I'd like to share with others the unpleasant experience my family had at this property so they can…read moreavoid the same trouble we had. The check-in instructions are difficut and it is not possible to call and speak to anyone directly. You must leave a message and wait for them to call you back, which is quite frustrating.
When we arrived and found our unit, it was not as advertised. The "sofa bed" was actually a foam mattress that was placed on the floor. The air conditioning was a portable unit which was vented out of a cat door to the patio. We were also told that the AC can only be run in the living room or the bedroom, and not both at once. Also, if you run a hair dryer or microwave while the AC is running it will trip a breaker and you'll lose power in the unit. When we arrived, the unit was 85 degrees inside.
I called the owner but was only able to leave a message. When she finally called me back I explained the situation and she agreed to let us switch to another unit the next day which had an actual sofa bed, but only a single portable AC unit. We agreed, although again this meant that the bedroom was probably going to be 85 degrees. Heather said she would call us back at 9am the next morning with check-in instructions.
The next day, I did not receive a call until late morning, while I was out getting lunch for my family. Heather said we could switch to the other unit, but we'd have to vacate our unit for 2 hours to allow cleaning. Also, the bed would not be made at the new unit and we'd have to bring our towels over, since these would not be provided at the new unit. Not a huge deal, but the 2 hours were when our baby daughter was taking a nap, so we'd have to wake her up to switch apartments.
At this point, I was somewhat annoyed by the hassle, so I asked Heather why the check-in process was so difficult and why it was so hard to get a hold of her. She explained that she was busy managing several units at once. I said I understood, but that I was planning on mentioning this difficulty in my review of her property. She then said that all reviews had to be approved by her, and that she would charge me a daily fee each day the review was published, and this was in the "contract" that I had signed. I then said that reviews are part of our basic right to free speach and that I definitely would not pay her to review her service. She insisted I would be charged, so I said that she could take me to small claims court but I was not going to pay her anything for the right to review her property.
At this point, she said the following: "All right, then you are not going to stay at my property and you are going to check out right now! You have one hour!" She then hung up on me. Then she went to the property and banged repeatedly on the door of the unit, waking up our baby daughter, who of course started crying. When my wife, who is 7 months pregnant, came to the door, she was yelled at by Heather, who threatened to call the cops if we did not leave within an hour. She pushed the door open to look inside the apartment, and my wife was afraid that she might get physical and actually try to hit her. When the owner finally did leave, my wife locked the door immediately. We ended up calling the cops and they said if Heather came back they would send an officer out to make sure she didn't become violent.
Luckily, we were already packed because we were planning on switching units. I was able to book a last minute (but expensive) room at the Residence Inn and we left immediately. We did receive a refund from the owner, but the start of an otherwise pleasant holiday had already been ruined.
Please don't repeat our mistake and also don't patronize business owners who behave in this way. The internet has empowered consumers to make better choices and avoid unfair business practices--any owner who tries to discourage reviews of their service obviosly has something to hide!