Andrea

This is going to be a long review, as I want to be thorough but fair. Despite our issues with Andrea and the Villa, we had a fun time, but I do think there are much better options than this Villa, and even this resort, as it is really just part of Bahia Principe in name only. This is a 3-star villa inside of a 5-star resort (which you really have no access to anyway) SUMMARY THE VILLA: I am not sure how this villa is so highly rated; it is very tired and worn-out with an extensively long list of deferred maintenance that desperately needs attention. After contacting Airbnb during our stay, they agreed that the issues were numerous and unacceptable/misrepresented. They offered to give us 50% off the 2 nights we had been there plus a full refund on unused nights, however, this to me was a "nuclear" option. The villa is absolutely habitable, just very misrepresented and I did not want to waste 1/2 to full day packing and moving 9 people plus 2 refrigerators and cabinets full of food. All I wanted was some money back for the issues, such as the unusable rooftop pool, BBQ, broken dishwashers, and non-operating bedroom toilet, but they can only offer nuclear or nothing. The host, Andrea, refused to refund any money. ANDREA: Andrea is quick to respond to questions UNTIL I kept finding issues at the villa and questioned the accuracy of his description of the resort amenities that we had access to in the listing; he completely stopped communicating with me by the 2nd day (when I brought my issues to Airbnb's attention) and would not respond to repeated requests for help or even a visit from an onsite rep to show the issues ("You will be welcomed by the staff of Villa Eva"; nobody welcomed us or ever came by after repeated requests). The Villa description has since been updated after I pointed out the many misleading items, however I still think it remains very inaccurate. For example, the 2nd and 4th photos on the listing show the resort pools, there is another one further down showing basketball courts; all of which you do not have access to without buying day passes. YOU HAVE NO ACCESS TO ANY OF THE RESORT AMENITIES, other than the unimpressive private resident's "clubhouse". Of which, it should be noted that there is not a single photo of the clubhouse or its amenities (pool, gym, kids playground, etc). Another example of Andrea's property management practices: There are 2 dishwashers, neither worked; they have since been removed as amenities on the listing. So, Andrea appears to remove the amenities as they break instead of fixing or replacing them. Washing dishes by hand is not high on my list of things to do on vacation, especially when it is a large group (we were 9 people). RESORT: [These comments on the resort do not reflect the Villa itself or Andrea.] Other than security, which is actually almost too strong (see the previous guest review about trying to get a pizza delivery; it is accurate), the resort provides very little value to your stay unless you plan on doing day passes, which run US$50/60/70, depending on the resort you choose. Kids 2-12 are 50% off. The resort is nice, but as a guest of the residential area, you are a 2nd class citizen. You have no access to any of the on-property amenities (pools, athletic facilities, etc.). Even renting a kayak cannot be done as they are only for "guests of the resort". We did day passes on one day and it was enjoyable, but even that proved difficult to get towels, WiFi access, and toys, such as a pool volleyball. The only place within the resort for guests of the Private Residences to hang out at the beach is the Kay Beach Club (KBC). It is nice, with beach beds and palapas, and the food and drink are decent albeit a little overpriced. Villa owners get a 10% discount. VILLA GUESTS DO NOT. Next door to KBC is Scuba Aquatica where you can rent jet skis and hobbie cats, but not kayaks or paddleboards as they are for guests of the resort only. THE VILLA DETAILS THE GOOD: The villa is large and it was generally clean...That’s about the end of the list. THE BAD: This villa is tired and worn-out with an extensively long list of deferred maintenance that desperately needs attention. These issues are not recent/just happened type of things, they are from months and years of neglect. Andrea will respond to you until you get to real issues. Airbnb review prior to our arrival talked about a broken dishwasher and how the owner knew about it. But it was still not fixed on our visit; now "dishwasher" is nowhere to be found in the villa amenities. When we arrived, the following issues were reported. * Broken kitchen faucet (1st floor). Fixed 1 day before our departure * Badly broken chaise lounge (all are worn and in very poor condition); The worst one was removed at some point during our stay. Again, we were never notified when people were entering the villa and why. * Rooftop “pool” was green (see photo). Someone came and scrubbed the green bottom, but there is no filter on this pool, so while the bottom is no longer green, it is just a gross murky mess. Some poor soul will at best ruin a swimsuit to at worst get a rash or skin infection in this algae cesspool. * Pool lights fixed (I actually reported that we could not find the light switch, but I guess something had blown). This was the singular issue that was fixed in a timely manner. * BBQ Grill is rusted out. (See photos). Given the rusted gas pipe, this has not worked a long time, yet the description talks about hanging out on the roof deck pool and BBQing. [Also, no