I had read the reviews prior to our stay so some things I knew to expect: the train is noisy (at least 4 of our guests couldn’t sleep other than between 1:30am-4am when the train stops), the space is a little tired and needs some TLC, there’s not enough mugs / glassware for all guests, the dishwasher has no cutlery basket. Of course there’s nothing the hosts can do about the train - you have to be aware of that going in, and they could do something about the other elements so although unfortunate, I knew to expect those.
Great things about the property include - it’s in a lovely safe neighborhood and it’s got a good open plan living space for large groups and a nice number of bedrooms for large groups and free parking out back.
Unexpected things we encountered
- a big hole in the ceiling above the washer and dryer in the closet - bowls set up to try to catch drips/ drip stains down the machines. This wasn’t disclosed to us ahead of time but clearly has been occurring for some time, it didn’t prevent us using the washer and dryer but it was an unexpected surprise.
- the first time we used the toilet on the first day of a 4 day stay, in the first floor bathroom, it didn’t flush. This wasn’t as a result of our use - the flush was broken. No notice was given of this. We made a late night trip to get a plunger as none existed in the house. That didn’t work. We informed the hosts who said they’d send someone to fix it. That person arrived unannounced at the house and day before we left and fixed it.
- we returned to the house one night at 11:30pm to find the door lock didn’t work. The rest of our group was inside sleeping and we had to bang on the door to be let in after 45 minutes outside. No alternative method or entry point for getting in the house was provided. The host responded the next morning and instructed us to change the batteries in the lock which we did - it then seemed to work. However this put us on edge and we kept wondering what would have happened if it had failed when our whole group had been outside of the house.
The hosts were responsive to these issues but they added up over the course of our stay and with better communication / care by the hosts perhaps could have been avoided.