Within five minutes of us booking this unit for a 4-day weekend, we received a message from the owner apologizing that they double booked the unit for our first night. We decided to cancel and find an alternate home to rent. Unfortunately, we could not find anything and ended up re-booking for the three available days. After 36 days, five phone calls to vrbo totaling about 130 minutes of my time, an online chat with a vrbo agent and a LOT of stress, we finally received our full refund from the first booking. It was confirmed that the holdup on our refund was due to the owner not initiating it.
Per the owner, we would be able to check-in at 3pm. At 3:05 I messaged the owner asking for our check-in information. At 3:16 I received a reply with the code for the door. I then received a separate message from the owner telling me that as soon as we arrive, we must go to the refrigerator to read their list of rules and that their review of us would depend on how well we followed those rules. We have been renting through vrbo for over 12 years, multiple rentals per year and I’m being threatened with a bad review?
The rules. Some of the other reviews have already talked about them. To repeat, $25 to use their BBQ is absolutely ridiculous. Thermostat must stay at 72 degrees so if you have hot flashes, maybe don’t book here. The home is practically located in a desert and 72 degrees inside can be quite stuffy and warm when it’s in the 90’s outside especially when there are no fans or ceiling fans. We went and bought a couple fans to help circulate the air.
Accommodations. Very nice house, very clean, very well taken care of. Dishes and linens are all new and of good quality. No decorations, or games or anything to make it feel like a welcoming place for a family to take a vacation. No coasters or end tables or anywhere to set your drinks in the living room. Only one chair on the back patio. No potholders or can opener in the kitchen.
On our drive home, I sent a message to the owner to thank them for sharing their home with us. Their reply? They wanted to know how many people we had stay there and why all four of the beds were used and stripped. I wish I would have thought fast enough with a more clever response but it simply boils down to being none of their damn business why all of the beds were used! With the ring on the doorbell and cameras everywhere, it’s not like they didn’t already know how many people were there the entire time!