I’m quite disappointed in this Airbnb home and the host. From the beginning I had my frustrations with the host due to terrible communication. It seems as though she doesn’t actually read her messages. She would reply in a timely manner, however the questions I asked had to be repeated up to 3 or 4 times before I got an answer and I also had informed her of my estimated time of arrival just to have her next message to me request that I please inform her of what time I was anticipating to check in. My initial inquiry was regarding possible accommodations for my toddler (high chair, pack and play, etc.)...for any parents out there, the answer is no.
Upon arrival everything seemed fine. I’m from the Portland area so I was already aware of the location but people who aren’t familiar with Portland would probably be disappointed to find out that it’s not as centrally located as the listing implies. More so on the outer edge of an up and coming area, and not the nicest or most secure neighborhood. The inside of this home is just average, which is fine, but the photos make it seem quite a bit more “charming”. It was clean for the most part. The laundry area was absolutely disgusting and there’s no chance I would consider putting my clothes in machines made to clean them yet the area around the machines looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in ages. For me and my family, one of the biggest advantages to vacation rentals vs. hotels is the ability to prepare our own food. It’s a big relief for the travel budget to do so. In this Airbnb, I would’ve been better off eating out for every meal because there aren’t basics such as oil or seasonings. If there are, I’d have no clue where to find them because I searched the kitchen. Also, very limited cookware. The stay was okay — the home served its purpose, neighbors seem decent, not welcoming but not threatening, not a spotless home but clean enough for the most part. It took about an hour for me to figure out which remote to use to control the television and there wasn’t any instruction left for us. Anyone booking this place and looking forward to soaking in the tub or bathing children, plan on bringing your own drain stopper or else the tub will be of no use to you, there wasn’t one provided. Also worth mentioning, luckily we didn’t have an overwhelming need for more than one bedroom but if we had it would’ve been chaos due to the fact that 3 of the 4 bedrooms are located upstairs and the second story of this home retains heat even throughout the evening/late night hours. The fans provided aren’t very useful and all of the unit’s windows are abnormally small, which hinders natural air flow.
After checking out, I received a request for an charge of $250 due to “damages which required additional, professional cleaning”. The two reasons the host gave were “traces of smoking in the unit” and “stains on the sofa”. I’m thankful the host didn’t also add a charge due to a late check out because my son lost his favorite stuffed animal and we didn’t vacate the unit until after the housekeeper got there. We were there for close to an extra hour. Check out is 11 a.m., housekeeper arrived at 11:30, we left at 11:40, and I received this request at 1:00 p.m. What disturbs me the most about this timeline is that I assume nobody would submit such request until the routine cleaning/additional professional cleaning were completed and if that’s the case, it took roughly one hour for a 4 bedroom home to be completely cleaned and sanitized for the next guests. Plus additional cleaning for damages...it’s hard to believe professional cleaning for white upholstery due to said “stains” wouldn’t take longer than an hour to acquire and complete. The traces of smoking in the unit were 1. Tobacco on the floor around the garbage can and 2. “Smoking ashes on the back of the toilet”. My boyfriend’s cigar broke in his luggage and we attempted to gather the tobacco out of his luggage and dispose of it in the indoor trash can but obviously some of it didn’t make it’s way into the trash. The suspected “smoking ashes” discovered were actually ashes left from ear candles we tested the night before, just for fun! The “stains” left on the already dingy sofa were two small spots where my son had touched the sofa after squishing a banana between his fingers that same morning. Normally I wouldn’t allow my child to roam freely with foods but I also tend not to hover over my child holding a nearly colorless fruit which I have managed to remove from a wide range of surfaces without any professional help.
Overall, the stay was fine but I prefer and expected much better, especially for the price I paid. Disappointed is an understatement.