IMPORTANT NOTE: I recently received the following text from the rental's owner (Devin Good):
“I’m only offering a $500 refund with the understanding that no negative comments will be posted.”
I turned down his offer because it was a clear policy violation as defined within Airbnb’s Terms of Service. Nevertheless, it does help explain Devin’s high star rating.

Re: My honest (BRIBE-FREE) review.
The Upper Unit certainly offers a beautiful view, but that is fundamentally ALL it offers.
1.	This rental is not “on the beach” as advertised. Rather, it is an oceanfront property that is beach adjacent. “On the beach” connotes an accessible (sandy/pebbly) beach conveniently located outside the back door, even if that beach must be accessed by a private staircase (as is the case with most other oceanfront Santa Cruz beach rental homes). To reach the beach sand, one must awkwardly exit the property and walk down a short but busy road that is without sidewalks. This critical distinction could pose a possible safety concern for families with children/grandparents who may find the walk dangerous or unduly cumbersome.
2.	The unit was dirty/grimy throughout, and in NO way adhered to Airbnb’s advertised “ENHANCED CLEAN” program. For the $820/night we paid ($3,280.59 in total), it should have been perfectly clean and in no less than “good/very good condition”. Instead, the rental’s poor condition brought back memories of my college frat house. Read Amanda’s (8/20) review and you will notice a similarity of concern.
Re: Inside.
1.	Upon entering, we were greeted with the smell of sewage. We traced the smell to a centrally located closet which was unfortunately, centrally located next to all 3 bedrooms. After opening all the doors and windows, we contacted Devin to enquire about the acrid odor, and he denied any knowledge of it. However, his response belied the fact that we found a half-empty bottle of liquid air freshener inside the closet. Additionally, there were similar bottles of air freshener located throughout the rental, thus indicating that the home’s odor was likely a known and ongoing issue.
2.	NOTE: Because of the smell, we tried finding a replacement Airbnb, but were unsuccessful. We therefore had no choice but to stay, as we had rented the unit to attend the Santa Cruz Ironman on Sunday. However, as soon as we returned from the race, we packed up and departed early.
3.	25% of the light bulbs were burned out or missing. We checked the breakers, and they were fine. Even the primary floor outlet was broken, which eliminated the power for a laptop or the lamp for reading.
3.	All the carpets were dirty and stained with black patches throughout. Many edges of the carpet were noticeably frayed.
4.	The upholstered furniture was stained, worn out, ripped and generally threadbare.
5.	The unit’s advertised “Gourmet kitchen” was grimy and decidedly rundown. Even basic items such as dishwasher soap and sponges were missing. We had to go to the corner store (cash only) to buy them. There was a hodgepodge of wine glasses, but they were so scratched and dirty that we resorted to using the plastic glasses we brought for our picnic. The cabinet doors looked as if they’d not been cleaned in years, as there was a heavy buildup of sticky dirt on ALL the edges.
6.	The refrigerator light is broken. Upon opening the door, you are immediately greeted with a strobe light that never stops flashing. It was incredibly annoying because it made it difficult to see the food inside.
7.	The overall street noise after two nights was so bad that my wife and daughter slept the third night in the living room to get away from it. We also heard kids partying each night in the adjacent park. Bring your earplugs.
8.	The bathrooms were not clean. Their poor condition has apparently remained for three years as evidenced by Zuriana’s (9/18) review, wherein she noted cracks in the tub and a fan in the bathroom that sounded like a lawnmower. We experienced the same condition with each item. Notably, Zuriana also complained of odor, which Devin attributed to Zuriana’s lack of familiarity “…with the unique environment of being right on the beach.” Devin’s condescension notwithstanding, anyone with a nose can tell the difference between the smell of the ocean versus the smell of sewage. The odor we smelled was that of sewage.
Re: Outside.
1.	The deck furniture is generally old, rusted, falling apart and simply dangerous. There is an umbrella stand, but strangely, no umbrella to shade you from the sun. We were so worried about the condition of the chairs that we set the broken ones aside and used the dirty plastic chairs instead, as they were at least functional.
2.	The outdoor BBQ was rusted, greasy, dirty, missing a knob and essentially non-functional. We were forced to abandon it in favor of the oven’s broiler. There were also used and wet match sticks all over the counter next to the BBQ.
3.	The outside garbage cans were already full upon our arrival, which forced us to pile our garbage bags on top of the garbage cans.
4.	The outside staircase is quite dangerous, as many of the stairway lights are broken, making the stairs dark and hazardous. While there is an elevator to which we had access for a few hours during day 1, Devin retaliated against us (apparently for complaining about the condition of the unit), by electronically changing the elevator combination so that we could no longer use it. I notified Devin that I needed the elevator because I had a bad back and was going in for surgery, yet he STILL changed the code. Because Devin changed the elevator code, we had to descend much of the staircase in the dark each night, which was dangerous. More annoyingly, we had to carry our heavy luggage down the stairs upon departure, which was physically difficult to do.
In closing, if you are just looking