This is a tricky review to write because in principle the property is great and the host is properly a great host under normal circumstances. These were, however, not normal circumstances. 36 hours before our arrival the host informed us that the communal pool, which is normally accessible to guests and which is featured on the property’s website, was under construction and would not be done in time for our arrival. This was a rather big issue as we were traveling with three children including an infant. We had looked at many properties and had selected this one because of the easy access to the pool - allowing the bigger kids to hang out there with the grown-ups going back in forth with the baby. It was also something the host could probably have predicted much sooner - giving us a chance to cancel and find an alternative propoerty.
The host did try to come up with alternatives including using the neighbors’ neighbor’s pool, which unfortunately turned out to be a bit of a dirty construction site and very hard to get to – particularly with a pram. She also offered that we could use the pool at their private house, which is around 10 minutes’ drive away. Hence, it was not for the lack of trying but none of the options worked out logistically with an infant in tow. With ten days of vacation in front of us we therefore asked for a refund as access to a pool similar to the one, which would normally have been accessible, really did turn out to be critical – also after having tried out both alternatives. This would have allowed us to find another place as this property simply did not have the amenities promised. We rent out our own summerhouse and have given full refunds if something hasn’t been working properly. It was not the host’s fault that the pool was under construction and she did indeed try to find a solution. However, a rental property is at the end of the day a good that one sells and the quality and a nature of it obviously needs to match the description or a full refund is in its place even if it means losing out on rental income. That is certainly how trust-based systems like Home Away ought to work.
The host refused to refund even half the rental price, which we had proposed as a compromise. Instead, she offered us a 200 euro discount, which evidently did not help much now that we needed to find another property at short notice.