HIGH-LEVEL: Our group of 7 adults stayed here 3 nights for a short work-related retreat together. Overall we were satisfied and many aspects were particularly enjoyed—the location, the garage "fun zone" in one unit, overall quality & amenities, etc.
But also, a few things fell a short for us too, and for the price, I feel I should 'pay it forward, so I'll kindly, transparently share them here as a courtesy. In retrospect, I would likely stay here again, only with slightly modified expectations based on our experiences here this past weekend...
LAST MINUTE UNIT CHANGE: I first rented these units b/c (at the time reserved) they were advertised as side-by-side. I was originally hoping for a single BNB we could all share but have separate bedrooms. But seven bedrooms in one place is hard to find, and these two right next door seemed the next best thing.
However, we found out a few days prior to our reservation that our unit #'s had been changed. Apparently one of those units had been sold, so we were automatically changed to another close by with the same basic floor plan, setup & benefits. But they were clearly not right next door to each other anymore, and the 'fun zone' in the garage of one unit was notably less equipped. Somewhat disappointing for us, but not the end of the world.
WRONG ENTRY CODE: Was told by owner/manager that the keyless entry code would be sent on our day of arrival. When the message came, the access code was strangely missing. I think they forgot to paste it into an auto-welcome message or something. So, I messaged asking about it, and they then replied with the missing code.
But when we arrived on schedule for check-in, the code entry actually didn't work on either unit. So, I reached out again confused, and they apologized for sending us the wrong code & sent the correct keyless entry code, which then worked on both units. Again, not the end of the world, and only around a ½-hour 'hiccup' after we got there.
CHECK-IN / CLEAN-UP: Check-in time was 4pm, so that's when we planned to arrive. Only, we were surprised & confused to find someone still present with a dog inside one of the units. I messaged about it, and the owner apologized saying that it was "the cleaner and her support animal", and that she had apparently forgotten the same-day turnover and was still cleaning it.
We finally got a message around 6pm that clean-up was complete & we could access the second unit. It's a good thing we could all hang out together in one of the units while waiting a couple of extra hours for the other one.
NO INTERNET: Just after checking in we realized that the internet was not working in either unit. Reached out to the owner/manager, they explained an unfortunate Google fiber outage in the area. In one unit, the internet came back in the morning, but it never actually worked in the other. We were able to use our smart phones as hot spots though.
$500 CLEANING FEE: Definitely seems on the high end. But guests are still expected to wash & dry all the towels & even walk the trash all the way to the dumpster? Doesn't $500 seem like it should at least cover these things vs. making them a check-out requirement for guests? Honestly, of all the things above, this one troubles me the most. For a cleaning fee this high I don't expect to be doing your laundry and walking trash to the dumpster.
BOTTOM LINE: Having said all this, I would still likely stay here again. But my "superhost" expectations would be modified a little based on some of the minor 'misfires' we experienced. No one single thing was terrible - it's the compilation of things together. And if the owner had seemed a little more proactive or conscientiously concerned about the things we experienced, then I might not have even said anything about them in my review. My goal is not to tear them down, but to 'pay it forward' with a realistic review for anyone ahead.