Mission Beach Villas — Local services in San Diego

BEWARE!!! Bayfront Beach Condo is located right in front of a SEWAGE PUMP STATION which they do not disclose in their listing. You may be captivated by the convenience of being right on the sand but you are actually staring right at a sewage pump station located right next to the patio. So while you're grilling food on the patio, you're actually inhaling human waste fumes at the same time. So pls be careful before renting!

We booked the Bayfront Condo in Mission Beach for 2 weeks. The first night, we immediately noticed a rancid, sour stench coming from the utility station located right in front of the bayfront patio. We immediately messaged the owner and they told us it was just a "water pump station" and the smell is from rotting kelp. However, 2 nights go by and I'm experiencing congestion (I have severe asthma and also currently pregnant) without much thought to it. Then one evening, we notice a team from the city public utility working on pump station. My husband approaches them and asks what exactly the pump station is for, they inform us that it's to pump HUMAN WASTE/SEWAGE from the area to a processing facility nearby. So, the rancid and sour smell was not from rotting kelp, but from actual toxic human waste fumes!

We decided not to stay the entire 2 weeks and booked a different place as soon as we could.

We informed the owners and they were extremely unbending and unwilling to accommodate us for any of the inconveniences this caused us. If you are looking for owners who really care and are willing to accommodate you, look elsewhere.

We are contemplating pursuing legal action due to the "lack of health risk disclosure in advertisement / listing". If we knew we would be staying a few feet away from a sewage pumping station, we would never in a million years have booked that unit.

Additionally, here are a few things that were not in functioning order upon our arrival: BBQ grill, oven, exhaust fan, patio screen door. Here is the exhaustive list that we wrote the owners in detail:

1. BBQ grill has very low gas flow on max setting. Left-side burners have little to no flame. Right-side burners also very low for max setting.

2. Screen door is extremely hard to open. It does not slide open seamlessly and requires a lot of effort. We've used the front door multiple times just to go out onto patio

3. Oven does not work. First night we buy sweet potatoes to cook in oven and oven doesn't work! Messaged the owners and they tell us that oven hasn't been working but plan to get a new one at some point. This was not disclosed to us prior to our arrival or check in which is extremely inconvenient for us since we really need an oven to use for 2 weeks. This is a major appliance and should notify your guests of items that are not in working order prior to check in.

4. Exhaust fan above oven isn't connected to an exhaust tube so the smoke from food just lingers inside unit and requires us opening all windows for smoke to clear. It gets very smokey when we cook in here!

5. Our stay here has had a direct effect on my health-respiratory and pregnancy-wise (not to mention undue stress on me and our baby). I wanted to believe what you said when you mentioned it's just a "water pump station" but am so disappointed that it in fact is sewage.

This is a serious matter. This sewage pump station is exposing your unknowing guests to inhalation of hazardous gases from human waste. Folks with serious respiratory issues can be seriously compromised and your company can be at serious risk as well. We believe this should have been clearly disclosed on the booking website. We suggest googling the effects of breathing in sewage gases.

Please be aware of what you are entering into before...

Do not stay at any of Scott and Janet’s properties unless you want to be watched, followed, and harassed. After arriving, we respectfully asked if we could use the large patio/grill area to host a bbq for a three year old’s birthday party with some family members. We were told no due to a 9 person occupancy limit. We complied and did not host that gathering. Later that same day, the host stalked our family to the beach, asked personal questions without introducing herself (we later compared to the host photo), and then walked directly back to her home right behind the Airbnb. This put everyone on edge and made us all uncomfortable. The following night, we were sitting on the porch for a quiet family gathering. We played acoustic guitar and sang at a low volume. We had 9 people or less except for a 15 minute period when some other family stopped by to say hello, at which point we had 10 people (for literally 15 minutes…). We lost track of time and didn’t realize we were out past Mission Beach’s very strict 10 p.m. curfew (of which I was not even aware—it’s so strict that even quiet conversation is not allowed outside after 10 p.m.). The host, Scott, came up to us and was furious. He told us we were “partying” and he could lose his license and threatened to kick us out at 11 p.m. We were very apologetic and offered to go inside, but Scott continued to escalate the interaction, raising his voice and making us fear for our and our family’s small children’s safety (where would we go with a 1 and 3 year old if he kicked us out in the middle of the night?). We had not received any noise complaints, no neighbors had come by, no police, nothing. When our family was inside putting the kids to bed, they opened the windows and couldn’t hear us on the porch below. Scott’s reaction was completely inappropriate and unnecessary. He acted like we were throwing a raging kegger. I also looked up the local laws and he would have to receive multiple noise complaints to police for him to receive a $1,000 fine…no police complaints were made about us as an officer never came by. For Scott to politely request that we go inside would have been appropriate and we of course would have immediately followed. Scott told us he owns multiple properties on that street and we then noticed cameras on all of them, pointing towards the house where we were staying. We immediately knew we were being watched as we came and went for the entirety of our stay. Janet came by the next morning to pretend she was unaware that she’d come up to our family on the beach, saying she was “just friendly” even though she did not speak to anyone else on the beach, came up to our family specifically, asked questions, and then immediately left the beach. Our privacy was violated and our negative Airbnb review was removed because we mentioned Scott and Janet’s names, which apparently violates some Airbnb rule. The hosts have a right to privacy even though our family did not have any privacy during their stay. I have never seen or experienced anything like this and would recommend staying far away from Mission Beach...

We rented a property for six nights in Mission Beach through Mission Beach Villas. The property was small, which, to be fair, I was warned about when booking the property. It was a 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit and for a family of three, it was tight. You're definitely paying for location as the unit was located within walking distance to the beach, bay, restaurants, boardwalk, and shops. The unit included a one car garage which is pretty much useless unless you drive a compact vehicle. The first night staying at the property, we discovered that the couch wouldn't make out into a full size bed. The frame was broken. Luckily our daughter is still small enough that putting the cushions on the floor got her through the night. We tried contacting Janet by voicemail and text message and never received a response. We called Scott and he answered. We told him the situation and he informed us he would be by the next morning to fix the issue. The next day, late afternoon, I had to call him again and he showed up within 15 mins. He had forgotten about the issue and after reminding him he was attentive. Also, the on-site dryer wouldn't work. We were instructed to "beat" on it to see if it would work. It did, but for the rates they charge these things should work. The couch even after it was fixed was uncomfortable. If you need anything I recommend contacting Scott first as he was attentive. Janet is slow at responding if she even does. Usually I had to reach out to her a couple times before actually...