Thanks Milan for having us! I have many good things to say and a few small comments that might help the host to improve the AirBNB for future guests. We came as a family group of 9 with two guests in their late 80s and 2 guests under 4 years of age. The house is lovely and big. Great for a large, fit group (lots of stairs). We had no trouble with checking in. That all went smoothly. Appearance of the rooms was as advertised in the photos. The rooms were neat and tidy.
The view is fabulous. The washer and dryer were fantastic and of really high quality which was a fantastic addition to this wonderful and spacious home.
This is 16th AirBNB I have stayed in over the years and this is actually the first time I’ve had so much to say in a review but thought it was important for the benefit of future guests to know.
In terms of cleanliness, it was ok but not great. There was perishable food (about 10 small muffins left opened in a bowl in the back of the cupboard with a few crumbs around it). We didn’t find it until we went to use the bowl on the 2nd day of our stay and they looked stale. I think the host hadn’t seen it when cleaning the place between guests. When we mentioned this to the host they asked us to clean it ourselves if we didn’t want it (because they thought the previous guests might have left it for us in an act of generosity). I said this wasn’t really the standard thing for an AirBNB host to supply. It’s not really the custom as normally hosts put fresh, perishable food in an obvious place if they are preparing it for new guests and wouldn’t leave food exposed and in the back of the cupboard in this manner. In the end the host was kind enough to offer us a 10% discount on our next stay should we ever choose to stay at one of their places again. That was nice. Thank you for that offer and for listening to our concerns.
Supplies seemed to be at a minimum and on a budget - soap containers nearly empty and watered down. Some toilets only had a few sheets left of toilet paper and some guests went to get their own supplies. Then a couple of days in we found some unravelled toilet paper in one of the drawers in the kitchen (it was clean toilet paper but just unravelled and a bit scrunched so nothing terrible but just didn't have those lovely finishing touches that many AirBNBs have to make you feel welcome when you arrive). Outside bins were full when we arrived which was tricky for us as we had a baby in nappies and stayed for 4 nights. If you’re renting the place on a Monday or in the lead up to a Monday (and including the Monday) beware that you may not have any bin space when you arrive.
I think if the host is going to make guests feel welcome there are a few things they could do to make this AirBNB a lot better but maybe they don’t have the time or resources to do that… I’m not sure. Response time was sometimes over an hour (even though it was meant to be within an hour). At the start (when booking, the response time was quick) but towards the end of our stay it took longer. I think the host must have been pretty busy. Not the end of the world but just not super host material - that’s ok but it’s good to know in advance.
Other than that it was ok. Had a fantastic view but I think that unless more care is put into ensuring supplies are ample and cleanliness is thorough (which I acknowledge is pretty tough to get right in a house of that size, so I don’t envy the host on that one!). I think the host relies on the size of the place and the view in order to get AirBNB customers in the future.
Overall just want to say thanks for having us. We really enjoyed watching unexpected fireworks over the harbour bridge! That was really special and we wish the host the very best with their future AirBNB endeavours.