No communication from the host leading up the our arrival. Only after requesting instructions did they arrive.
Upon arrival, instructions were accurate. Terrific part of Kansas City. However, the apartment had a strong smell of cigarette smoke and felt lived-in and was not as clean as I would expect. I notified the host of the smell in fear of being blamed even though my wife and I have never smoked cigarettes in our lives. The host apologized and stated an investigation would take place by their people.
The next day, the garage door was inoperable and we could not exit the premise. Other residents indicated this was a common occurrence. I notified the host who was apologetic and offered ride share accommodations, however our plans required flexibility of having our own vehicle. While waiting for a resolution, we made the decision that the these accommodations were not as advertised and for the sake of our agenda we needed to vacate the premise.
I requested a partial refund, understanding the impossibility for the host to fill the property with another reservation, but also the not unreasonable request of some kind of refund due to the property not being as advertised. We received no further communication from the host. We contacted via text and email and received nothing back. After contact VRBO, I was told by the VRBO agent that the host indicated they had been in contact with us and would not issue a refund. Blatant lie.
tl;dr bad smell, parking risk, bad host