First off, the 5 star elements: The location is amazing. As others have said, LBTS is totally walkable. Beach, shops, restaurants… all within easy range. This studio apt has all the basics, it’s cute and functional, and comes with beach towels, chairs, and umbrellas (so nice!).
Unfortunately, I had to lower my overall rating due to a few issues: first off, the stove was not clean when I arrived, and really didn’t seem like it had been cleaned for some time (unless the guests before me were absolute monsters). All four burner drip trays were caked with grease and burned bits of food. I took photos and sent them to the host, before cleaning the worst of it myself so I could use the stove without stinking up the place. Some of the dishes were also not clean; I guess that’s always a risk unless housekeeping sorts through them one-by-one on the shelf. Not a huge deal, and something I’ve encountered at least once before in an AirBnB stay.
The bigger issue? Starting on Day 2, I had way too many encounters with Palmetto bugs for my comfort. After I’d killed the first 3 in less than 12 hours, I alerted the hosts, who assured me that all their properties are treated monthly, and also passed on my concerns to their pest control company. I later received a message that the pest control company would be coming by for treatment (I never saw anyone, but I was at the beach for a few hours in the afternoon). Unfortunately, treatments or no, I continued to encounter (and kill) cockroaches up to my departure on Day 5.
Lastly, I found the laundry room to be inaccessible during my stay thanks to a locked door. The hosts advised me that they would need to send maintenance over to unlock it (I was told should not have been locked). I asked to be notified when the door had been unlocked, as I didn’t want to spend my day waiting around, and the host agreed. However, I was never notified, and only discovered the door unlocked late that evening when I still hadn’t heard anything and decided to try it again. So I wasn’t able to do my laundry.
None of these were absolute dealbreakers for me—I still hugely enjoyed my time in LBTS—but they could be for someone else.