tl;dr - Perfect for a night or two. For anything longer it's ok but then you're more likely to deal with their management team, which, for me, was a bad experience.
Note: I've communicated all of this to the host team privately and gave them lots of opportunities to correct issues. I would never leave a review with "cons" in them without discussing issues with the host. I try to be very flexible and give hosts a lot of understanding. Problems happen, and most hosts are fantastic about helping. This was consistently not the case here, and, after lots of opportunities, their approach was still not good. So I feel it's only fair to give my perspective so that future guests have more information to consider when making the booking.
The pros and cons:
Pros:
- The view is spectacular. No doubt about it. If that's what you're after then this will give it to you. If you're looking for this for a night or two I'd absolutely say "book it".
- Stylish furniture, and the place looks like it does in the photographs.
- Lots of towels, which is always nice.
- The mechanical and electrical amenities all work really well.
- I love the area. It's quiet but you're close to the city and all the good things. Some might find it too quiet.
Cons:
- The management team and their communication. Made small problems a lot worse. For example, no laundry detergent, fans (these were finally figured out), etc. When I brought these up their solution was for me to go and buy and them to reimburse. I felt like I was paying for a premium property, and then being expected to do free property management work.
- Slow communication or sometimes just ignored. For example, asked about my mum coming to stay, never heard back. Honestly, I basically gave up on letting them know about anything or asking questions. Better to solve on my own and not have to manage them.
- Gets super hot, the fans help (once they finally bought and delivered some, they told me three would be there when I asked), but I'd invest in an air conditioner. It's a premium property, so I think that makes sense.
- After this experience, I'm not a fan of the offsite, professional Airbnb management model. You never get to deal directly with hosts, you're dealing with a company that's trying to win every dollar even at the expense of a great experience. They also tend to overload their staff with too many properties, so service suffers. Maybe I just got a bad one, but I always prefer a real, local host.
Neutral:
- Thought in the pictures there was a balcony cover to stop the rain. It doesn't. Rained a lot so noticed this more.
- Tiny bins.Not a bid deal for me though just odd.