The Vagabond

I hate having to leave a negative review, but this needs to be said. I booked the Vagabond through Airbnb and had to leave suddenly after becoming very ill, with coughing, a feverish feeling, a headache, and weakness. There was extensive black mold in the bathroom, and I sent the absentee landlord photos and explained how sick I felt. Mold can occur anywhere, but his defensive response and lack of concern for my wellbeing made an already awful stay worse. He even suggested I might be imagining it because nobody else had complained. It felt like gaslighting. I believe mold is strictly illegal in South Africa and that landlords cannot charge rent for an unsafe place like this. I should have received a full refund for the month, but instead I was charged for three nights and a cleaning fee. Airbnb's customer service was completely useless to me, and its new Aircover policy felt worthless. If you're booking a long stay, be careful and make sure the cancellation policy is flexible. Piers, based on our defensive and unprofessional exchanges, I expect you may respond nastily to this review. If you don't enjoy hospitality, I don't think you should be doing it. You don't seem focused on the guest experience, and should hire someone else to manage your guesthouse so nobody else has to go through what I did. Even two weeks later, I'm still weak from what I believe was mold poisoning.