The property is EVERYTHING people say it is. Luxurious, tasteful, picturesque, sprawling. The furniture, fixtures and amenities are of a 5 star resort. Qian was very organized and also accommodated a few of our requests like adjustments to the times of check-in and check-out.
That said, there are some tips we might share for anyone looking to stay here:
This was not an entire villa nor is it a property that only you would occupy. More like a resort with other guests housed on one side of the property. The 2 suites are in different areas of a main house, accessed through a driveway. At night it tends to be quite dark and lights would have been nice when walking from room to room. We requested to have them turned on once but on the other nights we arrived after dark, and intentionally decided that we would not bother the owner. Maybe request this for all nights or bring flashlights.
There was also some confusion with the 6 person capacity, which apparently is not automatic. If you enter 4 persons like we did upon reservation and then add 1 more person later on, there would be an adjustment to the price and you would get a rollaway bed.
The suites are NO SHOE zones. When we were there, it was raining constantly, so it was quite tricky to remove one's shoes from the wet cold outdoors each time. It was a contortionist act to try to get one shoe off, put that foot in the door so you don't then step on the muddy doormat with just your socks, then do the same for the other foot. Especially when also carrying things and removing wet jackets. Shoes left out overnight were drenched in the morning. Perhaps a bench to sit on as you lace your shoes and and some cover from rain might be a useful complement to the no-shoe policy.
The Greenhouse prominently featured in the property photos was not actually available for our use the entire time; and the fireplace by the pool was also not working at the time so we couldn't enjoy that area in cold weather. The outdoor table we were told is also not intended for eating. Because of the rains, the only areas around the property we could really enjoy were inside our suites.
For those that need darkness to sleep, the curtains are sheer, so bring an eye mask.
One suite has a thermostat; the other one is centralized to the main house so we could not control it to our preference. To be fair they told us to let them know but again we weren’t about to bother them off hours when we really need it. We bought a portable heater instead.
There is one gate clicker to get out, so if your group breaks up somehow and you want to leave on foot, you would have to either coordinate with the person holding the clicker or contact the owner to let you out.
All of these we could sort of look past and still call it a good stay. Besides, these are very easily addressed by the owners if it should please them to do so. They really do have exquisite taste and are obviously very meticulous.
However, one thing we most certainly did not expect... watch out for making even the smallest ding to items as there is a charge to them - we were told (without the benefit of a joint walkabout like how one would when renting a car. We simply had to take their word for it) that the cleaners found ONE SMALL DING EACH on the bottom of a wooden salad bowl (which we only used as a fruit bowl), a saucer, and the kitchen sink cabinet.
We did try to get a hold of AirBNB to inquire about matters like these but they could not be reached before the payment request deadline. At that point we didn't want to escalate into an argument, so even though we remain unconvinced, we paid the almost $300 that was requested. Unfortunately for us also, the salad bowl was purchased as a set so even if the ding was only on one piece, we had to pay for the entire set. I wish I could attach photos as the dings appropriated to us were no more than 5 millimeters in size.
This ending was a one-two punch for us because throughout our stay we felt that we were inordinately careful; on full alert about removing shoes, not staining the marble and limestone, not laughing or speaking too loud, etc. There was quite a bit of mental exertion at the expense of our own relaxation.
Another reviewer nailed it when she said she was always scared, calling it museum-like. All told, it was too precious to have the freedom to enjoy the chill woodsy vacation we had hoped for.