Picturesque Mill River Colonial with Pond, Tennis Court

To be fair, this was a record season for mosquitoes in the Berkshires. We had high hopes for a family vacation with our son, his wife and our grandchildren...all of whom (11, 3, 1) are now recovering from massive bug bites and lack of sleep. This is indeed a charming, 200 year old home, as advertised. The 1960 era kitchen with its unpredictable electric stove was serviceable, and there were lots of good pots and pans. The dishwasher worked well. There was a vegetable garden from which we picked tomatoes and basil...very nice. This would be a great place to read, listen to music and play scrabble with some old friends.

But some other aspects were not as advertised. It is a funhouse warren of rooms, each floor tilting at a different angle. By the second day, the one year old had regressed to crawling so he wouldn't tumble moving from place to place. Most of the windows don't open or close very easily--or at all--so said bugs were indoors as well as out. It became cold at night, there were no extra blankets--and remember-windows could not be closed. The "swim pond" is actually a stagnant mosquito breeding pool. The children had almost no opportunity (even covered with bug spray) to play outside--and there are no games or toys at the house. If you bring children--you must bring everything they might need to have a good time indoors.

So--there you are--trapped indoors much of the time. The home has a tiny TV in the living room and a larger one upstairs. The town of Great Barrington does have a nice swimming pond--about 25 minutes away. Pittsfield (about 40 minutes) has an enjoyable children's museum.

The biggest asset besides complete quiet was the tennis court. But the weather and bugs kept us off the court, and during a brief break in the bug action on two sunny afternoons--we couldn't play on the "private" court because the owner's son was preparing for a tournament! When asked who he was (this is a very rural property--where did he come from?)--he rudely told us he owns it, we should come back in 40 minutes when he's done, and don't go away mad, everyone shares it. When alerted by the rental agent that this was happening--his parents sent him back over to apologize--but the very entitled young man explained that it was a very "intense" game, and when might he come back the next day? The contract does not say "access to," it says "private."

In 5 years of summer rentals, this was the first time we've had such an experience.