Bree Robertson thought a nature reserve in Bali would be the perfect place to celebrate her and her travel partner’s one month anniversary. He found a villa on Airbnb with an infinity pool, restaurant and views of the rainforest and booked a room for one night in mid-July after reading a number of good reviews. But when Robertson and her partner arrived at the property, the villa was abandoned. Instead of sparkling blue water, there was an overgrown, algae-filled pool. The restaurant was closed and stacks of chairs were crammed outside. Not a single person was on the property. “All we could do was laugh. We were so exhausted and so tired, it was the perfect end to a not-so-great day,” Robertson, who shares her adventures on her website Atypical Adventure, told Insider. Robertson recorded the experience and posted it to her TikTok account @atypical_adventure on July 16. The video has more than 4.3 million views as of Monday.

The couple snuck into what they thought was a romantic Airbnb to celebrate a month of living in Bali

                          Bree Robertson and her partner arrived at this Bali retreat to find it empty.  Bree Robertson/Atypical Adventure

In June, Robertson and her partner moved from their home in Wellington, New Zealand, to Canggu, a seaside village on the south coast of Bali. So far, Robertson said the move from windy, rainy Wellington to tropical, warm Bali has been “just brilliant”. “It’s a nice change from the freezing cold and wind in Bali where it’s sunny and beautiful,” he said. As the couple neared the end of their month in Bali and the 10-month anniversary of their relationship, Robertson began searching Airbnb for a romantic getaway to celebrate. The private room he landed on at the sanctuary looked impressive with its positive reviews before the pandemic and an Airbnb host who had a 100 percent response rate, he said. So he closed Airbnb for about 750,000 Indonesian rupiah, or about $50. In Bali, Robertson said it was a more expensive list and a prank for the couple. On their anniversary, the couple hopped on their scooters and drove about two hours from their apartment in Canggu to Sidemen, a village in eastern Bali. The couple initially went to the wrong location. When they finally found the property, Robertson said she and her partner were surprised by how lush the area looked. Pictures of neglected Airbnb property. Bree Robertson/Atypical Adventure Robertson said they parked on the street, passed an empty reception area and headed for the main building where its large wooden doors were closed. “We walked around the back of the main building and that’s when I saw everything was overgrown,” he said. “The pool had turned green and where the restaurant should have been, all the chairs were up and there was just dust.” The couple realized that the shelter had turned into a ghost town. Robertson said all they could do was laugh. “What you don’t hear on TikTok is, ‘What did you do Bree?’ What’s going on?” he said. An abandoned building on Airbnb property. Bree Robertson/Insider After exploring the abandoned shelter for a few minutes, it started to rain and the humor ran out, Robertson said. So they found another listing in Ubud, hopped back on their scooters and spent the night at another lodge. Robertson immediately requested a refund from Airbnb. Airbnb responded and Robertson said a refund was issued the same day. About a week later, the listing was removed from Airbnb’s website, he said. “We were disappointed to learn of this experience and provided our support to the guest at that time, including a full refund,” an Airbnb spokesperson told Insider. “We maintain high quality hosts and the listing is no longer on the platform.”

Moving forward, Robertson plans to book Airbnbs with more recent reviews

                          Bree Robertson, pictured in Bali, Indonesia.  Bree Robertson/Atypical Adventure

The comment section on Robertson’s TikTok is filled with other people sharing similar experiences with Airbnbs in Indonesia. According to Bloomberg, many resorts and villas have been closed and put on the market during the pandemic, so it can be difficult to know which ones are still operating. One TikToker said they “always ask for live video to see the current status.” Others said they only book Airbnbs with recent reviews. Robertson said she will do that moving forward, as well as make sure she hears back from the host. “I 100% recommend Bali. It’s a beautiful place,” he added. “I feel like this is a needle in the haystack story that happened to me.”