Email Sent to House Owner - No Response
Submitted: March 8, 2013
Stayed: February 2013
A note on the door informed us the maid was at another job and we would find the key under the mat. Although we have been at the house many times that is not an acceptable arrangement. There are aspects to any house rental that need to be explained and as it turned out, there were several important deficiencies that needed attention. One of the toilets was not working (the water had been turned off); the gated metal door from the bedroom to the pool could not be opened with the key; we didn’t remember how to open the gas from the propane tank and would have asked a housekeeper; there was no hot water. We called Elmer, who managed to pry open the jaws of the lock on the metal door, cleaned it, making the door operable. He oiled the wheels, enabling the gate to move. He showed us how to open the propane tank to light the gas ( we had brought matches; there were none in the house). The next day we discovered the propane tank was empty so we could not use the stove. There was no charcoal in the house – we managed to use the outside grill by finding a few bits of charcoal. Although Elmer fixed the toilet, we did not realize until after he left that there was no hot water, forcing us to take cold showers until you called on Monday and told us how to turn on the hot water at the hot water tank. Several ceiling lights were out, needing to be replaced. Simply put, these are problems that point to a house that has not been properly prepared for guests.
Ants on the kitchen counters and in the bathrooms have always been a problem, leading us over the years to be very careful about handling food and cleaning up afterwards. The problem now is far worse. After dark the kitchen floor was swarming with large black ants, that also were present in the bedroom. Only by keeping the light in the kitchen on at night were we able to control that problem. In the past we have stored fruit in the oven to keep it safe. That no longer works – a large chunk of a banana was eaten inside the oven, indicating there is now some way into that space. The seal on the door of the refrigerator needs a thorough cleaning - it is filled with mold and the refrigerator interior needed a thorough cleaning. Napkins and place mats in the drawers were dirty from previous use. The water jug was low and quickly ran out. The coffee pot was defective – sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Despite the history of theft, the safes have not been repaired.
Owner's Response: This review was sent, very maliciously, by people who have rented our home for over ten years sometimes staying as long as three or four weeks at a time. I was shocked at this nasty review and I think the main problem was that the maid was not here when they arrived. She had to go somewhere and assumed that since they had been coming for years, they would know what to do. Of course, it was her job to be there and her not being there is inexcusable! She is no longer with us!
As for other things, homes in the tropics sometimes have problems, like an insect nest in a door lock but they just exaggerated everything that happened. She called me and I told her how to turn on the hot water--one simple switch, there was another tank of gas for the stove in the utility room and the leaking toilet was repaired in about an hour.
There were other renters there two weeks earlier and they sent glowing reviews of their stay. They even called me and talked about how much they loved it for over an hour! So, don't believe everything you read. The woman who wrote the ugly review is in her late 70s and maybe her health is failing. I still can't imagine what caused what I thought was a lovely person, to write something so damaging!
But be assured, the house is lovely and always in good shape. In 20 years of renting, this is the first time anyone has written a negative review. Thanks for reading this. Kay Mitchell (owner)
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