I will preface this review by saying that I have stayed in all sorts of Airbnb’s across the world and take reviews seriously. This is the first time I am quite torn about my experience, so I apologize for the lengthy review.
My husband, young daughter, elderly in-laws, and I traveled to San Diego for 4 days to visit our son for Christmas, who just returned from deployment. It was a last-minute booking as we found out he was unable to take any leave, so we had to go visit him. Initially, the communication with “Sary” was great. Communication was prompt and all my questions were answered. I had asked if they honored military discounts and I was told that they do not. Not a big deal, but it is certainly worth asking! I also asked if there was an air mattress available in case we needed one as our oldest son would be driving from Yuma to spend Christmas Eve night with us as that was his only day off. I was told that it was not a problem and one would be provided. So far so good, so I booked this place! Upon receiving the confirmation details, I was a little surprised to see that various “discounts” were available, which included a military discount, but we were not given one.
On the day of our arrival, I contacted “Sary” in the morning to see if it was possible to check-in early as our drive from Phoenix went quicker than expected. The traffic outside of the complex was quite congested as it is literally across the street from Fashion Valley mall and it was several days before Christmas. (Expect to hear lots of traffic during the day.) Once we arrived, we were greeted by “Sary.” My husband and I were given instructions on where to park and were given a tour of the entire facility, which was great! We were also told that we could get an overnight guest parking pass for our son when he arrived and could get a second key fob as it is needed to access everything. We were given a cell phone number to contact with any questions, but then found out the gentleman’s name was “Tamer” (??). Anyway, our first impression started off positively.
It wasn’t until we were bringing our bags into the apartment that we noticed that the carpeting was FILTHY! I am not talking about it needing to be vacuumed, there were stains EVERYWHERE! The counter tops and toilets seemed to have been cleaned, but we weren’t entirely sure. We are not opposed to cleaning, obviously since we elect to stay in Airbnb’s, but this is the first time I felt that everything needed to be cleaned upon our arrival and before using anything… This was a huge disappointment to us, considering that we had to pay a $125 cleaning fee! We searched the entire apartment to find that there were no cleaning supplies, including dish soap. So, it was a little disappointing to have to purchase cleaning products, dishwasher tabs, and kitchen towels, even though hand soap, laundry detergent, and toilet paper were supplied. Additionally, we had to purchase a coffee maker as there was not one supplied.
We also found that furniture and other items were broken (dining room chair, dresser in 2nd room, lights, fans, blinds, garbage disposal, ice maker). The garbage disposal wasn’t working (water was not draining and it would not turn on), so we attempted to fix it. In doing so, my husband cleaned out chicken bones and broken glass in the disposal, but it still would not work and there were not any tools available. We contacted “Tamer” right away and we were told that someone would be at the unit by 11 AM the next day (Christmas Eve). The maintenance people did show up and were able to fix the issue.
Aside from that, we were happy to have a place that had the space to properly accommodate us. It was great to spend time with our family under one roof for the Christmas holiday. We were also quite happy to find a wheelchair in the master bedroom closet. This was great as my in-laws have health issues, so it allowed them to be more mobile than they would have otherwise been. We used the facilities (pool, hot tub, gym) and we were happy to have those options available. We felt safe and secure during our entire stay.
On the day of our departure, we cleaned all the dishes and counter tops, put the towels in the washer, and vacuumed the apartment. I contacted “Tamer” to let him know the status of the apartment and our departure time. To my surprise, I received a message the following morning that we were going to be charged $100 for the broken dining room chair. I immediately responded to indicate that the “footrest” piece on the dining room chair was broken upon our arrival and was on the bottom shelf of the dining table. Again, we had tried to “fix” it, but it needed to just be glued back in place. I never received a response and have not been charged.
I know this review is quite lengthy, but I think it is important to paint an accurate and objective picture for future renters as I do not believe the other reviews (or the pictures of the apartment) did that for us. We struggle as there were certainly positives (space, location, amenities), but as you can see, there were things that were quite disappointing and costly.