This is a completely honest review that I wish we had read before we rented.
First...the good. The house is very big, beautiful and very much reflective of the pictures and descriptions given by the rental company, and if those were the only criteria we truly cared about, we definitely would have chosen this house all over again for our girls getaway.
However, there’s a lot more about this home that we were unaware of until after we committed to renting. It is listed as occupancy of 17, It wasn’t until after we paid and reserved (a reservation you’re committed to with only 50% refund as soon as you confirm the reservation) that we were informed that each person over the occupancy of 10 people was an EXTRA charge of $50 Per Person/Per Night! (irritating...but because of the other amenities, like the large back yard and hot tub...we kept the reservation and bc we were already locked in at this point so we paid the extra charges and added 1 guest.)
Our curfew to be inside was 10:30 p.m. The first night we were outside talking (normal voice, not loud) and at exactly 10:30pm on the dot we received a message from the management company that the noise sensor went off and we needed to go inside. The next night the neighbors stayed outside laughing and playing music later into the night...however, we felt “grounded” to the inside of the home by 10:30 bc of the “noise complaints they were receiving from the neighbors”
We also had issues with the hot tub not working, the phone to turn on the hot tub was broken upon arrival and I called the property manager and he gave me instructions how to turn it on manually. It still would not heat up when I did it manually, I reached out on the Air BnB messenger, called and texted him and no response for most of the day until Saturday evening. He finally turned the hot tub on for us and we got to use it Saturday night for MAYBE 1.5 hours until the heater went out again...at this point it was too late to have him turn it back on and we were leaving in the morning. When we were able to use the hot tub it was great, we just wish it would have been available to us longer, or at least offer to have someone come over and take a look at it and see if its something they could fix during our stay or even offer to compensate us for the amenities we paid for and did not receive.
While the home was clean, it was upsetting to see a live cockroach crawling in the kitchen cabinet.
Overall the house was well appointed, nice beds and was pretty spacious...but with the anxiety of all of the strict rules and all of the possible up charges that can be tacked on kept us on edge during our trip that was supposed to be a vacation.
All that being said, I want to state that I don’t think that these concerns are over dramatic, and we realize it could cause them to decide not to give our deposit back (which we would contest.) Lack of timely response to our issues was a big deal when you’re only there for a couple of days. (My parents own 2 vacay rentals and they respond within the hour to any texts, calls or messages...even on weekends so I do understand how this system works and how to create an enjoyable experience for renters).
We were clean and respectful to them and their property, and we did not have company that wasn’t listed in the rental agreement...and we were not being loud or trashy. We felt compelled to write a totally fair and honest review so that people truly know what they’re getting ready to commit to and spend a lot of money on for an occasion that is meant for making special memories.