Besides the apartment drama in NYC last December, I’ve had good vacation rental experiences. Maybe it’s because I thoroughly research my options or maybe I’ve just been lucky. Maybe it’s because I rely heavily on the pictures that the owners post up of their unit because if I don’t like how the place looks in pictures, I mostly likely won’t like it in person. I was hoping to continue my streak, but I can think of anything that can salvage the horrible experience we just had in our Mammoth condo this past weekend.
We stayed in a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo (Mammoth Point #106) located a little above the Canyon Lodge base area. A friend of mine secured this rental through Mammoth Reservations Bureau (MRB) for 2 nights. Total cost: $460 + $100 security deposit which works out to about $94 for 6 people – what a steal! I remember not being too impressed with the pictures of the condo, but I was hoping that the great price would equate to great deal. When we arrived, my first impression was that the condo was very dated, but I wasn’t going to dock points off just for that. I don’t need granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances and 600 thread-count sheets to be comfortable; all I ask for are clean conditions, a working heating/cooling system (depending on location, ex. Hawaii vs Mammoth), comfortable bed and a useable kitchen. Sadly, Mammoth Point #106 failed on all four of these requirements:
– There were lots of brown spots on the carpet and I know it’s a 70’s thing, but I will never understand why anyone would install carpet in the bathroom.
– My mattress sunk in towards the middle, making it very uncomfortable for two people to sleep on. Also, I’m not sure if it was goose down, but feathers kept poking out of the sheets.
– The heater in my room did not work, causing the room the stay at a constant chilly 50 degrees.
– The comforter that I was supposed to use was stuffed into the top of the closet, which made me question whether the comforter was even washed or not.
– Some pans were bent so cooking meats evenly was a challenge. The coating on the non-stick pans was clearly deteriorating.
– The oven had a mind of its own; I’ve been able to adjust to different brands and at different altitudes, but this time, the oven just would not cooperate!
The worst part of this whole experience was that part of our electricity went out WHILE I WAS IN THE SHOWER! Apparently, we overloaded the circuit, causing the circuit breaker to trip. Even though they supposedly “manage” this specific unit, the MBR provided no assistance in resolving this issue. I understand it was late at night, but you would think that they would do more than just tell us to look for the circuit breaker box and fix it ourselves. When we called back in the morning, all they did was send a maintenance guy over to get the Mammoth Point office manager, whose building is right across from us. Really, MRB? We could have done that ourselves. Thanks for nothing.
Now I know why this condo was so cheap!
alley-kat.com 