Use Caution
Review Submitted: December 4, 2008
Date of Stay: November 2008
There were way too many things the owner left out in the posting. First the posting says "weekly" stays result in a utility charge, that is not the case, the owners stated we used more energy than normal and they took it out of our security deposit.
Next, when we called to say we were close to the rental we were told that we were supposed to arrive the next day, that was not correct based on our e-mail confirmation and the owners had to scramble for hours to clean the place while we unpacked. Lucky the place wasn't double booked though.
Next, the listing does not show that they charge for heating the pool, I received our rental contract 3 weeks before arrival but I booked over two months out. This was the first I heard about the pool heat which was extremely expensive for three days. I also received the rules of the house which are lengthy and I recommend reviewing them before booking.
Next, the pool and spa were not working correctly, it took us more hours than it was worth to heat up the spa each evening.
Next, the owners live on the property which is not disclosed, after our trip they complained that we left main lights on, turned on the heat and so forth.
The item that dropped the review down to poor was the owners personal attacks via e-mail to support them taking a portion of the security deposit. If it weren't for all of our problems with the booking, extra (undisclosed) charges, pool and spa problems as well as onsite owners then the review would have been much better. This place may work out well for a small group or couple but think twice about booking here.
On to a better note:
Napa and Sonoma were beautiful and we had a great time with our group for my wife's 40th birthday party. Don't forget a wine tasting tour by limo as that was the highlight of our trip.
Owner's Response: After we waived his util. fee, they used the heat and A/C at the same time, with doors flung open, in Nov. They left spa heat, jets, pool light show, and house lights on overnight, every night, against the rental contract. As for the pool, the heat is optional, because of the high cost, and I personally discussed this with him months ago, at time of booking. He said he wanted to "wait and decide later if he wanted to pay extra to heat the pool." He forgot to tell the group this, who then blamed us for "not telling them." After arrival, he decided he DID want the pool heat. He balked at the price, so what did we do? We gave it to him for FREE (he leaves that out). How is free "very expensive?" The spa worked perfectly, until he tried to heat the pool, which you can't heat at the same time. It messed up the entire system, which still worked, but no longer by remote control. To heat both, you need to control it at the box. We even went out and bought them a $20 cheesecake. He said they couldn't be bothered to turn the spa off at the control box, so they left it running all night, along with jets, pool lights, etc. They also said it would take a "techie" to not run AC and heat at the same time in different rooms (you just push one button on the wall), with the doors open. As for "living on site" (not in the villa) our ads clearly state "onsite caretakers in separate caretakers' cottage w/sep. entrance and approach, nights only." This was discussed with him at booking. Again, it appears he forgot to tell his friends. We were there only late at night; they never saw us, since we don't use the house. We greatly respect our guests privacy. He knew all of this at booking; all of this is because after agreeing to waive his fees, which we did, on condition he not abuse the utilities, and waiving the pool heat fee, which we DID, we dared take a whopping fifty dollars out of his deposit to pay for air-conditioning the outdoors in Nov. at night. I wrote a polite email explaining, and got an angry attack back. It was in response to HIS rudeness that he got an honest, blow-by-blow acct. of his group's behavior. He then sicced his friends on us. He sent me an expletive-filled email, calling me an obscenity. He is angry because we told him we would not accept him back. We waived all extra fees, and this was our thanks. Please read the reviews of all the other happy renters, who had no such problems, both here and on VRBO, "think green," and happy travels!
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Helpful votes: 6/8
