To have expected that the owners of this holiday let would not be living in the building.

[WatchingCometsLand]

^https://www.vrbo.com/en-gb/p1975005a^

We spent 3k on this holiday (our first in years). Turns out that we get the top floor and the owners live below. They enter and exit with their vans via two garage doors immediately below our bedroom windows, through the garden.

Were we unreasonable to have expected this to be stated in the advertisement?

The noise is particularly problematic - we have been woken late at night and then first thing in the morning.

I had the same thing recently, although only for one night. Advert clearly stated ‘entire house’ so we were extremely confused when the woman asked us to watch her dogs while she popped out for a few drinks. Turns out we only had 2 bedrooms in her house! Very awkward!

VRBO generate the translation, not the owners. I would phone VRBO rather than message them. Its clear that the English translation is AI generated from the amenities.

😳

Did she come back and jump into one of the beds?

Good luck OP, it will be interesting to see what Vrbo do in terms of honouring their "Book with Confidence Guarantee" and claims of 24/7 support.

www.abritel.fr/location-vacances/p1975005?chkin=2026-6-26&chkout=2026-7-3&rm1=a6&regionId=6299691&searchId=eb414dbc-c0da-47ea-80f9-a8953732cc4e

French holiday homes being subdivided from the main house, is not uncommon, but VRBO is dreadful site. I would never use them again. The adverts are inaccurate at best, if not deliberately misleading. I tried to book a holiday home in France using the site for the first time this year, and had a terrible experience. First place I tried didn't respond within the specified 24hrs. I booked another one, after getting immediate confirmation on the strength of it having a pool and parking. DH queried why neither was shown in the photos, when I contacted the owner asking for clarification I was told the pool was a public one nearby, and parking was the village square next door. I cancelled and tried a 3rd property, got confirmation and paid in full, only to get an email from the agent a few days later telling me it was no longer available as it was for sale and the owner wanted to complete before the date I had booked. This was in June for a July holiday so it was obviously on the cards when I booked. Fortunately I managed to get something using a different website and it's perfect.

"bercé par le silence de la campagne périgourdine..." 🤔

The difference between the French version (1st photo but obv translated to English) and the English version (2nd photo) is shocking !

Photo the place and record the noise. How awful for you to have this hassle on holiday. Don’t pay anything in cash. Tell the owners not to make noise. Email them as well about this. Complain to the letting company. Complain to the townhall about the swimming pool because an alarm or protection is not listed. All in ground pools need a specific alarm, fence or cover to prevent drownings. Has any pool security been explained to you? The fine is substantial for not complying with this law.

Actually photos have uploaded the other way round.

The 10/10 reviews seem suspect considering it’s not a “country” house, but a flat.

I think the reviews could be fake, each review 10/10 Excellent, really having to share the property with the owners on site! I would be looking for a part refund.How long was the property booked for? I would be asking for at least £1,000 refund.The advert is totally misleading.

That’s shocking, @NCTDN! whoever had done the version for English speakers has left out really important information and created a really misleading ad!

If you want a refund you need to complain to Vrbo while you're there. I think you also need to make moves to leave. If you complain afterwards Vrbo will not be helpful. I know because I had a similar experience earlier this year. I'd contact customer service right away.

@WatchingCometsLand I wonder if you could glean some tips, wrt compensation, from this fb page?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/220641516813509/posts/819947556882899/

eta; missed word

Chargeback: I successfully did this when Mark Warner refused to refund a holiday they cancelled during the pandemic.

1. Pursue the owners and VRBO first - give them, say, 6 weeks for a refund or partial refund (whatever you think is fair). Put everything in writing and keep screenshots/evidence including the listing and your photos.
2. If they refuse, contact your credit card supplier and ask how to apply for a chargeback. Mine is American Express and there's a portal to upload the evidence. They contact the person you have a dispute with and ask them to respond. In my case, Mark Warner didn't have a leg to stand on, they were acting unlawfully and the chargeback happened quite quickly. Incidentally I'd never book a holiday with them again.

These days I'd save time by using ChatGPT or Gemini - feed in the information and evidence and ask it the best way go about complaining and how to phrase the complaints.

Wow, why did Mark Warner do that? That’s awful.

I've been waiting 7 years for someone to say this! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

They wanted me to accept a voucher instead.

Seems dodgy to me having 15 reviews all giving 10/10.
Can you move your bedroom to another part of the house to get some sleep…

I agree - you need to contact VRBO while packing up to go elsewhere if you want any kind of refund. Which may be more stressful than its worth.

Record video of the vans coming and going to demonstrate the noise too.

Do call VRBO while you are there and focus on the fact you filtered for a house, and it’s not a house. This is misleading as you would not have booked it if you knew. Escalate your complaint, if necessary.
Also say the owners are running a noisy business from the property, which is negatively affecting your stay.
Pleaae, please, please mention both these things in your review so others are aware.
I wouldn’t be happy either

This is down to VRBO using an auto generated description on their British site, which is shocking. The French description, written by the owners, is honest that they live there.

Like booking . com do they are clearly just using listed amenities to generate a description . That means important information has been missed out. VRBO shoukd be compensating for this.

As an aside, if you are ever booking via booking . com read the 'host information ' which is actually the owner written description. The 'property description' is auto generated and misses out important information.

Here's what it says on the French version of VRBO

Vos hôtes seront sur place , très discrets, dans un appartement situé au sous sol, toujours présents pour le moindre service.

Google translated that as

Your hosts will be on site, very discreet, in an apartment located in the basement, always available for the slightest service.

Agree the reviews looks suspect as they use literally the same words all describing the owners as discreet.

(ETA weird formatting disappeared once posted)

Wow that is quite a big difference between the Vrbo description and the one on the French version of Vrbo. I wonder if the owners are even aware of this? If I was them I would also be taking it up with Vrbo/Abritel.

So sorry your holiday is not going as planned. So disappointing.