1
No Heat in Bedrooms, Bad Smell in Living Room, Terrible Experience
We had a really miserable time in this cabin: the night we spent there, the cabin could not support the two space heaters provided for the bedrooms, which kept overloading the circuits and putting out the electricity. We spent the whole night shivering in all our clothes and felt sick the next morning. After we said we couldn't stay there without heat, and left the next morning, the owner would not refund us for the night without heat AND charged us a cleaning fee. I'm sure it's a fine place when everything goes well, though the living room does smell quite strongly like bad air freshener and gave me a headache. But if anything goes wrong, BEWARE. You will be the one who ends up paying for it. Absolutely the worst rental experience we've ever had on VRBO.
Owner's Response: As you know, there are two sides to every story, and the following explanation will allow you the opportunity to decide who is responsible for the bad experience this guest had. It is understandable that Rita & Chris were extremely cold but they failed to ever use the 2 main heat sources provided in the cabin which were in fact working properly. Instead they chose to go to bed without ever starting a fire and simply forgot entirely about the wall heater. Instead they relied only on the 2 small portable space heaters to heat the entire cabin-not realistic. We use a professional cleaning service, who uses standard cleaning supplies and the odor complaint was not ever discussed previously. In fact, the guest originally stated that my cabin was a “lovely property and they definitely wanted to come back.”
I corresponded with both ladies multiple times prior to their arrival and they stated that they “tend to get cold easily”. I specifically informed them, that the wood stove is the main source of heat, supplemented by living room and bathroom wall heaters. We do provide space heaters but they are not to be relied on as the sole heat source.
The following morning I was notified that the guests were experiencing some problems with the portable space heaters and I was making arrangements for the handyman to stop by. In trying to decipher the extent of any possible problem, I asked if the wall heater was hot. To my dismay the guests admitted that they had forgotten about the wall heater. Further discussion also revealed that they never light a fire in the wood stove. As a direct result of their own actions, and not of the cabin or the owner, the guests were cold.
Lastly, the handyman was unable to get to the cabin within the 46 minutes Rita & Chris allowed between the notification of a problem and their departure. They had booked the cabin for 5 days and because they were unwilling to use the existing capabilities of the cabin, left within 12 hours of their arrival. I was well within my rights to keep their entire payment but chose to only charge them for what they used, as other inquiries were turned away. They threatened this bad review if they didn’t get a full refund, but I believe my actions were fair and hope you understand.
The important thing is, the cabin has been used before and after Rita & Chris’s visit-without incident! I guarantee you that I will do my part to make your stay as comfortable as possible but you must do your part as well.
Helpful votes: 1/3
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