Relaxing, with Issues
Review Submitted: March 11, 2009
Date of Stay: March 2009
My non-profit organization decided at the VERY last minute to extend our board meeting into a weekend retreat. The owner was very accommodating. We drove up at night, which, for a group of young women, I do not necessarily recommend. The roads are extremely dark and the street signs are hard to read. If you have a navigation system, it will be your best friend! The porch is lit up in Christmas lights, so had we known that ahead of time, we would have easily found it initially. (A tip I would give the owner would be to note on the contract/instructions that the mailbox is at the top of the road and that the front porch is adorned in Christmas lights!).
The house is very large and comfortable. The downstairs is more modern than upstairs, but both are quite comfortable. The kitchen is stocked with all of the amenities of home. The view of the river is absolutely GORGEOUS! It is very peaceful and scenic and perfect for reading a book, star/nature gazing or sipping a glass of wine, especially with the waves lapping onto shore.
One negative for me would have to be the neighbors. They had 3 very large dogs that were quite menacing. Apparently they frequent the back yard of this property because there was dog excrement everywhere. It prevented us from doing any type of activity outside on the grass. Since the houses are so close together, I would also suggest that curtains/blinds were added to the windows downstairs. If you are washing dishes or walking/standing around downstairs and the neighbors happen to be outside, (which they or their guests frequently were) they can see you clearly and vice versa. The good news is that there is only one neighbor to deal with. The other side of the house is pure wilderness.
The other negative for me was the check out checklist. I had no problems with some of the items on the list (emptying/replacing trash bags, loading dishwasher, etc.), but I felt some duties were a bit much. If I am on vacation, I do not want to wash/dry towels/sheets, clean/scrub a bathroom, vacuum, etc. Most vacation homes I’ve rented in the past requested I leave the towels/linen in a pile. My extent of clean up was washing dishes and putting them away, emptying trash cans and that’s it.
Overall, we had a pleasant stay and a productive meeting. If a privacy fence was added and some check out requirements were relaxed a bit, I think the future renters will have nothing but positive remarks for this property.
Owner's Response: This was a same-day reservation for which the guest received a 10% discount. As always, instructions regarding the key pickup were given to the reserving guest prior to arrival, along with written directions. I did not receive instructions to send information to any separately arriving guest.
While I found out that our neighbor had taken in two of his son's dogs, I was not aware of that until during this guest's stay. The guests also advised me someone's car got stuck in a wet area, and that the neighbors graciously helped them extricate themselves.
As far as the yard issues, my inspection following this guest's departure revealed that a large group of geese had recently visited our waterfront area. Since I live just up the road, I would have been happy to clean up the offending material had I been advised.
We have used the departure checklist since beginning our rental business in 2007. We are always happy to work with guests who are pressed for time on their departure day. If requested, we can take care of the cleaning and linens for an additional fee, or guests are welcome to bring their own linens. I am pleased they enjoyed themselves despite their issues and hope they will stay with us again.
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Helpful votes: 5/5
