I rented a house in Cresco, Pennsylvania through Luxury Stay, LLC for a two-night business trip in the Poconos during November 2014. The property was seriously misrepresented in Luxury Stay's listing on TripAdvisor. Among other misrepresentations, Luxury Stay asserted that the "house was completely renovated in March 2014 and features 5 bedrooms with 2 full bathrooms" and that it includes "5 bedrooms (which) feature queen size beds, linens and towels included." The house was, in fact, a log cabin in a sad state of disrepair.
The listing implied that this is a two-story home. What it does not explain is that 3 of the bedrooms and the larger bath are located in the basement. One of those basement bedrooms had no windows and no heat. There are burned out (or missing) light bulbs everywhere both inside and outside the property. Because we were not about to stay in a basement (and fortunately there were only two of us), we used the upstairs bedrooms and bath. The bathroom is smaller than the bath in most campers or cruise cabins. You literally bump into the wall when using the toilet or trying to dry yourself at the end of a shower.
The first floor bath includes a baseboard heater which does not work but is totally crusted over with rust from urine splash. On the other side of the toilet is a toilet brush holder that is also rusted from urine splash. In the kitchen, there was trash in the wastebasket from a previous guest. The side of the noisy refrigerator in the "brand new kitchen" was covered with scratches and dents, and there is a lovely view in the space between the stove and the cabinets ... including the rodent bait. Both inside and outside, this house needs a serious visit from the local building and electrical inspectors. There is wiring to be found everywhere that cannot possibly be up to code, along with the bathroom heater that does not work, and a downstairs thermostat that is missing its cover. The jumble of wires and debris under the back deck is particularly worrisome. Other issues? A broken screen, dirty windows, a broken bed frame in one of the basement bedrooms, gouges in woodwork.
Outside, the yard is an unlandscaped wasteland. Nonetheless, this was represented as a luxury property. Immediately after arrival, I called the Luxury Stay telephone number twice to express my dissatisfaction and to explain that I expected a significant refund. They NEVER returned my calls. I paid $980.00 for this two-night rental, which included a refundable $250.00 security deposit. The basic fee also included a linen fee (even though the listing says that linens are included) and a cleaning fee (although I can provide extensive photographic documentation that any prior cleaning was woefully inadequate and unacceptable). According to my rental contract, the $250.00 security deposit was to be refunded with 10 business days of departure. That time has significantly passed, I have not received that refund, and Luxury Stay is once again not returning my phone calls. read more