My wife and I were very disappointed with our stay at this property in Laguna Niguel. I would not recommend this condo; it should be removed from Airbnb. We only stayed three nights then could not stand it any longer so we booked a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Irvine. Upon entering the condo, we noticed the place smelled. We found the property to be very dirty. Countertops had dirt and grit and had not been wiped or cleaned prior to our arrival. Toilets had not been cleaned and had dirt and hair on the tops of the bowls and rims. Bathroom countertops had not been cleaned and had dirt, hair, and grit. When we tried to clean the area with wipes, they came away with quite a bit of black stuff and dirt.
There was mold in the master bathroom’s shower. This concerned us very much. The sheets for the master bed were washed and folded on the bed, but when we made the bed we found the sheets were stained and made of a very cheap, thin material. We did not use the second bedroom with a twin bed as it was only the two of us. The towels and washcloths were very old and grey from long-term use and multiple washings (in other words, not white anymore); one washcloth even had very dark stains. It made us uncomfortable to use them.
The shower wand in the master bath was lying on the floor of the shower and I thought it must have fallen. When I put the wand in the holder it was dripping. Attempting to turn the hot and cold faucets off securely did not stop the dripping and this was the reason the shower wand was left on the floor of the shower (otherwise when sleeping you would hear the constant drip).
The condo only had a toaster oven and no microwave. The toaster oven was dirty. The coffee pot was a very old drip type with no cup markings on the carafe or water reservoir to tell you how may cups of water for filling so it made it difficult to determine how much coffee (scoops) to put into the filter. There was spilled and crusted food on the shelves of the refrigerator.
On Wednesday morning we got up early and washed the sheets and towels as instructed (this took over two hours to wash and dry, so we made sure to get up early to complete this task). We mopped the floors (the mop we found was filthy). When I went to vacuum the carpets, I found the filter was completely clogged and caked with dirt. I cannot imagine how this vacuum could have picked up any dirt from the carpets. For a filter to be clogged and caked this severely must have been from neglect over a matter of months. The connecting hose from the vacuum head to the filter was duct taped. I cleaned the filter as best I could between each of the pleats.
We just could not stay in this condo, so we left early and reserved a room at the Hilton Garden Inn at John Wayne Airport. This added an extra $300 on top of the $480 we paid for four nights in the condo. The host responded to our review stating that we were “scammers”. This was my 67th birthday. I am a professional engineer and very responsible and very clean. We keep our home immaculate.
More info and full photo gallery to be updated after our stay.
http://42northtech.com/wp/airbnb-experiences/
We are currently in our first Airbnb rental that the host has no concept of the expectation of “clean” means. I could go into a long diatribe of what we are experiencing but I will not except to say we have spent money on cleaning supplies and spent over two hours cleaning the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, floors, and carpets, along with anything else we sit on or touch.
I do realize that the host has charged a meager daily rate. This host is also charging a cleaning fee.
They do have two reviews so far from a couple of months previous, that I am suspect of since they both say how clean the rental is.
Messages with the host after arriving:
Hello J
Do you know if a cleaning crew came before we got here? I am very disappointed in how much we will have to clean the bathrooms and kitchen before we are comfortable staying here. The stove, fridge, and microwave are really full of grease, food and other things.
Last Wednesday at 8:53 PM
Hello M,
We cleaned the entire home this morning. I am sorry that it is not to your satisfaction. This is our home and we have great reviews from other guests on how clean it has been kept. As this is our primary residence it is not going to be perfectly clean.
The food in the fridge is ours. Per the information you received about the home the food is our personal food. You are welcome to use our spices in moderation if you wish.
We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay. Please review the welcome information you received this morning and let us know if you have any more questions.
Last Wednesday at 9:07 PM · J.
I understand the food is theirs and I have no problem with that. It is the filthy fridge along with the rest of the apartment that is the problem. I am not the spic and span cleanest person in the world, but I would not ever feel good living like this or ever have another person know that I lived like this and most of all not rent my primary residence on any rental site when it is this gross.
You should have walked straight out the moment you had issues. Airbnb would have looked after you. As a “professional engineer” you should have read how Airbnb works.
I hope you left an honest review to warn potential future guests! It’s a recurrent and growing issue at Airbnb: professional rental companies maximise profits whilst providing little or no standards in return.
Welcome to the shady, unregulated world of Airbnb…….