Lake View Luxury

The house has a lovely view and was once a luxury home, but it’s now in desperate need of preventative maintenance and investment to justify the nightly rate. We were incredibly disappointed by the state of it and the gap between the accommodation and what we paid. The host expected us to inspect the property and report what needed fixing, including basic things that should have been checked before guests arrived. We were on holiday, not making a weekend to-do list for my husband. Looking at earlier Airbnb feedback, I saw that guests had already raised many of these problems and the host had said they’d be improved. They haven’t been fixed. The dishwasher is still broken, the couches are falling apart, bathroom extractor fans don’t work and there’s mould, and you’re sure to find lights that don’t work. Things can break unexpectedly, but that doesn’t explain the state of this house. The tiled stairs and deck are slippery and have no drainage, so rainwater pools there. The host warns they’re slippery, but on our stay they’d been left to mould and were outright dangerous. None of the exterior or security lights worked, so we had to navigate the slippery surfaces in the dark. Regular treatment with Wet and Forget and a water blast doesn’t seem like too much to ask for a known hazard. We gave the host a long list of feedback at checkout. They said their rules require issues to be reported as they’re found so they can be fixed. We kept discovering problems throughout our stay, and following that rule would have meant they came around several times a day. We wanted to enjoy our holiday in Taupo, not arrange repairs that weren’t our responsibility. In response, the host complained that the BBQ was dirty, though they’d provided only rags and no cleaning products. We scrubbed the grill plates with hot soapy water and wiped down the outside, but it seems unrealistic to expect guests to take the BBQ apart and clean all the inside surfaces. If you want a big house with a lovely view, don’t mind broken things and are happy to pay a bajillion dollars, book away. If you need a safe, good-quality, good-value house in Taupo for a special occasion, look elsewhere.