We asked to arrive at 1pm instead of 3pm and were given no flexibility. We arrived at 3pm and the cleaning wasn’t done. It was more than three hours before she finished (even then, it was superficially cleaned at best). We stored luggage on the deck and cleaned a spot on the counter for food while we waited outside for access. We dealt with animal hair everywhere and had to clean throughout our stay. The appliances had food residue in or on most of them, requiring cleaning before use. The grill was filthy and required significant effort to clean. There was dirty laundry in the washing machine.
Needs attention to details such as dead batteries in remotes and wall clocks, burnt out light bulbs and something other than coffee mugs to drink from.
The property has great potential, but failed to deliver on many different levels. The owner did contact us and offered to refund the cleaning fee, but later rescinded the offer. We were told part of the cleaning routine is to fill all the propane tanks, which was not done. The owner provided no solution to the fact that 5 of the 6 tanks were empty 3 days into a 6 day stay. We were offered an apology, but no option other than hauling and paying for the tank exchanges ourselves. We were told she doesn’t supply an endless supply of propane. No reasonable guest expects an endless supply of propane. Full tanks at the beginning of the stay, however, is a reasonable expectation.
The response from the owner for not having the property cleaned well was answered with it being our responsibility to accommodate the house cleaner’s personal problems and be more sympathetic. We were told this was the second time this individual cleaned the property and we were sympathetic, as we invited her to stay for dinner since she was still there well past the point that we all needed something to eat and had to get dinner started. The house cleaner also told us she asked the owner to refund our cleaning fee.
We’ve rented homes all over the U.S. and even abroad with great results. The point of renting a home rather than staying in a hotel is to have a more intimate experience. But, the expectations of cleanliness and access to amenities are still important and need to be delivered. Occasionally we get one that falls short, such as this one did. Hopefully, the property owner can take this review constructively to improve the experience for guests in the future rather than make excuses for not delivering for us during our stay.