Staying in 4.97/5 Airbnb...

[SadHols4]

... and I hate it :(. I don't get it. I think I'm hopeless and should give up on holidays. We only go away once a year and had been looking forward to it so much. Even the kids (4 and 8) aren't quite as excited.

There was meant to be toys and games, but there's nothing. I also didn't realise it was on a main road and access to the garden is through the front door so they can't come and go as they please.

The house is overall clean but not enough for my liking (sticky handles in kitchen, questionable cutlery, dust in corners). I picked it specifically for the 4.9/5 cleanliness rating. Clearly previous travellers have loved it so it is a me problem.

I'm considering decamping somewhere else. Lots of lovely other listings but they actually all have slightly lower ratings than this so I'd probably end up disappointed there too.

Feeling so deflated I could cry! And feel like I let the kids down as in previous years we've had lovely stays.

They are local but have mentioned a cleaner.

The thing is this doesn't just seem like the last clean wasn't thorough, the kitchen is a lot of built up grime over months. They couldn't resolve without a full day access to deep clean. The oven is bad, and the dishwasher didn't even wash things up properly last night. It came out with lots of dried food bits, some of which I am pretty sure was not ours... I imagine the filter has needed changing for a while! I find the kitchen just unusable at this point, and we can't be eating out all the time.

In any case they can't correct the house layout and busy road.

I did book alternative accommodation from Sunday. It is very expensive so I hope we will get some money back for here. I am pretty nervous we'll have a bad surprise there to be honest but we will see!

There are quite a few other things from the listing that just aren't there like a kids slide in the garden, so I think we have a pretty good case.

Just another 2 nights to get through!

I got a partial refund from Air BnB for mine and they were very helpful. Sorted very quickly. Host is absolutely fuming. We are going home a few days earlier. Good luck with yours - take pictures!

Absolutely seek refund and leave a very honest review. People are just trying to make a fast buck and easily as possible and it’s not on. I won’t use Airbnb any more. Professional companies only.

They nearly all have cutlery drawer dust/crumbs. I wash everything out/dishwash everything before settling in properly. (Anaphylaxis and can't risk a stray crumb cross contamination)

If you look, there is something wrong with all of them. Also they are not always as described as listings are old. Reading reviews helps somewhat but not always. It tends to be disappointing. Some sites remove reviews that aren't favourable.

Grime build up is shit though. Hope your next one is better.