I'm not sure where to start, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I originally messaged Carri a couple months ago searching for a place to host my out of town family and friends for my daughters 2nd birthday, and asked if it would be alright if I hosted a party for her one afternoon of our stay for a few fours for 20-30 guests. Her only response was that the party would require a $300 deposit. The day before checkin and 2 days before my daughter's party, she messaged me saying she had further reviewed our convo and we needed to discuss how many people and cars would be at the party before check-in. I didn't respond right away since my Air bnb push notifications take a few hours to alert me to messages, and she messaged me less than an hour later that it was important to discuss these matters right away before check-in. I found her tone via text very abrasive and pushy. Upon seeing the messages, I began to worry that something was wrong. I sent her an estimate of a dozen cars and 25ppl since some people never rsvp. She promptly told me that she would need an additional $300 non-refundable fee, on top of the $300 deposit for the party, and on top of the almost $2500 we were already paying for the weekend. I reiterated our original convo and that she made no mention of an additional $300 fee and that bringing this up the day before check-in, after all plans and plane tickets had already been purchased made me like she was taking advantage of the situation. She proceeded to further send a request for $600, and stated that a $10 fee and $10 deposit were her standard procedures and apologized for not communicating that, but that it was non-negotiable and that I was welcome to cancel my reservation, which with the time frame would have only given us a 50% refund. It felt like extortion, and like I had no choice but to pay. I borrowed the extra money from family and waited overnight for it to deposit. The next morning I paid the originally agreed upon deposit and the extra $300. Then I saw another message that admitted again to a miscommunication and saying she would lower the amounts to $200 and $200, but that was all she was able to do. It seemed rather arbitrary to me. She saw my $600 payment and said she would have to wait until we checked out to refund the difference.
Upon check-in, she made sure to tell me that between her an her neighbors that they knew everything since they had so many cameras. In fact, there was a camera on the porch that points inside the house to the main dining and living area. She also lives in the attached garage apartment, which is just on the other side of a door in the kitchen. I could hear her through the door opening and closing her own cabinets or doors so I knew she could hear our conversations within the kitchen, dining, and main living areas. The house and parking rules, while not unreasonable, are many. She was kind enough to set up parking signs and a parking area for our party guests, and reiterated about a half dozen times to keep the drive clear. When my family began arriving throughout the evening, we were in 5 cars which we needed to unload, so we parked them near the main house while keeping the drive clear and planned to move them after dinner and party prepping. At about 10:30 I received a text from Carrie that if my guests couldn't follow simple parking rules, we were going to have a problem the next day at the party. Let me repeat, the drive was clear. Many of my family members were elderly, and unloading kids, party supplies, and baggage took a while and I was not going to make my 87yr ild grandfather walk all the way from the back of a 2 acre field. I began to feel as though she would micromanage our entire weekend. I tried to forget it and enjoy our weekend, but I spent most of it stressing and cautioning and admonishing my family and friends to make sure they followed her many many many rules.
All that being said, the property, backyard, and pool are beautiful. My daughters party was a success and everyone parked where they were supposed to, and there was plenty of parkingfor everyone. They complimented the setup and how perfect the location was for everyone to get to. The kids loved the diving pool, and between our own floats and the ones provided everyone enjoyed the water on a hot day. The pots and pans in the kitchen cabinet were dirty however and one of the stove burners didn't work, and the TV stand in the living room seemed to barely support the TV and was falling apart. The first bedroom was perfect for my grandfather with a low bed, the 2nd bedroom was great for my parents and fit my daughters pack and play. The 3rd bedroom accommodated my sister and I and her 2 kids, but beware the bedframe is very shaky and feels unstable. It moves at the slightest shift.
I had to return to work early Monday morning so I was not present for checkout, but my family was late checking out by 45min. Carrie did not charge for a late checkout fortunately, and refunded $300 the day after checkout. I reminded her she had lowered the price to $200 and that an additional $100 needed to be refunded, to which she didn't reply to but did refund a few hours later.
Overall, we enjoyed our weekend, but were stressed out by the owner and the extra money demands.