My husband and I rented this home along with my 86 year old mom for 2 weeks. We are professionals, we maintain an office in the Bay Area and are present at various times during the year. We have rented a lot of VRBO and AIRBNB homes throughout the past several years and this is the worst experience we have had. A nice enough looking 2 story home but overall a big disappointment. The house also needs basic maintenance .
I always print an airbnb advertisement in full prior to booking so I know exactly what is advertised when we arrive. I took a lot of pictures of the house and everything below and a video both coming into the house and leaving the house.
Our issues:
· Not as advertised
· Limited use of the home not listed by the host
· Basic necessities missing that were advertised by the host
· Does not meet the minimum standards you would expect from an AIRBNB listing
· Host was combative and on the verge of being rude when questioned
· Customer service from the host is greatly lacking, we will not rent from the host again
· House not cleaned very well for our arrival. It was a lot cleaner on our way out
· Kitchen and bath countertops were filthy and had a lot of dirt
· Kitchen dishwasher also filthy
· There are large pots but no baking pans as advertised by the host
· Floor had not been swept or mopped
· Bed linens were not changed
· We found hair on the bedsheets, we had to remove all linens and rewash them
· Shower had not been cleaned
The host changed the airbnb ad posting as we complained. Example: Ad said cable tv available. It did not have cable tv. When I questioned her she changed the listing to remove cable and then messaged me that the ad does not say cable.
The ad lists basic cooking necessities such as oil, salt, pepper and pots and pans etc available. Aside from a jar of thyme and cayenne pepper, nothing else. When I asked her where the salt and pepper are, she said she does not supply any of those types of necessities and that there is Whole Foods nearby and they also deliver.
The top of the washer and dryer were filthy. Lint screen was an inch thick. Dryer door would not close unless you slammed it shut a few times.
Master bedroom’s closet was locked and not available for our use. When I asked host how I can use the closet she said her stuff is in it but we can use the downstairs entry hall closet with the sweeping broom in it. Sure, we are camping. She said we could use the other bedroom closets instead as well. The other bedroom closet was being used by my mom and the 3rd bedroom closet was used for her storage and had all her boxes in it and no room to hang anything.
I think it is reasonable to expect to use the closet in a bedroom of a house we are renting. She was not apologetic but only said “ other guests have never complained”, even though she told me we were the first guests to rent it. The host asked if I wanted a rolling clothes hanger and I said yes. But it never arrived. We had to hang our clothes around the bathroom shower door. We are professionals and need to hang our suits and business clothes.
There were 3 of us and only 5 bath towels with no smaller hand towels. Host seemed surprised we were asking where she kept more towels. We shower daily and don’t use the same towel for two weeks. She did order additional towels for us.
Kitchen had no kitchen towels. She first told me there were rags under the sink. When I asked her where the kitchen towels were she said under the sink. We had to purchase our own kitchen towels.
The host advertised cleaners but we found one comet cleaner under sink. We had to purchase bathroom and toilet cleaners.
House is actually very cold. Heats well upstairs but not downstairs.
No shoes allowed in the house but no mat inside the door to take off our shoes. We had to buy our own floor mat.
The carpet going upstairs into the bedrooms was filthy and looked like it had not been cleaned in a while.
When we rent a home vs a hotel we have a certain expectation of comfort and amenities available and expect the use of most of the house. This home fell way short.
We were better off at another house or at the very least a hotel where we would have use of a master bedroom closet.