Verified review
2/10 Terrible
SL C.
21 August 2026
Liked: Location
Disliked: Check-in, communication, listing accuracy
Worse experience ever. Never again. The host gave us less than 24 hours notice just before a 12 hour long roadtrip to Sydney demanding an excessive amount of 1000 for a security hold. If we couldn't afford the security hold, the host was not going to allow us access to the place & they would not give a refund if we cancelled. We felt this was very calculating. This was very upsetting & stressful because when we booked 2 months ago, this detail was not mentioned or itemised transparently in the property listing along with other extra charges and fees eg, excess rubbish, damages & stains. We discovered later that security holds/deposits/extra charges should have been CLEARLY disclosed upfront in the property listing before booking. A host cannot demand surprise security holds/deposits/extra charges after the booking has been made. This violates Stayz Strict Transparency & Notice Policy. We were on high alert from then on, concerned of being scammed of our security hold. The place was not as clean as we thought considering the host's rules. The host did not respect boundaries & space during our stay sending reminder messages. We were on edged & stressed to the point of losing sleep & returned home more tense than before we came. The host has several accommodations around Austral & Leppington, NSW. The host tried to get us to do an unauthorised relocation once before we booked this place which is against policy.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2026