It’s because it was winter and the usual thing she complains about, lack of AC, didn’t apply in this case. LOL.
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Junior high, not high school. 
You certainly aren’t the only host to want to backsie a good review you left for a guest just because the host didn’t like the review the guest left. But the review the guest left for you is immaterial as far as future hosts go. As a host, I can check the reviews that a guest left for previous hosts if I want to. You said that she was a lovely guest, so that is all I am interested in as a host. Followed house rules, left the place clean, responded in a timely way to your messages.
A guest who leaves a 5 star review, but feels she needs to come up with cons along with pros in the written review wouldn’t really bother me, nor cause me to decline a guest’s booking. As a homeshare host, I would just be inclined to talk to her a bit about the way she writes reviews during her stay, pointing out that it isn’t necessary to always find something critical to say, and that if she has an issue during her stay, it’s best to communicate with the host about it if it’s something they can address. That would probably be more a valuable approach for future hosts than removing an honest, good review.
It’s often surprising to me what some hosts consider a bad review. For instance, I’ve read posts from upset hosts whose guest left what I call an objective review- one which just gives pertinent info, without any gushing about how wonderful everything was. Like “Good water pressure, clean, bed was comfortable. All as advertised”. The hosts think the guest wasn’t pleased about something just because they didn’t wax lyrical about the stay. But many guests write reviews like that- they just tell other guests the things that are important to them, that they themselves would want to know when looking for a listing, and aren’t the flowery language, super complimentary types.
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That’s too funny! Her past reviews all mention the A/C 
Mostly A/C and street noise.
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It’s not personal, it’s math. A 5-star review is a 5-star review. I can’t see how a 5-star review could conceivably be taken as an “attack”. Even if you take everything personally all of the time, it’s still 5-stars.
That’s unfortunate. Reviews should be publically honest and detailed. They aren’t for the host, they are for other guests.
FWIW, I have gotten a similar review. It was the same pattern of compliment, criticize and then finish with a compliment. The criticism was that the stairs from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor “looked treacherous”. Mind you this guest stayed on the 1st floor and had no reason to concern herself with the stairs. Nonetheless, it was a 5-star review so I didn’t GAF.
If anything, perhaps it deterred people who were looking at my 1st-floor listing that are worried about stairs from switching over to booking my 2nd-floor listing. That is for the best so I don’t mind.
Perhaps your guest was simply wearing shoes that were inappropriate for the weather. If anything, if I came across her review it would have no other effect other than me being more careful on your walkway. And that seems for the best.
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Yes of course, attack was clearly a poor choice of wording as it seems to be a focus here where it was intended more lightly. Similarly, absurd could be a poor choice of wording but maybe I’m just not as hearty a hand at repartee as your usual debate partners.
I love those reviews - they can’t all be romance novels
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There is a difference between a comment and criticism. Just because a guest comments about something in a not “it was great” way in a review doesn’t mean it is criticism. It can just be a heads up to future guests. Like a guest mentioning that there’s just a kitchenette with a microwave and mini-fridge, no stove or place to prepare big meals. A host might take that as a WTF? since it’s clearly mentioned in the listing. But it isn’t necessarily a criticism- it’s just a heads up to future guests who might not read thoroughly and think there’s a kitchen, so that’s actually a plus for the host in warding off guests who would be upset about no kitchen.
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I don’t see the guest’s comments as personal at all.
I can’t know – only you can evaluate this – what is appropriate for you to do about pavers that can become slippery in wet and winter weather, that is whether you should install the railings or something(s) else/in addition.
Guests can come and go at any time of the day and night. You can shovel and spread the pellets and minutes later someone can still slip. That can depend not just on whether the walk has been shoveled and pellets spread but the guest’s mobility, their proprioception, the kinds of shoes they were wearing, their degree of care and attention (you say they were “horsing around”) and – in dark conditions – the walk’s lighting. You can do everything ‘right’ and yet someone falls.
The question mark I’m reading in your situation is the degree of grading. I see hotels with long walks to the front door, and there are no railings.
But isn’t it possible that they slipped or noticed a slippery condition just as they were horsing around when they left? Or maybe the observation surfaced in a discussion the guests had between themselves when considering what should be stated in a review. This is not a ‘mean’ or petty guest. They gave you 5 stars and two compliments in their review ‘sandwich.’
I might say: "Sorry you encountered a slippery walkway; wet or winter weather can make a walkway slippery. We shovel and salt the walk in snowy/icy weather and provide our guests shovels and a supply of pellets to do the same. We encourage guests to notify . . . "
Clearly you’re a conscientious Host: this review is spurring you to get a second opinion, evaluate whether railings (or something else) make sense. Review your messaging and lighting as well. [I’ve looked into a kind of grit that can be combined into a sealer that helps increase the friction; I’ve read that these don’t last long, might have to be re-applied each season but might be an additional possibility to consider).
This review is just one data point, but still to be considered seriously since they did call out the pavers and as @JJD observed other guests might have had the same concern but just didn’t mention it (many guests are just lazy in their reviews).
That’s like guests complaining that the place wasn’t clean because they saw a spiderweb, when spiders can weave webs in 30 minutes.
I did not say the guest comment was personal, I was referring to a forum post.
The walk way is not steep, it is beautifully graded with deep (broad? not steep) steps at the top and bottom. The lighting is fantastic as well, lovely, evenly spaced, bright motion sensor lighting that illuminates the steps and walk very clearly.
Yes, I also believe that the concern came when the guests were horsing around and am also coming to see that the guest is addressing the concern the way she is most comfortable. Certainly some hosts would ignore any concern that is not public, so this and her other guest reviews could potentially be her way of making the Airbnb world a safer, cooler, quieter place for all.
I really appreciate everyone taking time to comment.
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I find it funny that a potential guest would dig deep into the reviews but not deep enough in the listing itself to discover there’s no stove. But I imagine it happens–maybe some are more interested in how others feel about the place that they themselves feel about what they read in the listing.
This would be a good opportunity to put pictures of the walkway in daylight and at night, and in the winter maybe with snow cleared. This can help reassure in the unlikely event that a guest looks at all the reviews and pictures and has a concern. I stayed in a listing in CO that definitely had a poorly lighted and uneven walkway down to the basement garden apartment. If I had a picture of it it would probably give members here nightmares.
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If I were booking a place, I would certainly read all the info, but as we know, lots of guests don’t. And having seen the super lengthy descriptions some hosts give, I can understand why guests wouldn’t be inclined to read through all of it. Some hosts just don’t know how to be concise, taking into account limited attention spans. For instance, there’s no need to list all the things you provide, all you need to say in the description wording is “Please check our amenities list to see what we provide”. I’ve seen descriptions where hosts list everything they provide, down to napkins and spare toothbrushes. No guest needs to plow through a list like that.
Well, she apparently lives somewhere without any type of weather at all
I hear you. I’m sorry. Communication is already inherently challenging on the internet with strangers and I suppose I’ve gotten in trouble too many times for assuming something was meant lightly when it wasn’t at all (apparently, lol).
With all the things we see here, it’s honestly hard to tell at this point. However, it was your last line, “I have considered asking Airbnb to remove the review I wrote for her” that informed the direction I took. It was rather shocking. Was that meant lightly as well?
In the same vein, saying that something is absurd is not at all the same as saying that someone is absurd and I am fully aware of the difference. 
I have a camping listing, and it seemed from the questions in the messaging that a particular upcoming guest was unaware of that. So I asked whether she had had a chance to read the listing description and she replied that she didn’t need to since she had “read all the reviews”.
Recent reviews at the time were “It was like a fairytale” and “Everything was perfect”.
Something like “the walk was slippery” or “there was no wifi” would have been more helpful for sure. 
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Wow, that’s kind of frustratingly enlightening 
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I have stayed several times at a lovely small house Airbnb near family. One day after an icy snowfall I was unable to get up the steep driveway, despite having learned to drive there and having my Pittsburgh girl on. It was a sharp turn off a busy road so I couldn’t get a running start.
I slept on a relative’s couch that night and let the host know. She refunded the night and sent her husband out to shovel and salt. I bought some extra salt for reinforcement, moved back in, and continued my visit.
Nobody got bent out of shape. Weather happens and we needed to cooperate to deal with it. I have different expectations as a guest of an individually-owned STR than of a hotel.
I also fondly remember one of my guests. I was shoveling the driveway and heard a scraping sound – he was shoveling the driveway from the other end and we met in the middle! I always leave de icer and a shovel on the back deck by my guest suite entrance.
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What is an STR guest?
STR= short term rental
2 days ago I had a strange inquiry, gust asking can he swim naked in the pool, is there construction nearby, etc… he had good reviews, but I checked before writing back to him what kind of reviews he writes, and all 23 of them he had some kind of complaint, every singe one.
My response to him was then
Thank you for considering our villa for your stay. After a thorough review of your inquiry, we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re not a good match.
We’ve noticed that you have a unique talent for finding faults in every property you’ve stayed at, and we’re not quite ready to face the wrath of a professional complainer. We pride ourselves on providing top-notch accommodations, and we don’t want to let you down.
While we appreciate your interest, we think it’s best for everyone if we part ways here. We wish you the best of luck in your search for the perfect place to stay.
He even thanked me for being honest after that.
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