AVOID.
Firstly, I was asked to send a “cleaning deposit” (payable on the day of my booking, outside of VRBO) after I made an inquiry about how many cars could fit on the drive… I had four drivers coming. They then decided that I was having a large party and that there would be mess and canisters.
They hadn’t told me how to get into the initial gate. I tried calling the host but they didn’t respond. I was later told that the woman was rude to my guests trying to get in, when she finally answered the intercom. Once we had settled in, I got a phone call from a woman screaming at me to “get my friend off the counter, it’s not a chair” as one of my friends was sitting on the counter. Her tone was extremely rude and this made me feel as though we were being watched, which made me feel uncomfortable and on edge. They called me at 1am pressuring me for the cleaning deposit, which I felt I had to pay for fear of ruining the day. Once again, VRBO states that payments should not be made outside of their platform.
The upstairs master shower leaked into the living room. When looking at the ceiling around the leak, there is a clear history of water damage. I believe that they have had problems with a leak before and have either painted or replastered over the ceiling without addressing the leak. I put a few towels down as the water was minimal and the cleaners were coming shortly after I left.
On my way home, I got a phone call from a host for a minor issue. She then called back to say that the hallway was flooded. I found this a bit hard to believe as the leak was minimal and if this was the case, they would have mentioned the flooding first. I asked for video evidence, which I have still not received. I was travelling when I got numerous calls, texts and voicemails from different numbers and withheld numbers. This continued to the point of harassment. I was getting calls from people I’d never spoken to and got a call from someone claiming to be Andre but had a totally different voice from the ‘Andre’ I had spoken to previously. They said that everything was fine, I should have put pots down instead of towels, I had no complaints from neighbours and I’d get a 5* review and they’d be happy to have me again. This mirrors the other negative review. They have now charged me for damage to their laminate flooring due to an “unknown solution” . This is a scam, which I will be reporting to Action Fraud.
There is something very strange with these hosts!