Nick And Gem2021年10月

We were very excited about staying at this property but unfortunately had a very bad experience. Firstly, other guests should note that while this property is listed as being in Palenque on the map on the Airbnb listing, it is in fact in a completely different location, almost two hours drive away. The area is actually near the small town of Salto de Agua. You can see the real location by entering “Hacienda Cataratas” on Google Maps. We were provided with a hand drawn map to the location, only an hour or so before we were due to check in. Upon arriving (a very rural area, in the middle of the mountains), there was no clear access road to be found to the property. We asked some workers in the carpenter’s store opposite and they laughed and pointed down a muddy track, half submerged by water. Despite driving a 4 wheel drive car, we were unable to make it more than 50m down the track before getting stuck. With some effort we managed to get the car moving again and retreated back to the road to contact the host. The host advised that they were not in the area and so unable to help us, but they would send one of their workers on a bike to find us. So we waited. And waited. A huge storm was starting, and we then received a message saying the worker was no longer coming because he didn’t want to get wet. The host confirmed the muddy track was indeed the access road and apologised for its condition, blaming recent heavy rains. We were uncertain what to do, as had been driving for 10 hours and were now faced with a completely inaccessible Airbnb in an area with no other accommodation options, as night was falling and during a heavy storm. Eventually we decided to drive to Palenque, the nearest town (where the property was SUPPOSED to be located), around 100km away. The host helpfully told us they had a relative that owned a small ecolodge there and arranged a room for us for the night. We mutually agreed they would refund us as the property was inaccessible, minus the cost of the stay in the relative’s hotel. They were insistent in communicating via WhatsApp rather than Airbnb, which in hindsight should have rung alarm bells - but we gave them the benefit of the doubt, because as hosts ourselves we know the stresses of difficult situations such as these. Fast forward two weeks later and the host is refusing to refund us for our stay. We paid $305 USD and were never able to stay. They have refunded us $75 USD, which they are claiming is the amount we paid minus the wages of their workers, the food they had bought for our stay (we were told a “menu” would be available and we would pay in cash - but they now want to charge us for everything they purchased) and the Palenque hotel (as agreed) - which we know cost just under $50 USD. All in all this is the worst experience we have ever had with an Airbnb host, having used the platform to stay in properties all over the world for almost a decade. The property is still listed on Airbnb in completely the wrong location and no doubt other unsuspecting guests will also find themselves tricked and in a potentially dangerous situation. Avoid at all costs.