TikTokker books a luxury Airbnb in Bali, which turns out to be a ruin

“All we could do was laugh. We were so exhausted, so tired; it was the perfect end to a not-so-great day,” said Robertson, who shares his adventures on his website. Atypical Adventure. Robertson decided to make a TikTok video of his adventure and posted it to his account on July 16. @atypical_adventure. The video now has over 4.3 million views.

The couple paid a hefty sum for what they thought was a romantic evening at a gorgeous Airbnb would become

Photo: Bree Robertson/Atypical Adventure

In June, Robertson and her partner moved from Wellington, New Zealand to Canggu, a coastal town on the south coast of Bali.

So far, according to Robertson, the move from windy, rainy Wellington to hot, tropical Bali has been “just awesome”.

“It’s a nice change from the cold and windy Bali where it’s constantly sunny and tropical,” she says.

When the couple decided to celebrate their first month in Bali, Robertson decided to scour Airbnb for a romantic place to spend the night.

“The private room she landed in at the lodge seemed impressive with her many positive reviews and an Airbnb host who got 100%,” she says.

So she booked the Airbnb for about 750,000 Indonesian rupees, or about 50 euros. “In Bali,” says Robertson, “it’s quite expensive and therefore a splurge for us.”

On the day of their stay, the couple hopped on their scooters and drove about two hours from their apartment in Canggu to Sidemen, a village in east Bali.

The couple initially thought they had arrived at the wrong place, but after further checking Google Maps they were shocked by the condition of the resort.

Robertson says they parked in the driveway, passed an empty reception hall and looked for the reception area, where the large wooden doors were closed.

“We walked around the back of the main building and saw everything was overgrown,” she says. “The pool was full of seaweed and what should have been the restaurant, all the chairs were piled up and the tables were covered in a thick layer of dust.”

The couple realized that the resort had turned into a ghost town.

Robertson said they couldn’t do anything but laugh. “What you don’t hear on TikTok is my partner saying something like, ‘What did you do, Bree? What’s going on?'” she said.

After exploring the deserted station for a few minutes, it started to rain and the party was over, Robertson said. So they found another hotel in Ubud, got on their scooters again and spent the night in the other accommodation.

Robertson received a refund from Airbnb the same day after sharing her experience with the haunted lodge. The listing was also removed from Airbnb’s website about a week later.

“We were shocked to learn what happened and have since offered guests assistance from our platform, including a full refund,” an Airbnb spokesperson told Business Insider. “We hold hosts to high standards and the ad is no longer on the platform.”

From now on, Robertson plans to book Airbnbs with newer reviews

Robertson’s comments on TikTok are full of others who have had similar experiences with Airbnbs in Indonesia. Many resorts and holiday villas in Bali had to close during the pandemic, but these accommodations did not automatically disappear from booking platforms.

It can therefore be difficult to know which options are still in effect. One TikToker wrote in the comments that they “always request a video from the host to better assess the condition of the Airbnb.” Others said they only book Airbnbs with recent reviews.

Robertson says she will from now on and also make sure she doesn’t do instant bookings but communicates with the owner first. “I recommend Bali 100%. It’s a beautiful place,” she adds. “I feel like a needle in the haystack thing happened to me.”

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