I had problems with this rental from the moment I booked. The Host, Shelley, was very quick to message me claiming my payment didn’t go though, even though I received multiple emails from Vrbo saying it was booked, paid and confirmed. So I cancelled the charge and payed with a different card.
The day of arrival I had not received ANY information about how to access the unit.
I had received Emails from 3 different platforms; Vrbo confirming my stay, Shelley’s personal email, and a rental agreement from her business “Stardust Retreat”, however no information regarding how to access the rental.
After 8 hours and SIX possible channels of communication we had arrived and still had no code. I was on the verge of tears as me, my child, and partner had no way of accessing the unit. I noticed the downstairs unit had a renter in it and had to knock on their door, disturbing their stay, to see if they could possibly help me.
To my surprise they had also experienced code issues upon arrival and were extremely discouraged to how Shelley had treated them when their code didn’t work. Luckily they had an emergency code and we’re able to help get me and my family into our unit for the night.
At 1:00am I received an email from Shelley saying “the code was sent to you yesterday.”but still didn’t provide it.
I had 5 people helping me double check spam, trash and inbox folders and nothing regarding a code was sent from Vrbo, Shelley herself, or from “Stardust Retreat.” I’m unsure why there are so many channels to begin with and not all through the Vrbo App…
At 1:45 am I replied expressing that I STILL didn’t have the access code. The following day she sent me the code, emailed through a different channel.
She refuses to take any form of responsibility for this discrepancy and has been extremely difficult to work with. In fact I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced such lack of business etiquette in all of my life.
After telling my experience to several locals they confirmed how difficult she is to work with.
It’s really quite unfortunate because the rental itself is nice but I’ll never book here again due to lack of accessibility, help, accountability or remorse from the Host.
On top of it she is now attempting to charge me “damages” charges. As an ethical human I literally left the rental cleaner than I found it. I would appreciate a full refund and apology but just a refund will do.