The homeowner seems like a kind and nice person. I think he is a good man, but I feel that he falls short in the quality of his accommodation, and does not meet the attention to detail that I would expect from a place charging more than $300 a night.
Pros:
- homeowner is kind, and open with communication
- the pool is as described, and wonderful
- the hot tub is as described, and wonderful
- the photos of the house are true and as pictured, and all amenities are as listed
Cons:
- we arrived at 5:30pm, after giving the homeowner his requested updates on our arrival time well in advance of his request. After we arrived, 3 landscapers came through. 2 using leaf blowers, and one cleaning the pool. It was abrasive and felt like something that should have been done prior to arrival. Around then, the homeowner arrived (as expected) to show us around the property. I told him upon greeting, that his landscapers were here, thinking they were late or unexpected. But he just replied 'I know'. Not a huge deal, but for more than $300 a night I expect better
- there were dishes still in the dishwasher
- there was laundry still in the drier
- the TV in the master bedroom was difficult to work with. We were able to stream from our laptops via the built in Chromecast. But beyond that, it took me discovering the HDMI from the cable box was bent and non-functional, and unbending it to even get a signal. Then was unable to get any remote to be functional for television. Again, the Chromecast worked, but that's it. I was able to get the living room television working fine, but not the master bedroom. If a tenant is not familiar with using Chromecast, then the TV in the master bedroom will be an issue. I'm young, and have built out home entertainment systems before, so I have no issue with the system. It may have worked before in this house, or there may have been an issue with the in-wall wiring, but for our stay, we could not change get the cable television to work. I would have loved clear and laminated instructions for a setup like this
- the main floor bathroom had shampoo... conditioner... and 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner... again, not a big deal, except for the fact that this place is over $300 a night. For just 15 minutes and $5, you can get soap or body wash to have on hand. A $300 suite at any hotel anywhere would have this
- the pool and hot tub controls should have posted instructions, with pictures and directions. Ari explained it to me, and I was able to understand. But there are two changeable water valves, a heat control unit, and a general power unit. It's not super simple, and I can easily imagine people having difficulty remembering the process. He stated how important elements of this were, and it makes a lot of sense to post instructions with pictures and steps at the controls
- the host wanted to meet upon our arrival to show us around, and tell us how things worked. Fine, not a huge deal. But we would have preferred to have the place to ourself. I feel this could have been circumvented by posted instructions, with pictures and clear steps at each element that the host wanted to discuss. Instructions for laundry. Instructions for the grill. Instructions for the pool. Easy. It can be done.
Overall, Ari - the owner - is a very nice guy, and seems to have a good heart. I think he's a good person. I'm just disappointed in the effort put in to maintaining a property listed for over $300 a night. I will not be staying at any of his properties again, but I with him all the best in life.