We rented this place for a work trip and immediately there were issues. First, the screen door fell down as the slider door was being opened. Ok, no problem, we reported it to be fixed–it happens, no big deal we thought.
But then another bigger issue became apparent. We needed the outdoor space to be COVID-safe since we were a group of 4 from different households and from cities across the US and, with two of us being medical patients, we needed to be extremely cautious. When I wrote to inform of the issue, I let them know that the only reason we booked with them was so we could be safe around others on the patio while working, and that the high risk group needed to be outdoors around others.
So, what happened? Some animal kept urinating outside in the courtyard and defecating on the patio furniture, making the space unusable and also left a highly pungent odor that was offensive to our entire group from anywhere in the backyard. When we first reported it, we received a response that first stated they called a company a few weeks before to remove the odor and so it should have been ok, and then in the following few sentences the message stated that nobody ever reported it or had a problem before. Clearly they knew the issue existed if they hired a company to try to cure the issue. And clearly the issue was ongoing as they then further stated that they had also used other non-commercial sprays as directed by the hired company to further attempt to cure.
They then "kindly" asked us to leave and find another place since their place was "not medical grade" and if the smell was offensive to the patients due to medical issues, we should go. Everyone on our team could not stand to breathe in the disgusting odor; it had nothing to do with medical issues. Not only were they trying to avoid fixing the issue, they tried to use our mentioned medical issues as an excuse to get us out. We only mentioned that patients were there to point out WHY we booked their place and how much the smell was an inconvenience to our operations and livelihoods while there. We quickly let them know that their message was disappointing and unusual, and that we should not be the ones burdened with trying to find another place and then move our equipment just because they have an issue they cannot seem to fix. They then kept trying to reach us to ask if there was anything they could do to make our stay better. We were busy working and had a lot of work on our plates and did not further respond.
They had someone come and hose down the backyard area with water where the puddle of urine was, but each day a new urine puddle would appear, so clearly an animal of some type was misplaying/urinating to mark its territory during the night. We have pictures, each date-stamped of the new puddles every morning. Each day it would return, and we could not sit outside to eat, so we lost work time by having to eat and moderate Zoom sessions in our rooms and not in a group. Besides the grotesque order, the entire issue was disruptive, and just plain nasty and unhygienic. We had to move the patio furniture away from the door so the smell would not seep into the house.
Additionally, we were instructed to bring out the trash bins to the street on Sunday to help the trash process and we agreed when we checked in. But when we arrived, the trash bins outside were completely full from other people's garbage, recycling, and compost items. We could not even move the bins because they were so heavy. We ended up using trash bags to separate our own trash and left with our trash bags to dispose of as we checked out because we could not fit them in their bins and we were not exerting ourselves to move full, heavy bins to which we did not contribute. Clearly nobody was taking out the trash for a long time.
They had some guy come onto the property to check the garbage the evening before we left and he could have brought them out, but he did not. He looked inside the bins and walked around the backyard and then left. They did not inform us that a man was coming onto he property and we felt uncomfortable as we did not know if we had a security issue when we saw him. They should inform guests each and every time people need to come on the property; that last visit was weird and seemed unnecessary, as if they were checking on us and what we were doing. That is also just speculation, as we are not sure why they were there.
The house was organized and in an orderly fashion when we arrived, but clean wouldn't be the adjective used to describe it. The carpets in the bedrooms are stained and the refrigerator leaked so much water that the food we put in it spoiled because it got soaked, and so it smelled foul. I would not stay there again nor recommend.
We took a video of how clean and orderly we left the place, and to record that we took out our trash bags with us, just in case they make a retaliatory review. That is how uncomfortable they made us, that we felt we needed to do that. We have never needed to do that in any other stay booked.