Arrival: Jolanda arranged for a housekeeper to meet us to check-in. We contacted the housekeeper before our scheduled time and notified her that we were on public transit and would be about 30 minutes late. She was in hurry, quickly gave us keys, explained that laundry would need to dry on drying racks, asked if that was “OK”, and quickly excused herself before we had a chance to look over the rest of the unit.
Cleanliness: All of the towels were wet and on a drying rack set up in the living room or in a load in the dryer. Trash was left in the kitchen and unit had not been swept or dusted. There was mold on basket in the bathroom. The space had a strong “musty” smell suggesting that ventilation was a major problem.
Laundry: The dryer in the unit was not effective. The reservoir had not been emptied before our arrival and the lint/condenser filters had not been cleaned in quite some time. But even after we took care of that the dryer was still very ineffective.
Accuracy of listing: The photographs of the kitchen and main living space do not accurately represent it. Some lighting fixtures were not working properly and kitchen appliances could use replacing. Although Jolanda mentioned in an e-mail that the cooking options were limited, she did not clarify that the photographs of the kitchen were not up-to-date. We arrived thinking that what she meant by “electric cooking plate” and “microwave” were what was depicted in the photographs but they were not. Also, the map location in VRBO suggests that the unit is located directly on a canal whereas this unit is one block off the canal.
Interaction with host: We contacted Jolanda shortly after we arrived to express our concerns. She was out of town and did not respond until about 24-hours later. She suggested that the trash left behind was actually from us and expressed concerns that we were late for check-in. She also claimed the address was listed on the VRBO listing (which it was not) so we should have known it was not located on the canal. I suggested that updated photographs and accurate map representation on VRBO could prevent future misperceptions but those suggestions were ignored (and still have been as these inaccuracies have not been changed). She offered to have the housekeeper come over to finish the laundry, but given how ineffective the dryer was and that we were leaving the next morning we declined. She responded by saying she did all that she could. Overall a disappointing interaction.