Do not ever stay at Evolve properties, especially **. They are the worst company we have ever dealt with. We booked a 4-night stay near Helen, Georgia through Booking.com for the New Year for myself, my wife, and our 2 young children. My kids asked to go somewhere instead of gifts this year, so we thought booking a mountain cabin would be a great way to unwind. Not even close. It was the worst experience we have ever had booking any property, and we are world travelers.
Getting to the property was extremely challenging, as Google Maps did not know how to get there, i.e. wanted me to cross a stream on a dirt road, sent me down a private driveway, etc. Ok, not a big deal. Get to the property at 11:46PM and it is pitch black. No motion sensing lights, no flood lights, no porch light; nothing. We get up to the door where the key box is, get the keys, and they do not unlock the door or deadbolt. We tried for several minutes before I noticed another door on the porch, which was the correct door, except neither key operated the deadbolt. We get inside, and it is quaint, I will give it that, but leaves much to be desired. Everything was done cheaply, and it shows. There is also a creepy door to the adjacent unit and a light was on in the room next to the bathroom/bedroom.
My kids feared being in the woods in the dark and were terrified of sleeping there. To make them feel safe, I walked around the property. That is when I noticed the kid’s bedroom window had no latches. The screen was knocked out and part of the latch was on the outside sill. The window could just be opened either from the top or bottom. This was the case for 4 other windows. Latches were either incomplete or completely missing. I have a video. Completely unsecure. We were at the property for 20 minutes and left to find a hotel in Helen.
We attempted to contact the host by email and by phone. When we did not receive a return call by midday, we contacted Evolve. We told them that we had to stay in a hotel since the property was not secure, on New Years Day, at 1AM for a ton of money since everything was booked. We also told Evolve that we had not heard from the host. Not one time did they say we HAD to deal with the host before they would do anything, and instead they let us go about our trip, which we had to change plans since there were no other lodging facilities available in the area.
The host contacted us back via email and said they would be happy to give us a complimentary future 1 night stay and meet at the property to walk around to show us how safe it was. This was 2 nights into our 4-night stay. We had moved on but were not far away. We contacted Evolve numerous times and ended up waiting 12 days for them to tell us to essentially get lost. No refund. No concessions. Tough luck. Several emails later, they told us to have an attorney contact them.
READ the booking policy. It is 100% written to take your money and screw you over. I have formally asked for arbitration. Ignored. I asked for a copy of the phone conversations. Ignored. They were nice and empathetic on the phone but had no intention of working with us at all. We lost $800, but that pales in comparison to what they will lose when this review is posted everywhere.
**[Identifiable information removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]
