Technically, this is a review of Katherine's other property "The Zen Place @ Bayview #3," which is what we were shifted to the day of our arrival (even though I had made the booking well over two months in advance). Both places are at the same location. Regardless, the Airbnb listing for the place we were shifted to is not accurate, and the place was not clean.
We never gave approval to be swapped locations and the host only requested the change reservation at 10:36pm on the night of the arrival (we arrived at the location at approximately 12am that morning).
At the surface, "The Zen Place" looks good. However upon closer inspection, it is clear the place needs a deep clean. We found many strands and bunches of hair in the closets, sink, wardrobes. The night we arrived there was a live spider with cobweb I had to remove. The kitchen was not clean (toaster had crumbs in the catcher, microwave looked like it had some sort of mold or grease, and the top of the fridge was extremely dusty). The bedside table had rings of dried condensation from cups. The floor was also extremely unclean, and our feet were dirty from walking around the house.
Additionally, both listings mention that there is a washer and dryer nearby. What the host fails to mention is that (1) the washer and dryer are in a different part of the encompassing complex, and (2) it costs $1.50 in quarters to operate both machines. The description in the listing seems intentionally misleading.
These three concerns led us to leave the Airbnb after one night of stay (originally planned five nights). Perhaps the worst part of the experience was Katherine's unprofessionalism. After expressing my doubts to her about this new listing we were shifted to, she got defensive and asked why we cared so much about the cleanliness and washer/dryer. One of her replies included "wonder[ing] how long you have been keeping your soiled clothes because you are only staying for 5 days and first think you look for is our laundry area." Some context: this trip was the second leg of a multi-trip honeymoon, and as such I specifically booked for an airbnb with the purpose of washing our clothes after the first leg. Regardless, these details are none of her business, and to insinuate that we had brought dirty clothes on purpose is extremely unprofessional. Update your listing to mention that the washer/dryer costs $3 total and is NOT located the apartment!
She continued neglect the main issues (part of which was cleanliness and being moved places), rather than attempting to address them. Instead, she tried to convince us that a hotel is a worse experience: "You should stay in hotels where everybody breathe in the same exhaust. Our place is clean and safe. You may open the windows for fresh air trees... we have a 70inch smart tv in the unit. You don't get that in other places where you would have stayed especially if you're only paying $79 per night." We felt that she was grasping at straws. There were other messages she sent which came across as rude.
We ended up moving to a hotel for the remainder of our stay, and obtaining a refund for the remaining four nights (after escalating the issue to Airbnb). The cost of the hotel worked out to be similar in price and a much nicer experience (with a TV!), contrary to what she had stated.