CAN Dego

The directions were the biggest problem. The site’s front page gives no address, which makes this very rural place hard to find. The roads from Campos are poorly marked and poorly lit, with lots of curves, and they’re so narrow that driving felt confusing and unsafe. Arriving in the dark could be close to a disaster. A hand-drawn map showing the way from Campos is essential for visitors; GPS alone isn’t enough. Even our Palma taxi driver had trouble. I’d rate the owner 2 out of 5 for helping guests find the place. The yard was basic but okay, and I’d give the yard and pool 4 out of 5. The house has a pool, but getting the owner to agree to heat the water wasn’t easy because of concerns about electricity use. That didn’t seem right given how much the pool matters as a feature, especially when it’s over a 30-minute drive from the coast. For the accommodation, 3 out of 5. In September the house had a serious mosquito problem, and the windows need screens. The nights were terrible because of the mosquitoes. The bathrooms have no exhaust fans, so they stay damp and muggy. One has a window, but the humidity still made it of little help. The bedrooms were dim, with very low energy bulbs and some missing bulbs; the twin bedroom also had no mirror. Each bedroom should have a full-length mirror. Although the house can host seven people, we were three and rented it for six nights, yet there weren’t enough toiletries or even toilet paper. The shower bathroom had major problems: no curtain, poor drainage, and water spread over the floor, leaving it slippery, unsafe, and wet all the time. There was no cloth or floor wiper to clear it, and no racks for soap or shampoo, so we had to put everything on the floor. The owners should add a shower curtain and holders for soap and shampoo and fix the slippery, waterlogged floor. The kitchen gets 4 out of 5. The sink faucet is too short for the sink, making it hard to wash pots and pans because the water stream doesn’t reach them. There should also be a basic electric or gas stovetop kettle. We had to boil water for tea in a soup pot, which was ridiculous. The owner should explain where to take the household trash. We had to keep it after the bin was full until we saw the owner. It would be better to tell guests the designated outdoor container so trash doesn’t have to be stored in the kitchen. We should have asked about it at the start, but for a holiday rental, the owner should provide this information.