Failed Septic System
Review Submitted: September 2, 2011
Date of Stay: August 2011
We stayed here August 7 to August 21, 2011. There were 12 of us the first week, 15 the second, and most of us have been staying in houses together on Martha’s Vineyard for three years now. We’ve all also visited the Vineyard separately many times over the years.
This is a spacious house within walking distance of Circuit Avenue and the beach. The kitchen is large, with 2 refrigerators, very nice for a group of this size. The mattresses are very comfy, the best we’ve had so far. However, 3 of the 6 bedrooms have no closet and one bedroom has just enough room to squeeze alongside the queen size bed. In addition, the septic system had failed. Although the owner says he first became aware of the problem a few days before we arrived, he informed us of the situation on the day of our arrival as we were all in route, and then suggested that we take short showers and shower outdoors. The toilets filled with food and overflowed three times during our stay. There were days when 15 people had the use of 1 or 2 of the 3 bathrooms in the house.
The owner was quick to have someone come and pump the system whenever problems arose, but we feel we should have been informed when the owner first became aware of the situation and given a chance to back out and get a full refund or offered a discount to still come.
Owner's Response: To be blunt, I have been renting my homes on the Vineyard since 1998, and I have never had such a serious situation while guests were in the home, and I truly regret that it happened. The septic had been acting up, but I learned about the extent of the problem the day before the guests arrived. The thought of cancelling their lodging in the middle of August did not even occur to me – they were arriving from Maryland and would have been stranded without a place to stay. When I told them of the problem they did not mention cancelling their reservation. Yes, I did politely ask for their help by reducing their water usage during their stay. It was the only way to alleviate the problem. I mentioned working out some form of settlement with the guests while they were still at the home and I have mentioned it again since.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE SEPTIC IS BEING REPLACED THIS WINTER AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THE ENGINEERING PLANS WITH ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED. WE ARE COMBINING THE JOB WITH A NEW LANDSCAPE DESIGN, SO WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO IMPROVING THE YARD AS WELL.
But now I need to defend the bedroom comments. While this home has been updated top to bottom, it is still a big funky Oak Bluffs home that is filled with surprises, and that includes the bedrooms. I love to watch the reactions of visitors as I show them through the house. It is truly unique. The bedrooms range in size from very large, to average, to one that is very small. They all have dressers and storage for clothing. Three have closets in the room; one has a place to hang clothes right outside the door. Two others have places to hang clothes but no closets. I can easily add more places to hang clothes this winter. The only reason it has not been done sooner is that no one has mentioned it as a problem. It's really a minor change.
Lastly, I stand by the quality of all 4 of my rental properties. I welcome you to examine my other properties on Homeaway.com ( 106497, 105199, and in San Diego – 125975) and decide about them for yourself. If this property interests you, please call me and we can discuss my plans for next year and any of the issues raised by the reviewer.
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