Was excited about the property from the listing--the kitchen, rooms, location...everything but the high price. But we wanted to be comfortable with a newborn, so we bit the bullet and booked it. We got onto an early ferry to the island and sent a text to Vacasa requesting early check-in. Vacasa replied: “Good news, your Vacasa trip is eligible for free early check-in. Your vacation home is clean and ready for you, so head over anytime and start relaxing.” When we walked into the house we were shocked at the state of it. Let’s just say that we do not share Vacasa’s idea of “clean and ready.” In hindsight it was clear that no one cleaned up after the previous guests, but since we had *just* received communication from Vacasa that it was “clean and ready,” we spent two hours cleaning the unit ourselves, starting with laundering the linens and towels so we could shower and sleep.
This house appears to be someone’s investment property, and they put in just enough to make the place look nice for pictures. When you arrive, though, you get to see and feel the neglect that occurs when someone doesn’t really care about it. For instance, there are great pictures of the beach, but they don’t show the back patio that was covered with garbage, sand, dead vegetation, and other debris. There were also nice pictures of other outdoor spaces, but they didn’t capture how the back and side lawns that were so overgrown (it seemed to have been months since the grass was even mowed) that its only use was to provide cover for the innumerable mosquitoes as they barraged us each time we went outside. On the positive side, the Wi-Fi and TV worked, and we slept fine after laundering our own sheets and remaking all of the beds. I also enjoyed using the kitchen and was able to make biscuits with the pantry items left in the cabinets.
When we called Vacasa to complain we were subjected to a back-and-forth between them and the "local host," which was unprofessional and lacking in customer service. It felt as though no one wished to take accountability for what had occurred. Even after receiving a tiny refund, we felt just as uncared for and discarded as this investment property. This was a property management failure where one hand did not communicate with the other, resulting in the ball being dropped—us, the customer who paid a premium price for the frustrating and disappointing experience of dealing with other parties’ miscommunications.