The Surrey Vacation Resort

I rented a room through Airbnb for four months because the office wasn’t open and it seemed to be the only way to get a room. After the long drive, I had to buy cleaning supplies and spend two hours cleaning before we could stay. The room was disgusting. The fridge knob was broken at max temperature, so I bought needlenose pliers to use it. The shower head hit my head, and I’m 5'6". She said I could get mail but didn’t mention nobody was running the office to sign for packages, so my daughter’s homeschooling supplies were returned. When I raised it, she said, “this is why I don’t like to rent long term.” She could have turned down my four-month request through Airbnb. Pretty much only family lives there, and they got drunk and loud in the courtyard every night. The location is great, but that’s all this place has going for it. The sign says “show tiks,” but I never got any. I had to call the cops about a homeless guy passed out and blocking my walkway. There was no breakfast or pool, and the rooms were dark and drab, though at least there were no bugs. The door code gives access to the entire building because it uses the street number, 165, and your room number. It felt very unsafe.

The room was supposed to have had a pool open, according to the online listing, but it wasn’t. Breakfast was lousy, and nothing was ever good. The bathroom was nasty, the carpet old and worn out, and the TV looked like it was from last century and didn’t work. There were bed bugs, and my wife got bitten. One day, when we came back, my daughter’s elephant had been stolen. We stayed last July, and it was the worst room I’ve ever been in. We wanted to leave, but the money wasn’t refundable. I hope the place closes and never opens again so nobody else has to go through that terrible stay. This place sucked really bad.

The price felt high for what we got. The so-called “super” continental breakfast was underwhelming, and the place overall looked shabby. I can handle an older room, but it still needs to be clean: there was hair on supposedly clean towels, the sheets looked heavily used, and the carpet needs replacing. I’ve stayed in cleaner, nicer drill rig crew shacks.

The room had a microwave and mini fridge, plus new TVs we could hook our PlayStation up to so the kids could watch a movie at night. We had three kids with us, and they liked the room. It was remodeled, clean, and the beds were comfortable. The pool wasn’t open, and probably won’t be. It’s under new owners, and I’d stay again if I had to.