Robert & Kristy advertised an AC in the listing, which they informed us a few days ahead of time, was not working. They, however, described the unit as 'magical' if we kept the doors/ windows open. Even with these open, the room was hot and stuffy; the degree of noise coming from the neighbors next door was also very loud making the open windows/ doors uncomfortable.
We wanted to be accommodating since Robert & Kristy were transparent about the AC not working, but recognized upon arrival that this would not be a comfortable stay. We then had to search for an alternate place to stay, even though most areas were book and/or outside our budget. In subsequent communication, the hosts stated that they understood we were uncomfortable.
Given that we were in San Diego for one night, and had never been there before, this was very frustrating to deal with. We were already stressed out and then to make matters worse, they refused a refund, telling us to involve Air BnB, because they could have rented out the unit to other guests. Yet with the advertisement of the AC, and misleading message of the temperature of the unit, future guests would have been in the same boat as we were.
Based on past communication, we thought the hosts would be flexible enough to provide a full refund. As frequent users of Air BnB, we never thought hosts would think it is okay to keep a visitor's payment -- especially since they know that they did not provide the utility listed. We left this room untouched, yet we did not even receive the cleaning fee back. We were disappointed in the lack of acknowledgment, as well as empathy, of the hosts here and would not recommend to book with them.