My family planned a last minute getaway. My son had been taking swimming lessons so we wanted to find a place with a pool close to home. We stumbled upon the Malibu retreat. It looked perfect due to its saltwater pool and gorgeous photos online. There were so many great reviews…what could go wrong?
We booked the guest house as some of the other options that were less pricey did not have pool access according to one of the owners. So we paid the extra couple hundred for the pool.
We arrive and all seemed as described in the guest house. Within the first hour my daughter was crawling anround and picked up a cigarette that was on the floor just under the couch. No big deal. We unpack and head to the pool…
The pool was green, smelled, and was cloudy (nothing like the photos online). I message right away and get a text back indicating the levels were tested that day and were fine. Hmm. At this point I didn’t know what we could do other than make the best of it.
We decide to make some food as we were told the kitchenette included a convection oven. Nope nothing but a microwave. So we order take out instead $$. My son wanted to roast marshmallows bc I told him there was a fire pit outdoors. We head over and it’s filled with leaves. This was also the case with the outdoor bbq. Not a big deal but we didn’t spend the money to clean the amenities, and we were worried about the smoke if we left the leaves.
On our last day my son opens a little decorative box in the living room to find a green rotten string cheese yikes!
It is important to note the guest house has sliding glass doors at the entrance of the guest house. Directly in front is where guests of the main house will park. Our view was of 5 cars and there was a lot of activity so we had to keep curtains shut the entire time.
FYI- There is no sink for washing dishes or baby bottles. We had to make do with the bathroom sink.
Once returned I let them know how the stay was and I was told they found out the pool had been clogged and they were out of the country. They offered a discount next time which was appreciated but I honestly feel we should have been compensated. I sent a text and emailed my thoughts but am getting no response.
They were quick to respond when it came to booking and taking my 500$ deposit.
I’m so bummed about this experience because it is a beautiful place if it were maintained and if the pool were safe to put the kids in. Last photo is of us making the most of it...
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