VRBO review: Rental Home Westminster Colorado, May 11-15, 2025 1

A group of 6 Seniors rented this home as a place to spend our annual Spring Fling. The description of the property lead us to believe that it would be a very fun and whimsical place to spend our time. My wife and I checked into the home 1 day before the others were to arrive from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. We are from Washington State.

We drove by the property 2 hours before check in time to see what it looked like from the outside. To our dismay the grounds were very unkept with weeds fallen trees, cracked concrete in the front. We had not seen an exterior view on the website but had looked at the interior pictures when we rented.

When we checked in, the first thing to be concerned about was a distinct musty odor throughout the home. We then checked out the rooms and were OK with the looks of the bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas. We then looked at the lower level bedrooms and theatre and were dismayed at the cold temperature and stronger odor. We developed a plan of who would sleep where skipping the lower level as it would not be adequate for any of us. The backyard was worse then generally the front in that there were weeds, leaves and broken lawn furniture. Also there was no grill as promised by the property manager. We sill decided to go ahead with the rental even though we were very unhappy with the property.

My wife and I then spent the evening in the home. When we woke up, the odor was worse, and I developed a cough from breathing in the air. We could not open any windows since there were no screens to keep bugs out. I texted the property manager and told him of my concerns. He told me that he could get someone there in 2 days. I told him that was unacceptable. I discussed the situation with our friends and we decided that they should not travel as the home was unusable. I then communicated with the Property Manager and he agreed to cancel the reservation. We then spent the remainder of our time booking a hotel, changing our flight reservations and car reservation. We cleaned up the two rooms we used and repacked and left the property.

Since that time, I have communicated with VRBO through chat at least 5 times (case number 139652729) to gain restitution. I was told first that we would be refunded the $2,200 that we paid. On the next communication I was told that the refund would subtract $319 for the night we stayed. When the refunds were credited back to my account, I received $554 less than the rental amount and was told they subtracted the one night plus $233 for a cleaning fee. Nowhere in any description of the property was a cleaning fee mentioned.

I have communicated with VRBO representatives numerous times and was told that a higher level of customer service would respond to me. No one has reached out. I am sending this to you in hopes that we can put this to rest. I think that I should be refunded the total amount and not have to pay anything for this totally unacceptable property. In other words you shoud refund the difference of $553 to me. You should also take the listing of this home off of VRBO and not subject another customer the totally unaccetale accomodations.

Thank you,
David Vandemoortel