour before we found the location where the key is kept.
There is no FREE parking as listed, so we had to go find an overnight parking spot and walk back to the studio. The closest place we found was half a mile away.
Not even 5 minutes after check-in we went to the bathroom and we were surprised to find a dirty toilet. I messaged them instantly and attached images and Jenny right away said it was “cleaning Lysol”, but there was a footmark and a film of something slimy. This is when we first discover there are no cleaning supplies, napkins, or paper towels anywhere, so we used some water, hand soap, and toilet paper to clean the toilet. Jenny offered to send her cleaning crew back, but I politely declined since we had already cleaned it. Again, we drove for 2 hours, so we HAD TO pee. Jenny tried to say her cleaning crew was rushing due to the concert and the early check-in requests which honestly, if you can't accommodate people, then don't.
We had every intention of showering, but due to the lack of towels and coming into a dirty bathroom, we didn't feel comfortable doing so. There was water by the shower too that we had to mop.
They state they have an “excellent” cleaning crew, but the studio is not clean. The vents alone have so much accumulated dust, it's gross. The studio has a nasty musty smell too.
We didn't want to ruin our night in SD, so we made the best of it. Thankfully, we had things laying around our cars - napkins, etc., so we used our things. We were there for the Bad Bunny concert, so we got ready, headed out, and when we came back - more issues.
We were all tired and ready for bed, but now we couldn't find any blankets or extra pillows as they have on their listing. Not to mention, the bed alone doesn't have any linens, just a sheet, and a throw blanket. We looked through the closet and all the cabinets, but no luck. It was midnight, and I figured they wouldn’t be responding to me at that time, so we used our clothes to cover ourselves. There is one shade on the door, other than that be ready to be woken up by the sunlight that hits directly from the window.
We were up by 7 AM and couldn't sleep anymore due to the sunlight, so we just tidied up the place, packed up our belongings, and were out of there by 10 AM. We had to walk back uphill to the overnight parking spot with our luggage, so that kind of sucked too. It was another 30 minutes between the walk and dropping the key back off at the location where it's kept. Be cautious of that too, since you have to be checked out by 11 AM and provide a photo that you left the key in the lockbox.
Jenny kept going back and forth with me about the lockbox situation which at that point, just validate what I said and apologize. It was my experience, and that's that. After my feedback, she also disclosed the “extra blankets and pillows” were inside the couch. How was I supposed to know? I think John saw Jenny was getting frustrated with her responses and began to respond. He apologized and said the best he could do was “hook me up with a discount next time” and kept telling me that he’d give me an awesome review if I left one as well. There is nothing bad to be said about us, we left the place better than we found it and did nothing wrong. My only mistake was being bamboozled by this listing.
I will say just like I told them privately, the studio has so much potential and there is no need to oversell it and be so deceitful. I am certain people would book it regardless if they were sincere. They can do a better job at truthfully providing what they show/list and disclosing where