Villa Liberte Hakone Gora

This is an older Japanese house with the first floor renovated in a more modern style. At first it seemed okay, and the kitchen, table, and beds looked clean. Then we wiped the floor with a tissue and it came away black. The window seals were dirty and moldy all over the house, and looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in a year or so. The curtains were splashed with dirt and moldy too. The whole place smelled damp and moldy. Dogs are allowed, and they provide a soft crate. I wish I’d checked it before putting my dog in while we went to the shop. When we came back in the dark and turned on the light, we saw it was extremely dirty and moldy. Our dog’s toys got dirty as soon as we played with them. Even after a light wipe, the floor was still dirty and clearly needed a thorough clean, like the rest of the house. Why should we have to clean the place during our vacation? The bathroom was dirty too. The drain was gooey and hadn’t been cleaned; it looked like they’d only cleaned the bathtub. There were spiderwebs everywhere. Dogs aren’t allowed in the bathroom, so you can’t wash them there. The bathtub leaks, so you have to refill it instead of just reheating the water. We wanted to use the grill, but it was rusty and didn’t look like the one in the photos. It was stored on the terrace under a moldy cover. The ramp to the dog run and its handles were rusty and falling apart, so we couldn’t use it. That had been a big reason we rented the place. There were other signs of deterioration, including broken stairs and a broken door, plus a crack between the first-floor wall and floor by the sink. Those weren’t even the main issue. The house needs a thorough general cleaning before people are charged to stay there. The hot tub was nice after traveling, and having a washer/dryer was convenient. But I couldn’t relax with everything dirty and moldy, and worried about our dog running around on the floor and going near the moldy curtains. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone until it’s been properly cleaned.