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“Wow A great view! Real cozy and quite beautiful. We loved our stay! A/C gets icy cold which is great for the current hot weather. Would love to come back again. Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful place with us!”
this is the outlier review:
Although Julia is a great host and this Airbnb is beautiful, the lack of air conditioning during our stay made it very difficult to enjoy our time especially since we cooked. The first evening it kicked in once it was dark but the following day and night it was sweltering. Also, we could not enjoy the beautiful outdoor space as much as we would have liked because of wildlife in the outdoor areas. During the day it was bees and in the evening it was rodents and spiders. When we tried to enjoy breakfast outdoors both mornings we were surrounded by bees so we decided to eat indoors. The first evening we used the beautiful backdrop to take photos and as I was sitting on the outdoor bed my husband started to chase away a rodent which did not bother me as much but later on that evening once we were getting ready to watch a movie outdoors, he warned me not to go outside because there was a huge spider. Bugs do not bother me but when I looked out of the window of the RV and saw the tarantula sized spider near the foot of the bed, there was no way we would use the outdoor bed. It actually made for a pretty comical moment between my husband and I. I think it should be more communicated that wildlife may have the potential to affect your ability to enjoy the main amenities. With that being said, you can tell Julia and her husband have put in tons of effort to make their guests feel welcomed from the food and wine stocked in the fridge before your arrival and the little details like the midcentury cutlery and decore. Not to mention, the personal tour Julia gave once we arrived. If the AC is fixed we would book again possibly during a different time of the year.
noted: she was pregnant and diabetic and 3* for accuracy and 4 * for value, and it was very hot, not super hot, and they should have known about the heat, since they are from not far away.
plus a long personal note…Private note
Hi Julia, Thanks for hosting us this past weekend. The beautiful space, your hospitality and attention to detail far exceeded our expectations. A couple of suggestions to make your AirBNB that much more enjoyable for your next guests. The lack of air conditioning during our stay made it very difficult to enjoy our time. The first evening it kicked in once it was dark but the following day and night were sweltering. I even sat in our car to use the AC. I know it was extremely hot the days we stayed but the heat started to build in the RV early in the morning when it was still relatively cooler outside, even with the additional fan. It is especially worst if you cook. I suggest fixing or replacing the AC unit already in the RV. Also, we could not enjoy the outdoor space as much as we would have liked because of the amount of bees, rodents, and/or spiders. I was actually stung by a bee the second day. Everytime we tried to eat outside we and our plates were surounded by bees. I was even stung the second day. The first evening we used the beautiful backdrop to take photos and as I was sitting on the bed my husband started to chase away a rodent which did not bother me as much but later on that evening once we were getting ready to watch a movie on the outdoor bed, he warned me not to go outside because there was a spider. Bugs do not bother me but when I looked out of the window of the RV and saw the tarantula sized spider near the foot of the bed, there was no way we would use the outdoor bed. I defenity think it should be more communicated that wildlife may have the potential to effect your ability to enjoy the main amenities. Besides that, your location was thoughtfully curated, clean and put together. Also, everyone we came in contact with in Chatsworth was extremely nice. Thank you once again for hosting us! Best,
ps we have not encountered any sign of spiders or rodents. Could have been various sizes of lizards they saw, as they are numerous!
Sigh…Not to worry and don’t take it personally. I had a guest ding me on accuracy once because my vegetable garden didn’t look like the photo. It was mid-September and everything had blown out. Had another ding me on location because I was 10 miles away from the cute little tourist town known in our area and because Uber didn’t come out this far.
You can’t please everyone. Let it slide off your back.
I had the a/c on today, it seems same as always. It is an RV A/C and they just are not as powerful as a home a/c. There was little communication between these guests and us, they went out and yes they did mention a/c. You have to turn the knob 5 clicks to get it on High. Even though I showed them, and cooled it for their arrival, I suspect they didn’t do that if they tried to turn it back on or up. Also pregnant wife. Out of 150+ stays and probably 50+ that used a/c I never thought I’d get this stupid novel. And I can’t find the prompt to public respond to her .
Same as the whinge and bitch about booking an old house, it is 150 years old and can show its age. Dont like old, go and book an Ikea cookie cutter modern bland box!
RRR we DO HAVE a/c. It also works! ONly if you pay attention while I show you how to turn the knob,><>//
I agree maybe this review will make some folks not book. Which I could care less…
This guest DEFINATELY better Suited for a HOTEL> Not a glamper…
What really strikes me is that both her review and her private note really ramble on. And that she says the exact same things in both. This is clearly not about you. Just a bad fit.
Good observation JJD, thank you
I highly doubt they saw a tarantula. Though we do see them, it is an average of less than one per year. There are crazy ass wasps here that eat them.
Yes I think in her situation (7 months pregnant, lifelong diabetic) just impossible to please…
RRR Do you mean I should remove mention of A/c? Under promise and over deliver?? That might net us fewer summer guests, (!) but not actually, as we are in demand…
@gypsy I just love the drama over the spider. Instead of just shooing the spider away, her husband warned her not to go outside.
They’ll be raising the new child with the same phobias and inability to deal.
Oh, I figured it was really a tarantula! They seemed common to the area to me. It’s been a few years but I used to see a lot of them in the area. My dog had a really bad habit of putting her long (half-dobie!) nose in the holes and stirring them up. Anyway, this was clearly a guest with her own show going on. Her review makes her look silly to anyone interested in your place as clearly one of the benefits would be the nature and it doesn’t make anything about your place sound bad.
I’m not a fan of responding to reviews, but may be you should say something about there being an AC in response? What does she mean about it not coming on? Did she have it set on an energy saver thermostat setting or something? Normally you can just blast an AC as needed so it sounds like she didn’t know how to operate it. Maybe say something like, “There is a powerful A/C. I’ve added operating instructions to the manual. Thank you for the feedback.”
That is bizarre. Perhaps the Real Simple article about glamping set unrealistic expectations and suggested that all local creatures and weather conditions are typically cleared before your arrival to the mountainside.
I am waiting for the review that goes off about my house being old in the middle of a city where everything is old while raving about the historic sites. It will come. I know it will.
edit to add: I’m proud to say that my husband would probably say, “hey, get out here, you gotta see this crazy-ass spider”
There was a post from a host on the CC a couple years ago- she had a turn-of-the-century (not 2000!) home in New Orleans filled with antique furniture, appliances, lamps and carpets- not stuff she had shopped antique stores for, stuff that had been in that house for 100 years.
Her reviews were really entertaining to read. All the young people who had booked said it was old and shabby and needed a update. The middle aged and up folks described it as like being in a fascinating museum and it being a slice of history you don’t see much these days. One guest said he could barely sleep, he was so excited about the ancient Frigidaire that worked and was still being used.
The only thing I would address in the public response would be something like , “ I wish you messaged me about the air conditioning during your trip. It was on and working when I greeted you at check-in and after your checkout as I cleaned. Was it possible you did not have it operating on high?”
I had a guest go on and on and on how I needed better pest control because her child saw a large spider outside in the backyard bushes. I didn’t respond because anyone could see the nonsense for what it was.
Afterthought—I will bet this trip was not the complainer’s idea. She didn’t want to be there. She didn’t like it and was going to let everyone know she didn’t like it. She was punishing everyone
I guess she would have preferred that you sprayed toxic chemicals all around the property just before her arrival. Much better for her child than being traumatized by seeing a spider in the bushes. People are insane.
A great view! Real cozy and quite beautiful. We loved our stay! A/C gets icy cold which is great for the current hot weather. Would love to come back again. Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful place with us!”
