Disgraceful, dishonest, misleading host! Whatever ...

Disgraceful, dishonest, misleading host! Whatever you do, do not stay here! I repeat, do not stay here! The owner of this so-called establishment is a con artist you should avoid like the plague and the place is dirty, shabby and neglected with rude staff.

First things first, this is not an innocent houseowner renting out an adjoining building to make some extra money, but a failed landlord (one can only imagine why!) flogging daily rentals at an oversized, derelict gated community nobody ever wanted to live in (one can only imagine why!). No wonder he has resorted to duping clients in a last-ditch attempt to get a few bucks out of this dump.

To start with, on Airbnb he has marked only the most expensive house on here (4 bedrooms) as pet-friendly, when in fact, there are numerous other rooms and houses also available for pets, including one that is a third of the price here. Since there are few pet-friendly hotels in Ayuthaya, his plan is evidently to force small groups into choosing a huge house they don't need.

As soon as we arrived and realised this ruse, we requested to be moved to another pet-friendly room as it made no sense for a couple to have to pay for 4 bedrooms when we need only one (1,500 USD vs 450USD)! We also pointed out it was the hotel's fault for misrepresenting which rooms (all, as far as I can make out) allow pets.

The owner's daughter, or friend of some ambiguous kind or other, informed us forthwith that there was nothing that could be done as we had already paid. This, to be correct from the get-go, is 100% wrong as the policy was clear on Airbnb that an immediate refund minus penalty is a given. When we requested to see the other rooms, she told us they were even bigger than ours, but this also turned out to be totally false as they have numerous other options down to a singleton room. Eventually, I managed to unilaterally make the cancellation, but minus penalty in the form of the reservation fee, amounting to a total of 359.71USD lost.

After much argument, the owner finally agreed to give us a full refund, but only on his terms: he would give us half of the outstanding amount as free nights in a new room. This is 100% breaking Airbnb terms and conditions as refunds MUST be processed through the platform. Moreover, it meant that we couldn't get back the remaining 179USD. Clearly, this was just part of his plan to extort money from us and force us into staying at his wretched abode.

Since we had nowhere else to stay with our dogs, we decided to stay on but didn't accept his offer, hoping to pay him separately in cash at the end of the loathsome stay. Instead, we contacted Airbnb directly who said it was a simple matter of the host saying he was in agreement for a full refund.

Khun Narong then proceeded to downright lie to us on a daily basis, claiming he had already replied to the message from Airbnb affirmatively and that the entire refund would be issued. The helpful support staff on Airbnb said he never even looked at the message, let alone replied! Nevertheless, he kept on prolonging the situation and counting down the clock till our inevitable departure, insisting he was in contact with Airbnb to arrange the refund, when he never was.

Every time we had to pass his living quarters, this sly, shameless snake smirked at us in conceit. He quite obviously is convinced he is above any terms and conditions, not to mention ethics, and spares no opportunity in rubbing it in.

At long last, our glorious, final day arrived; but escape was bittersweet. Since he had protracted the whole affair for so long, we had no choice but to accept his unscrupulous act of deception and forfeit the money.

Of course, I'll be taking this to the resolution center, but in the meantime, I advise all travellers to stay away unless you want to stay in a cesspit and deal with this duplicitous man. May this be a lesson that whatever your local standing, caveat venditor is the true king. Goodbye and good riddance! Adieu!