Host And Keep — Local services in Miami

DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY. Terrible experience all around and the most insulting customer service I have ever experienced in my life. We booked the “ArtHaus” vacation home through Booking Com and at first it was fine. The home itself was nice enough (though it was not worth the price given the uncomfortable bedding and depressing lighting and sketchy neighborhood).

The real problem was that on the second night of our stay the smart lock ran out of battery and would not function. After waiting to get through to their customer service, they provided a code to the lock box. However, the lock box would not open despite dozens of attempts — we tried every possible method but it would not budge so we were left outside late at night in an unfamiliar and sketchy neighborhood. Their service operator seemed avoidant to send someone to us and only did so after we complained multiple times that the lock box would not open. However, the maintenance person only arrived after almost THREE HOURS since the problem first occurred. We had to simply wait next to the street while we received very few updates as to his arrival time.

Eventually the maintenance person arrived and admitted even he could not open the lock box. Instead he gave us 2 keys to get into the property. He could not fix the smart lock or the lock box so we had to rely on these keys for the rest of our stay.

During this time the only compensation we were offered was a pizza, but we had already eaten. There were very few apologies and even those were half hearted. The person handling communications through the app didn’t even seem to know that we had gotten the maintenance person to give us keys, as they asked us THE NEXT DAY to send a video of the issue. Apparently they thought we hadn’t even gotten into the house the entire night? What?

The worst part though was that when I mentioned my frustration after the trip and requested a refund for just that night, they refused to offer me ANYTHING. They even mis-characterized the occasion by saying I hadn’t requested maintenance, but in reality I had been reaching out to multiple people in their company for hours, during which time they mainly tried to tell me I was opening the lock wrong. The person handling communication through Booking said that nothing could be done at this point and claimed that since they solved the problem “same day”, I deserved nothing. However, the fault lies with their preparation BEFORE we even arrived. They failed to check the smart lock was adequately charged and they failed to ensure the lockbox would open. That alone would justify a refund, but to add injury to insult they took multiple hours late at night to get someone there and then insulted us after the fact.

So, long story short: STAY AWAY. These people don’t care...

4 men working at Everglades national park. I came along and stayed with my 9 year old son. Overall the experience we had on this gorgeous property was 5 stars. The property is absolutely stunning! It’s a gated home. Looks as if the original home, which is the airbnb we stayed in, is still all pretty original (bathrooms have had some updating but none in kitchen.) Probably built in 70s/80s. Saying that, all the fixtures and amenities were definitely of value at original build because they have not much wear and tear and everything still works great! However (and why I gave 4 stars) the kitchen could REALLY use some new dishes, pots, pans, cups, dish towels, etc. Most things for cooking are old. And there is only 1 knife set that’s super dull. It then looks like there was a massive addition built in the 2000s. That part of the home is not part of the Airbnb (or they are broken into seperate rentals possibly), and it’s connected with a breezeway and shares the whole property. There is a pool right outside the Airbnb doors but shared with the whole place. I’m not sure if it was the owners or other renters staying on the property also but you will certainly see people if there are. Which was fine with us because that is what I kind of gathered from the listing. So it’s almost a type of resort set up. But beyond the pool is an absolutely stunning scene of a man made waterfall that crashes into a massive pond. (Not aloud in pond). A huge deck is build around the entire thing with spots for a fire or lounging. Hearing that waterfall all the time was really amazing. Some more positives, you can have Walmart and pizza still delivered there. The AC is AMAZING. 2 systems keep house so cool. The bed in the master bedroom is SO comfortable. WiFi was pretty darn decent considering signal is rough out there. There is a parrot on the property! A real parrot that has a large cage next to pool. My son loved him and he did make a little noise during day but was not a nuicense at all! Couple more things that could be addressed: pool table could use new sticks and maybe a dart board. The few board games there are are old and pieces missing. There was a dog wondering (that did leave some poo in a couple spots) but he didn’t bother us at all. Just scared the crap out of me when it popped around a corner. Not sure again if that was renters or the owners. Again, I could have walked around the property for hours and explored it was just so pretty. Would be a stunning place for a wedding also with a huge linea with big concrete pads and waves of grass grown thru the cracks. Hope to go back! (Last...

I would love to give 4.5 stars but thats not an option and taking a whole star is not fair for what we noticed.

Nice property that met our needs. Needs a few minor upkeep repairs, furniture cleaning and touch ups. Felt airy and roomy with lots of room to relax and not feel crowded. Well decorated and not over the top. Super clean and there were plenty of cleaning supplies available. A little light on dishes etc. The house is rated for 8 people and there were about 5 drinking glasses and cutlery for about 5 people. Perhaos there were more but have gotten broken or misplaced over time. Quiet street and soundproofed house. Plenty of natural light. Ample parking, nice yard with lovely landscaping. A flock of peacocks lives in the neighborhood and came to visit several times a day.

Main reason for the 1/2 star loss is their rental mangement company. We booked through Marriott who outsourced it to a local company. The prior Marriott properties we have used were managed and branded by Marriott with impeccable property management. This local company..not so much.

For example: While it was very easy to reach them for any questions it took two days to convince them that they did not leave adequate bath linens. They left plenty of towels but kept asking us to check the cabinets and closets for washcloths and hand towels and one of their team members told us the property only came with towels...ridiculous and untrue as there a few cloths on site (just not enough for our party of 7). They figured it out and in the meantime I simply washed what we had.

Also: Whomever is contracted for trash removal did not do their job. When we arrived the outside trash bins on the far side of the house were full and overflowing with bags of garbage on the ground all around them and no one came to handle it as outlined in the property instructions. If it was our trash we would have no problem taking it to the curb for waste management pickup but we were not willing to be responsible for such a large refuse pile esp when there were specific instructions on who was responsible for what and when.

Would we stay again: Yep. Those were small inconveniences and the price and location fit our...