The site was as listed - very spacious, in good neighborhood, etc. - but we had a terrible experience after we entered property and ultimately did not stay there.
When we entered at 4 pm there was an overwhelming smell of air freshener, due to air fresheners plugged into outlets in each room. The scent was very strong and noxious. We opened all the windows and left to pick up other members of our group and to get dinner, and arrived back at 8 pm hoping the smell would be gone. But the whole house still reared of it and it was intolerable, especially for one of our party who had a severe reaction to it.
Immediately wrote to owner explaining we couldn’t stay and would have to leave and find other accommodations, and that we did not touch towels or bedding or anything else in the house.Two hours later he wrote back, apologized for our bad experience, acknowledged he should have unplugged the air fresheners, checked the property earlier and directed the cleaners not to use strong “chemicals” in the future.
We requested to be reimbursed since we couldn’t actually stay, but despite multiple communications with owner, and Vrbo, that request has gone unanswered. The owner has not responded, which is very disappointing. And Vrbo, who in the past had been extremely generous and responsive has indicated they can’t do anything since the booking was officially “completed” (not formally cancelled before hand). While technically true, we would have expected, given the circumstances, for them to come behind us…
All of this has been very disappointing. It seems strange that an owner would not understand, given how many people are extremely sensitive to fragrances and scents, that strongly scented air fresheners were a bad idea. And had he inspected before hand he would also have noticed empty wine bottles, leftover food, etc that the cleaners had also not dealt with properly. This would otherwise be an excellent rental option for large groups, in an area with few other good rental options☹️