The Good, the Bad & the Disappointing
THE GOOD: the studio is exactly as pictured, and even roomier than it appears in the photos. It was clean, has TONS of storage, good supplies for the beach, and check in was easy. The bed is very comfortable, and I'm picky about beds. Brett was very responsive to communications prior to check-in, and during our stay. It's a nice neighborhood and convenient location.
THE BAD: there is a house full of obnoxious, hard-partying college students immediately next door to the studio. On our first night, they began partying at 10:30pm, with extremely loud dance music, and a house and backyard full of very intoxicated people laughing, shouting, and carrying on until 3am, RIGHT OUTSIDE THE WINDOW where we were trying to sleep! We were not prepared for this, so we didn't contact Brett (because it was so late) nor did we call the police (we didn't know the local noise ordinance, nor did we want to cause issues between the host and the neighbors). My husband ended up sleeping only 2 hours - ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR (the only place he could get away from the noise).
I informed Brett the next day, and was given instructions to contact him and/or the police if it happened again. It DID happen again on night #2, beginning at 10pm. This time we contacted Brett - who called the police - and we called the police ourselves, twice. The party was finally shut down by the cops at about 12:30am. We left the next day (a day early), because we were exhausted, and couldn't face another night like that.
THE DISAPPOINTING: According to Brett, he has been dealing with these issues with the neighbors for a year. However, this was not disclosed to us - either in the description of the AirBnB, nor privately before or even after we booked. Once we complained, Brett was helpful; however, this information should have been given to us in advance, since this is a known and ongoing issue at the property.
When I requested a refund for the third night, due to this known/ undisclosed issue, I was informed that the "owner" (apparently not Brett) felt they had disclosed enough by stating on AirBnB that there is "student housing nearby." I suggested to Brett that "student housing nearby" seems like a reference to UCSD student housing, which is indeed "nearby." This is very different than disclosing that the SINGLE FAMILY HOME RIGHT NEXT DOOR is full of inconsiderate, raging partiers. Nevertheless, Brett said that the owner would not issue a refund. He then suggested that he might refund us himself, depending how much difference it would make in our review (he asked if it would be the difference between a 1 and a 5)!!
My review is not for sale; I rely on other AirBnB guests to give honest reviews, and I feel an obligation to do the same. I'm not saying "don't stay here," but I do think potential guests should be warned, and if they choose to book, given instructions on how to handle the situation. So now you know.
PS: The couch desperately needs to be replaced.