Penthouse StOliva

The rooftop outdoor area is beautiful, but the interior smelled of sewage the whole time. The plumbing problems were so bad that our group on the second floor couldn’t stay there and had to rent somewhere else. My girlfriend and I came for her birthday, along with what was meant to be a group of friends. The host acted like he was trying to help, but seemed to know the smell was a regular problem. He kept offering us cable car rides, then got annoyed when we said we’d already made other plans. My girlfriend was disappointed that, despite the few VRBO reviews, no one had posted a bad review. Several guests did mention plumbing trouble and left four stars, which made it seem like the host had bribed them. This listing shouldn’t be active.

The sewage smell was constant throughout the villa, making it effectively uninhabitable. I rented the building advertised as an entire property, but the host, Daniel, was staying on the lower level. The apartments upstairs were so affected that several people in our group had to book somewhere else. Because of our group size, we couldn’t relocate everyone, so some of us had no choice but to stay. Every day, we went to bed and woke up to the smell. The host’s story changed: on the first day he said it had never happened before and that he was shocked and very sorry. On the second, he said it happened sometimes and he was trying to fix it. When we left, he called it a known curse. Those changing explanations strongly suggest the problem was known and still unresolved. Instead of fixing the sanitation issue, he repeatedly contacted me offering to cook dinner as compensation. I said several times that we didn’t want anything extra, we just wanted the sewage problem resolved. There were several automatic air fresheners in the bathrooms, apparently to mask the odor. We once returned to find a sink disconnected, draining water straight onto the bathroom floor and into a central drain. It was an alarming, unsanitary temporary fix. Communication was difficult and got us nowhere. When I asked him to properly fix the problem, he accused me of being aggressive. I have written confirmation that he’d contact VRBO to arrange a partial refund, but he never did. When I contacted VRBO, they tried for more than three weeks to reach him by phone and email, but he didn’t respond. I provided screenshots showing him acknowledging the issue and agreeing to the refund. This was a serious sanitation issue and health hazard, not a minor inconvenience. A property at this price and described this way should never be rented in that condition. It severely affected what was meant to be a special birthday weekend, which made the whole experience especially disappointing.

After we left, the host Daniel sent a female member of our group what seemed like a drunken stream of texts, berating and sexually harassing her. During the stay, the apartment smelled of sewage. Daniel lives below the rental and was around all the time, but couldn't sort out the smell.

The view really made this place special. We also slept well in the comfortable beds, and the kitchen had everything we needed. Daniel was quick to respond whenever we needed something.