I'll start with the most useful information I have: this apartment is part of an actual hotel called the Hollywood Costa Beach Resort. The units that this Airbnb owner owns within it end up being very similarly priced to the actual hotel prices after you consider the cleaning fees, taxes, and resort fees that still must be paid even if you go through Airbnb. I highly recommend booking directly with this hotel, and not through this owner.
I have never left a bad review for anything, and I've traveled all over the country staying in all types of places. Unfortunately, this one is well deserved. I'll be as brief as possible.
Weeks prior to my trip I booked this specific room with Marcos because it explicitly stated that it had 5 beds and a washer/dryer. Some of my family from Florida drove down to stay with me here, as well as some friends who were traveling at the time. I needed a minimum of 5 beds to accommodate, and a washer dryer for my friends who hadn't had a chance to use one in their travels. We checked into the room and noticed that there was one king size bed, one pull out couch in the living room and one next to the kitchen. No washer/dryer. The photos also did not match what I had paid for.
I tried contacting the host about it, with no response. So I contacted Airbnb support who then got in touch with Marcos. The support team called me back and told me this- "The owner said that yes, he did violate Airbnb's policy by giving you a different room. He said he switched it last minute because a family of 8 who were currently staying in the room the I specifically booked, wanted to stay longer and so he allowed them to stay in that room and moved me to this one instead. It has less beds but a better view, so he figured that would compensate for fewer beds". The owner said that he thought we were a group of two adults and two children. Yet, when I booked this room I was required to fill out all SIX of my guests names and emails. Clearly 6 adults.
So, what was the solution now that I had 6 people who do not all sleep together, and 3 beds?
Airbnb said the host offered me a 10% discount on the base fee (so, not included the insane cleaning fee I had to pay) which amounted to a whooping $56.00. The total of this booking with fees mind you was $996.00. Or, they would give me a full refund if we decided NOT to stay there. At this point it was 6pm and I had my entire family with me in this tiny space. The Airbnb support person I spoke with attempted to find a room to accommodate 6 people and admitted that he could not find anything for us, so we were on our own or we could take the $56.00 and cram in to the small room.
Some of my guests had to book an extra rooms elsewhere, amounting to hundreds of dollars. The others had to go buy an air mattress to sleep on. Oh and the "better view"? It was the highway, a strip of restaurants, and behind it the intercostal. It might have been nice if it weren't for the loud noises of cars blasting music and honking all night. On top of that, the remotes did not turn the TV on and when I asked him for help, he simply said he lived too far away and couldn't do anything.
This entire experience was seriously disappointing. And the solution of both the host and Airbnb's support team was a slap in the face. This man, Marcos, clearly knew he would make more money booking that family of 8 for extra time than booking mine for a shorter period of time. He did not even attempt to communicate this "last minute change" with me, so it had to be an unpleasant surprise when we all walked in.
I'm all for making the best of a bad situation and stepping back to appreciate the good things rather than focus on the bad. And so usually, I wouldn't even consider wasting my time and energy with a bad review of anything. However, the handling of this situation by the owner and the company was not only morally wrong, but also an admitted direct violation of contract. And the consequences for that violation? Yea, that was to give me $56. I paid the real consequences but spending hundreds of extra dollars and hours on my family vacation time attempting to right this very wrong situation. Totally unacceptable. I'd advise you book with anyone else.