This is the first time I've had to leave a property before the end of my stay because of issues. I provided photographic evidence as well. I should have left after checking in because it was obvious the property was not cleaned properly. There were cobwebs, spider, dust, the shower floor was dirty and covered in water that cant' drain because the drain wasn't put in properly and is too high for the shower floor. The bedding seemed clean as did the towels however. The walls desperately need to be painted as there are marks all over them. There was even dried urine on the inside lid of the toilet seat. I wiped everything myself and got on with it as I had medical appointments at Stanford and didn't have the time or energy to deal with finding a new place -- until that is, it became impossible for me to stay with ants literally coming out of the woodwork under the walls and crawling all over the floors, walls, windowsill -- and all next to the bed. I even had an ant crawling on my arm. And no, I do not eat in bed. In fact, there were no ants in the kitchen area nor bathroom. I'm not sure if they were even ants or termites but there were tons of them and I had to use the ant spray that was left in the kitchen (which implies the owner knew there was an issue) to kill them. This was terrible for my lung condition.
The shower cannot drain properly because the drain is higher than the pebbled floor -- and two of the pebbles were missing -- so each time I had to throw a towel over the shower floor to soak up the puddle of water.
The windowsills are filthy and the window treatments allow light in and don't offer much privacy except for the microblinds on the patio door so I didn't have a choice but to wake up when the sun rose.
The photos of the exterior are not up to day nor represent what it's really like. The yard is completely overgrown with weeds and the bench swing has been stripped of its stain and the swing can only be accessed by walking through tall weeds. The lilac tree vines were dead, as in no lilacs can bloom in the spring.
The washer and dryer are in a separate building that is shared with other guests on the property. It is a garage but looks and feels more like a basement. The washer and dryer however were up to date and worked well the one time I used the washing machine.
The recycling bin and trash bin are shared with the other guests on the property. There main house is also a rental which took me by surprise as I had assumed the owners lived in it.
The parking was extremely difficult and something that should be made very clear to potential guests. There is a shared space in the back of the alley that is apparently for two vehicles but really only big enough for one. I didn't know it was for two until I received a message from Bob. Had another car been parked there when I came and went, I literally would not have been able to pull out or in. The other car that was there was small fortunately. I had a compact SUV for point of reference.
The alley was difficult with gravel, overgrown tree vines that scraped my car as I drove by and potholes. And often one entry/exit point would be blocked by another car which is something you won't know until you drive down the alley and then have to reverse to get out and drive around the street to enter from the other side.
I will say the bed was very comfortable as was the pillow I slept on. The bathroom sink is new and has drawers but they're completely full with the owner's belongings. Shampoo, conditioner, soap and body wash were provided. Shower is a triangle and way too tiny for me to even shower properly and turn around and I'm only 5'4" and 115 lbs.
The kitchen had a full size refrigerator and freezer, and sponges were supplied. There is also a microwave but no dishwasher. There is Roku and the wifi was quick.
This probably was a decent rental at one point and hopefully the owner will decide to hire people to maintain it properly as it's clearly not being maintained right now which is a shame because the location within Menlo Park was fabulous. The neighborhood is lovely and convenient.