Thanksgiving stay
Submitted: December 18, 2010
Stayed: November 2010
It was a shock to enter this house. The place was dirty: sunflower seeds strewn on the floor between the sofa and coffee table, dirty dishes in the dishwasher, fan in MB broken and lightbulb burned out, carpet so spotted I didn't even want the dog to walk on it. Before renting the home, I informed the owner I would be doing lots of pre-Thanksgiving cooking (our son and daughter in law live on James Island) and asked several times if the kitchen was equipped. He assured me it was. How wrong could he be? Very.
Thank goodness I brought some casserole dishes and mixing bowls with me. There were no cleaning supplies: no mop,no bucket, no sponges, no Mr. Clean, no nothing. We called the owner within hours of arriving and gave him a list of what the house needed.....including towels. There were just enough towels for 4 people (we were 4 staying in the house) and two of those threadbare. No dish towels no dish clothes, no rags. The next day the owner brought us everything on the list, but it was then up to me to clean the bathrooms and try to vacuum the carpet (the bagless vacuum had not been emptied all summer).
Further: the MBR bath's toilet is not properly secured to the floor and shifts around; the vanity in the hall bath is falling apart and that toilet has a tendency to back up. In walking our dog we discovered the neighbors on either side and across the street have recently not been very happy with renters of this house: wedding groups that partied into the wee hours of the morning. (no wonder they looked at us skeptically when we arrived).
On a positive note, I will say the beds were extremely comfortable and the owner did react quickly when confronted with the shortcomings of the home. We certainly will not return to this property.
By the way, even though it is advertised as sleeping six, there are only 4 chairs in the kitchen eating area (no dining area) and only one straightbacked chair that can be taken to the kitchen to increase seating. We had planned to entertain our family at the home on Wednesday before Thanksgiving - house too dirty and just not comfortable for 6 people to eat and enjoy themselves.
Owner's Response: Please read all reviews and not just this one. While this person was difficult I still responded to anything she told me about. She was complimentary in person, but then this? I will attempt to explain-on the kitchen being stocked- it is for normal use (and more now) she even complimeted me on the cookware provided. I did not know what additional cookware she would require so instead of guessing I asked her to call me when she got here with anything needed. She gave me quite a shopping list and I obliged without hesitation.(she called at 10pm-I had items to her by 11am). There were/are cleaning supplies in the garage. Had she asked I could have told her this. On the cleanliness comments. I've always gotten rave reviews on my cleaning lady, but I also know if we had been alerted to her being displeased, my cleaning lady would have gone by in a jiffy (she doesn't live far and neither do I). Communication goes a long way to curing things! She did mention the light in the fan, and it was burned out so I did replace the bulb. I didn't know about the fan itself and she hurried me out of the home before I could check it when doing the bulb ( but I did spot this upon her departure as a screw had fallen out of a blade and was on the floor under the bed, so I put it back in and tightened them all. Also, she didn't mention the toilet to me and upon reading the feedback and investigating, it was loose so I tightened it. (took me 30 seconds). The hall bath vanity is fine. 1 drawer was off its track. Additionally, I have had the home carpets professionally cleaned as there were 2 visible spots, but nothing that should have horrified anyone. Again, had I know she was concerned, I could have done this one morning and everything would have been good to walk on in a couple hours (time for the beach? or shopping). Visitors please know, I will do anything I can to help you have a pleasant stay. Please read all the other reviews. Thank you in advance. Steve
Helpful votes: 6/11
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