Our experience at Audra and Lacey’s place was very different than what other guests have stated in their reviews. Very. We looked at several homes in the area and specifically chose their property because of the positive reviews and because they are listed as a Superhost. Perhaps our experience was an anomaly but, here goes. Reporting only the facts at first of what we found upon entering their home.
I took pictures and sent them to Audra of the following: the bathroom - a used washcloth left and hung over the shower rod, hair, a used dental floss pick, and other debris on the bathroom floor, a filthy shower curtain that looked like it hadn’t ever been washed or replaced, a large wad of dark hair in the tub, and only one towel/washcloth left out for our stay (there were two of us). Audra explained where we should look for more towels and after searching in a living room dresser unit, we did find them.
Images sent to her from the kitchen - the Keurig coffee maker, an older model, had splattered coffee left on the outside of the container and the lid that one removes to pour water in the unit had black mold spots inside of it. No sugar or cream for guests who use it in their coffee, so if you stay here, you better like your coffee black. We have stayed at several other Airbnb's throughout our travels and by comparison, this was not really a “working” kitchen where one could make a meal if you brought your own food (which we did, as we were going to make a light breakfast the following morning until we saw the kitchen). There wasn’t a wine key, spices for cooking, or any simple homey touches to make you feel welcomed. Most places leave bottled water and other minor condiments for traveling guests. We are not expecting hosts to stock their refrigerators full for us, but something other than butter would have been welcomed. That was all that was in the fridge, butter.
The floor in the kitchen and living room rug didn’t look like they had been vacuumed. The end tables had little pieces of something, not sure what was left on them. If you stay here, be aware that the beds for sleeping are upstairs in a second floor loft and the bathroom is on the first floor, down a steep set of stairs. If you must use the bathroom in the middle of the night, be careful going down those stairs.
I texted Audra with images of all of this. She explained how very sorry she was and stated she was sick. She could not get over to the property to do a walk through before our arrival. I expressed it was a shame that Lacey could not have covered for her while she was ill. Audra offered to have her cleaning person come over – right then and there. We had just unloaded our belongings and declined her offer as it meant we would have needed to pack up our items and put them back in our vehicle (for our own piece of mind) while the cleaning person was in the home during our stay. After having driven six hours from a family funeral, we just wanted a clean environment to relax in before driving another 6 hours the next morning to go home. Audra explained a “helper” was sent to do the cleaning as her regular cleaning person had covid. Honestly, it seemed as if the helper didn’t clean from the previous guests who stayed there. Audra offered to refund the cleaning fee (which she did) and again asked if the cleaner could come at 9 am the next morning. Audra apologized several times and really did try to make it better. But, we would not have been comfortable with a cleaning person in the home while we were still there so we declined her offer again. Audra also offered and insisted on paying for our dinner that night. I sent her a copy of our paid dinner receipt, but as I am writing this review, we have not yet been reimbursed.
Now – how do we feel about this? Utterly grossed out, disgusted and disappointed. We had just stayed at two other Airbnb's during our travels and they were impeccable, gorgeous, clean, had items left for guests that made an impression and you truly felt comfortable and at home: an inexpensive box of crackers, a bag of Chex mix, water bottles and simple condiments in the fridge, and mini chocolates were left for us upon our arrive to these other properties. Properties we highly recommended in our reviews and would be grateful to stay at again.
Unfortunately, we cannot recommend Audra and Lacey’s place even though Audra appeared regretful and apologized. The property was filthy and all the “nice-ities” were missing in this house.
When you are in this type of business, if customer service is truly your priority, then when you have taken ill, you must have a backup plan to ensure your property is ready for guests to stay in, or else do not advertise your home as available on Airbnb. If your cleaning person has covid, and the “helper” is not yet properly trained to clean, do not advertise your home as available on Airbnb. Do not offer to pay for a guests’ meal, and then not follow through.
It is for the above mentioned reasons, that we cannot recommend staying at Audra and Lacey’s.