A Lousy Aruba Trip !
Review Submitted: April 22, 2009
Date of Stay: December 2008
This year we decided to do a trial retirement in Aruba, so we rented a home in Tierra del Sol.
When we arrived the fridge was not working properly and would not keep anything cold. Finally after several calls to the owner of the property, they ordered a new one but not before trying to repair the old one first. Due to the fact that this problem was occurring during the Christmas holiday period, the process as a whole took a couple of weeks. Mean while we ate in restaurants during that time.
We also had trouble with the dishwasher for several weeks on end and could not use it neither. Water kept coming out the front of the door and going all over the kitchen floor.
Then the toilet in the downstairs washroom kept plugging up and we had to get 3 different sewer guys in there to try to fix it. The toilet was all plugged up from tree roots in the front yard. Also all the parts inside were old and leaking, needing to be replaced.
The internet worked fine but there was no way that I could get my Vonage telephone to work, which was a must. Otherwise they would charge me $3.00 a minute for using their telephone. (we used about 2000 minutes during the time we stayed in Aruba.) To avoid this we called in a computer guy, bought all new equipment and set it up on a new router.
Next the upstairs toilet started backing up together with the downstairs toilet and soon the entire main floor of the house was full of raw sewage. At this point we called the owners and they moved us to another property. We ended up being there for 3 days before we came back. Well that was nonsense because no sooner did we get back and the sewers backed up all over again. The sewer line was joined to the neighbours house and they were all plugged up with tree roots. This problem was not resolved quickly and took a few weeks to complete. During this time we and our guests had to shower outside daily with a hose.
In short, this turned out to be a lousy trip for us.
When we approached the owner asking for a refund of
at least one weeks stay - they refused to give us any money back at all. (hence this warning letter. )
The moral of the story is this ... watch out if you intend on renting this particular property as if it were a car, it would called a lemon!
Wayne
Owner's Response: To my prospective renters, I offer this response. I had left the property 4 days before the renter arrived and there were no problems. I had made this trip to ensure that everything was in order. The renter had inspected my property twice, thoroughly at his leisure, before signing the rental agreement.
The refrigerator problem was reported just before Christmas and a repair man was located and dispatched, a difficult task on Aruba during holiday season as the island goes on a two week vacation. The replacement part was not on the island so a new fridge was ordered and installed to resolve this problem in an expediant manner.
Every effort possible was made to repair the sewer and the problem could not be located on my line. The problem was actually caused by the neighbour, not my home, and the repair was under her control. The renter was relocated at my expense to another home for 3 days at a cost much higher than he was paying. The house was cleaned and sanitized after one day but the renter elected to stay for 3.
With respect to the the internet, it worked fine for its purpose, email access, internet surfing but had not been tested for Voneage. The renter installed his own equipment, which he agreed to pay for, and I had to reconfigure the service when I arrived last week as what had been done did not allow me to contact my clients. (It is the phone company that charges $3.00 per minute for international calls, not me).
The renter received excellent response to his concerns as can best be arranged in Aruba. I have had several renters in this home via this site and have had no complaints. This renter was long term (3 months) and had several visitors during that time for which there was no additional charge.
I encountered no problems with the dishwasher when I was there after his departure but a resolution to this problem is continuing and the problem will be corrected once it is located..
The remaining problems relating to my home were normal "wear and tear" and were resolved in an appropriate manner where control was in my hands. The renter could have left my home at anytime at which point any unused payments would have been refunded. He did not, and his request was received after he left the property. If I did give him a refund, he would not refer future visitors and would write this review. My home is an excellent vacation value and I did not feel I needed to be "threatened" in order to obtain future customers.
Pat
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