This is the worst Airbnb experience I have had to date. I planned 6 nights with my sister in Hawaii. We chose Christine’s place Because it looked lovely on the Airbnb site, because it looked clean and attractive and spacious enough for two people. Some thing that really stood out to me however (and I’ve never come across this before) was that we had to strip her own beds and wash and dry our used towels before vacating the apartment. We’re on vacation but … ok I suppose. There were many rules and regulations attached to this particular listing but since it was just me and my sister, I knew that we could abide by the long list. In addition to what is outlined on the listing, we then received a somewhat god-fearing follow up email outlining all the same things as listed on Airbnb.
Getting into the condo was not problematic. One last time we were met with some rules and regulations sign-posted to the door. Nevertheless, we proceeded inside and out a glance the condo looked as expected. My sister and I left for the day and came back that evening, had a glass of wine on the veranda and wanted an early night after a long flight.
I stayed in the king bedroom downstairs. As I approached the bed I noticed that the polyester palm designed bedspread was dirty. I didn’t think too terribly of it brushing it off as the housekeepers might have missed it. I looked in a linen closet and found another one which I then placed on the bed. Ready to close my eyes, I pulled back the sheets on the bed and to my horror they were soiled to such a degree, I almost got sick. I could not believe what I was seeing. There were stains all over the sheets. The biggest stain was obviously a massive sweat stain that was dark in color. Additionally there were raised snot/crud stains throughout the entire king bed. It was 10 PM and my sister was sleeping upstairs. I returned to the linen closet and to my dismay, there were no other sheets available. I looked everywhere… Nothing. I took about 10 photographs approximately and sent them off to Christine. I had no option but to sleep in that disgusting bed choosing the stretch Horizontally at the bottom of the bed on a 12 inch stretcher like position. The option to sleep on the floor was not available. The floor was tiled and sticky and I had no bed coverings. Needless to say I did not sleep a wink. I heard from ‘Cristine the next morning. After trying to protest that it was the mattress pad (like that would matter) She finally admitted that yes in fact the sheets were filthy but she maintained a stance that It could not be true because after all the guests remove the bed linens and then the cleaners take them and replace them and additionally she said that her Hawaii house manager also checked the house and signed off on it. I would suggest firing those people. I would also suggest that you do not ask your guests to clean sheets and towels. They are on vacation and most people are not qualified to clean properly. It is unfair to the guest and it is unfair to the guests that come after them. If you want to ensure that your condo is in tiptop shape for the next client, I suggest that you give the house cleaners the proper amount of time and not rent your condo back to back.
After that experience I wanted to have a hot shower. No chance of that… The water was freezing cold in the shower and in all the taps. I took a cold shower and my sister also took a cold shower.
I had a conversation with Christine on the phone and she was incredulous that the water was actually cold. Trust me, I wish it wasn’t. She then told me that she would give me the secret CODE to the closet where she kept all the spare linens and that I could go and make my own bed. (All Airbnb owners are by Airbnb standards supposed to supply EXTRA sets of linens and sheets- A super host must know this, instead they are locked away in a closet) This is where I drew the line, I told her I had no intention of doing this that she needed to course correct and that I was going out for the day. She sent her neighbor up to look at the hot water situation and in fact he did fix it. It was turned off. (How did her ‘Hawaii Manager’ miss this also)
I left the house and when I came back at 6 PM that evening the sheets have been changed. This was the first two days of my experience at this condo. The day before I left ‘Cristine had emailed me to remind me to make sure I cleaned the linens off the bed and that I put the towels in the washer and dryer for the next guests. For the inconvenience she offered me an Amazon gift card which I refused and I did point out to her that she should take some other initiative regarding my horrific experience and to that end she sent me $150 on Venmo. I will finish this unfortunate review by saying that we already paid a $200 CLEANING FEE on this condo and our total price- all fees included was just shy of $2,000. I believe that the underlying issue is ‘greediness’. that the motivation to flip the condo ‘back to back’ far outweighs any intention of well-being for the guest(s).