Unfortunately it wasn't my intention to leave a negative review of my families overall experience at this accommodation, and I have amicably tried to resolve matters through Air BnB and the host.
Air BnB have thankfully offered to offer some form of resolution to the matter in the form of compensation given the issues I am about to raise below.
Furthermore communicated with Air BnB as much as possible to gain an understanding and clarity in their hosting policies and t&c's which I feel here are very relevant and questionable.
Air BnB initially advised I raise concerns with the host upon arrival prior to any escalation, unfortunately the back and forth meant that this fell outside their Air cover policy period of 72 hours and the booking was not only non refundable but given I had family events locally was unable to source adequate alternative accommodation in such a short space of time after.
Prior to any review being published I allowed for the host to assist (and respond), was advised by Air BnB the host was not interested.
Both the initial and ongoing interactions with the host, sadly did not fill me with any confidence that our stay was going to be a positive one from the offset
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Given my recent experience in Epping I felt it necessary to highlight what was overall a very disappointing experience for me and my family.
I wish to carefully highlight the inadequacies in the accommodation I just stayed in over 7 nights.
Firstly the lack of sufficient heating on the premises.
Upon check-in we were greeted by host Shirley who allowed us entry to the accommodation to the rear of her house.
Upon entering the premises it was very cold, both the main room and naturally all the other room. That wasn’t an issue at first.
There is an air conditioning/heating unit on site when entering, my wife originally asked Shirley if there was a remote missing on the wall in order for us to be able to warm up the room.
We were then instructed that there would be portable small radiators on site and that these would act as a form of heating. My wife took the matter with Shirley and advised we had an infant child and that the rooms would most likely take several hours to adequately warm up.
Host Shirley also pointed out that use of the unit would also incur a $20 per day fee charge, citing rising energy bills etc, which under the circumstances I felt were irrelevant given the situation.
The host under the circumstances should provide a listing fair and transparent for a safe stay without trying to justify hidden extras.
On principle my wife refused and given we had a long journey interstate this was not what was initially expected.
Upon reviewing the booking listing it did state that oil radiators would be provided, their was two small ones on site.
My concern here is that these two small radiators are clearly not efficient or adequate to safely warm a premises of this size. My wife the following day messaged Shirley to ask for an additional radiator (if available) given we had a large lounge and two bedrooms, clearly the two small radiators were not going to be enough.
Host Shirley replied saying that she did not have any others, furthermore she responded that when she had her own family visiting and staying that she didn’t provide the unit.
Which begs the question, if a host is willing to let even her own family struggle then any air bnb tenants have no chance.
As a result we would wake up to a freezing lounge throughout our stay and would have to stay in the bedroom whilst we place a heater in the lounge.
The listing mentioned air con is chargeable but did not state that it was reverse cycle - the host changed this on the listing after we mentioned this to her. This I mentioned to Air BnB is a breach of their listing policy.
Air conditioning I can appreciate is borderline luxury during summer months, however heating is a necessity and non negotiable for any premises, especially during the winter, with us having an infant child with us, this made it exceptionally uncomfortable during our stay.
Continuously returning to a cold premises given we had to switch off all electricals upon leaving the property each time, the time taken to warm the premises each time also I feel posed a health risk.
So that other future patrons are not discomforted in this way, with winter present the manner in which this place is hosted must be made clear purely for health and safety.
There is heat lamps also in the bathroom, these were taped over by the host so that guests are not to use, due to the tiles the bathroom was cold throughout the entire stay. Again a frugal approach to hosting.
Inadequate shower:
The shower on site not only has a lack of pressure but is also is poorly fitted with regards to heating and borderline unsafe to use. I would go so far to say this is faulty.
I had to be very careful when showering my infant daughter given the inconsistencies.
It goes from lukewarm to very hot from the taps given the plumbing does not allow for consistent water at the right temperature, I highlighted this with Air BnB for health and safety.
Lack of basic amenities:
To note, the electric cooker was not only poor but took far too long to heat up and so cooking/heating any kind of meals for my daughter took an excessive amount of time.
Whilst it worked was not very functional.
There was inadequate and missing cutlery, in the form of a lack of table knives, when we asked Shirley for some more given we had additional guests, she provided an additional two (she advised there was 6 in place which was incorrect)
Appreciate that you get what