Let me start by saying that the location of the home is great. The space surrounding the unit is wonderful and we spent many hours on the deck and by the fire pit. Unfortunately, most of the other descriptions or amenities were not accurately described. The photos of this place must have been taken with a 16 mm super wide-angle lens. This creates a false appearance of openness and space. In actuality, this unit is very small. Luckily we are close with the friends we stayed with. The unit's decor and furniture layout are awkward. Additionally, there were pictures included in this unit's photo album that are actually from other units. It turns out that this unit is part of a house that was sub-divided into three units. So while you do get the "entire" place you are sharing the locale with possibly two other renters. The listing clearly states a private patio or balcony as well as a private backyard, but with two other renters in the other units, this was not true. Regarding the backyard and landscaping, this needs a great deal of revitalizing and TLC. You can see that at some point it was well lit, but nearly 100% of the backyard lighting is not functioning, falling, or jerry-rigged using indoor style LED bulbs instead of outdoor-rated bulbs. Speaking of jerry-rigged I can clearly see how this place was renovated recently either by a sub-par contractor or almost entirely DIY.
Points to be concerned about:
1. Of the pictures shown, there are two bathrooms depicted. The one you get isn't the better of the two.
2. The showerhead is placed in a rainfall position directly overhead but isn't an actual rain shower head. This makes taking showers a challenge, especially for a big guy like me. I had to constantly move around so enough water could hit all parts of me. When the water pressure diminished this became even more of a challenge. Diminished water pressure you ask? Well, the water pressure grinds to a trickle if anyone in your unit or any of the other two units is using water. This wasn't just an isolated event. This happened many times over the 5 days we stayed there. Don't even think about sharing a share with your partner. Someone will be out in the cold.
3. The bedroom with the king-size bed has windowed french doors. There is no way to get privacy. We were staying with 2 friends of ours and had to go to Target to buy a sheet we could hang over the door. While we are close to our friends I highly doubt anyone wants an aquarium-style window into their friend's bedroom.
4. The kitchen is as basic as possible. There were no pots to boil anything only two pans. The cutlery was also at a minimum at only one set for four people. We had to wash multiple times between meals just to have enough cutlery for each of us.
5. There is no garbage disposal so there were many occasions where we had to remove food from the drain and carry it over to the trash can. Yummy!
6. The electric plug-in range couldn't be more basic, and with the minimal cooking utensils preparing meals was a challenge.
7. The host requires guests to clean the kitchen and unit before leaving but provides 0 cleaning supplies. There really should be a bottle of cleaner under the sink. Along the same vein of cleaning, a few extra trash bags would have been nice.
8. The refrigerator is another item on the minimal list. It is one of the units that can be either a fridge or a freezer, but not both. So we had no way to store ice for our drinks or any other frozen items. Come on we are on vacation who doesn't need ice for their drinks?
9. The BBQ grill has really seen better days. It is completely rusted out and is in dire need of being replaced! We made it work as we had no other option.
10. Another point on the list of amenities was a dedicated workspace. This is not true. There was only one small table that is mainly for eating.
In conclusion, it is a decent place which is why I gave it 3 stars, but I won't be returning to this unit or any of the other two units. We were able to speak with some of the other guests and heard similar complaints about water pressure and awkward layouts. I'm sorry this is so long, but I wanted to leave an accurate review of all the points instead of just a few like some of the other reviewers. Mayra is very responsive and we had no issues with her at all.