It was raining when we arrived, and there are water leaks from the top floor balcony into the living room area and onto the couch. A large puddle of water and rapid drip-dripping was the first thing we saw. It is obvious that this has been an issue in the past, and not repaired, as there is visible old water damage and rotted wood and paint in the areas the water comes in. Issue one.
Next- how run-down the place is. The back slider won’t close, or lock- there’s a pvc pipe you have to jam into the track to secure it. Chipped paint everywhere, kitchen sink cracking and brown-stained, shower handles that leak with hard water stains dripping down the shower wall. Master bath toilet was knocked off the seal, so it smelled like raw sewage for awhile until I pushed the toilet back into place and we aired it out. I could go on, and I wish I could post pictures with this review, but needless to say this place is NOT what is represented in the VRBO listing.
Next up is the lack of cleanliness of the place. Dishes still dirty. Kitchen counter sticky. Water spots on the faucets and bathroom counters. Dirty handrails by the stairs- we ran a sponge along the rail, and the white sponge turned black with gunk. When we took off our shoes, we could feel grit and sand and dirt on the floors. Again, I wish I could post pictures, but the whole place just felt dirty. They need new cleaners.
Lastly, the communication with the owner. I understand that damage and leaks can’t be predicted (although these leaks are obviously old and haven’t been fixed), but when I spoke with owner, instead of being apologetic she was more worried about a bad review, and just wanted to cancel our trip in VRBO and pass me off to her property manager on the island. I was not a valued customer having a serious issue in her home. I even sent pictures of the leak to try and help, and still never got an “I’m sorry this happened”, or anything. We had to stay two nights until we could find another place, as the only other property her manager had open was much smaller, only 1 bathroom, no view, etc., but that’s not her fault, there just weren’t any other options as it was last minute and spring break. She kept the FULL amount for the nights we stayed. I asked her why no discount after all of the above, and her reply was “I have refunded the amount that I have to refund.” I asked her if she truly thought that was fair after how our family vacation went in her property, and no response. Crickets