Initially when we booked this home, there were no reviews and so I was hesitant to continue with booking, but I took a risk and booked for a 2 month stay after confirming some details with the host, Nobu. A month before our scheduled check-in date, I saw a concerning review and was very worried, however the host assured me that things were either resolved or that the reviewer was just being difficult. Unfortunately, the review was spot on and what was supposed to be a long-awaited family reunion turned out to be a nightmare!
In short, besides some inconveniences that we were willing to overlook like the home being unclean prior to our arrival (dirty windows, water stain and grime in bathrooms), half of the outlets in the home not working, and false advertising of the bedrooms (more on this below), what really made a turn for the worst was when we confirmed mold in several of the rooms (confirmed by a professional mold inspector). Neither the host nor Airbnb were willing to do anything about it which was the most frustrating part of it all. We notified both parties that we had a pregnant woman, a one-year-old child, and elderly people staying in the home which would pose as a health and safety risk, however the host got very defensive and eventually stopped responding to my messages. Airbnb on the other hand said the mold was reported after 24 hours of discovering it, meaning we were not able to get any refund and basically there was nothing we could do about it. I even told them that the mold was not something we could see immediately and it took weeks of us staying in the home to feel the symptoms of congestion and sore throat (ruled out covid). We thought we were doing our due diligence by notifying Airbnb after officially confirming that there was mold following a mold inspector’s investigation but I guess that’s just not how they work. It’s obvious Airbnb has policies in place to protect themselves and the hosts but not the guests.
Another issue is that the photos are very misleading. As the listing shows, there is a large living room that overlooks the pool, however this living room was actually turned into one of the bedrooms. This can be very uncomfortable for a large group if you want privacy since you’re basically sleeping in the kitchen/ living area. Granted it was separated by a sliding door but this could be an issue for people who want more privacy as you can still hear everything from outside. Basically, as another reviewer said, this is a one bedroom home turned into 3 bedrooms. The smallest “room” which they advertise as a bedroomm is basically a large closet and also where we found the most evidence of mold and water damage.
I do however want to give credit where it’s due. The host initially (before the whole mold ordeal) was very responsive and even prepared a gift for my one-year-old son which was very nice. We also requested a few items for the home in which he allowed us to purchase and reimbursed. The relationship the first couple of weeks initially started off well but unfortunately the second I notified him of the mold situation and requested that we move out asap and were given a refund for the remaining days (not the days we already stayed), that’s when the relationship went sour and he basically stopped responding and accused us of making stuff up in order to get a refund. Overall, the home itself does have potential since the pool is nice (was too cold for young children) and it’s in a very nice location, however the whole experience was just so frustrating that it wasn’t worth it, especially as we paid right under 30k to stay for the 2 months.