Extreme disappointment
Submitted: April 9, 2012
Stayed: January 2012
Our first taste of disappointment greeted us upon our arrival. After 20+ hours of driving from Philadelphia to our destination, we were greeted by a lockbox to which we didn't have the combination to enter the unit. The email we had been sent stipulated that the front door would be left open and the key left on the counter. With the help of the local police, we managed to contact the owner by email about 11/2 hours after our arrival to allow us to gain entry. Although I would describe the picures of the unit as being moderately accurate, I suspect that they were taken quite a while ago. Although the unit was clean, it was rather tired in appearance. Appliances were old. The toaster and coffee maker were barely funtional at best and the toilet seat was broken and required some care when using. The view from the lanai was lovely, but the constant drone of planes flying overhead(direct flight path to Naples airport) along with substantial noise emanating from the boatyard below limited the time we might have enjoyed spending out there. Internet access was available, but wifi was not, so you were tethered to the desk in the bedroom if you wanted to work or surf the web. Since we were committed to being there for a month, the owner told us that we needed to have the place cleaned twice, which we were more than happy to comply with and pay for in advance. Unfortunately, the cleaning person never showed up for the interim cleaning. When I approached the owner for a refund, he ignored my request until I contacted VRBO to intervene on my behalf. We were also told we would have access to the mailbox since I had had our mail forwarded to our temporary address; unfortunately, it took almost 2 weeks to get a key to access the mailbox. I have rented a multitude of homes through VRBO ; this was, by far, the most disappointing experience we have ever had.
Owner's Response: This is the worst tenat that we have ever dealt with as you can see from the other reviews on this site he is singularly disgruntled. He was sent two emails, as is everyone, one of which contained the code to the lock box on the front door which he either forgot or didn't read. The toilet seat was broken while this tenant was in residence and a repair was ordered but we heard nothing further from him. Internet access is urrently a direct connect which is spelled out in our listing and in our rental agreement. The tenant did not tell us about the lack of cleaning until he was ready to depart when it was too late to have it done. We normally do not give refunds of any kind until the cleaning crew reports no damage to us. However, we gave this guy his refund BEFORE he complained to VRBO which we were able to prove. Our cleaner said this tenant left the unit the dirtiest he had ever seen it and charged us 50% more for the cleaning. We have had many renters over the 12 years we've listed with VRBO and these were the absolute worst.
Helpful votes: 5/5
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
No
