Shabby Chic without the 'chic'
Shabby Chic without the 'chic'
Submitted: June 30, 2011
Stayed: June 2011
The Pros: The proximity to Woodstock was great, and the kids loved the air hockey table. The house was generally clean. It was available.
The Cons:
(I was a guest of the renting party). Expectations are the prime determinant of happiness/satisfaction, and my expectations were too high. I assumed the price per night meant the equivalent of 4 to 5 star lodging. That was a bad assumption. The right way to calibrate is this: take the price per night, and divide by 12 (the beds i counted). Then take that price per night per person. That's more like 2 star accomodations. If you set your expectations to that price per night, you will have the right expectations. This place looks better in the pictures than in reality. The bushes in front are overgrown now (those pics are old) and cover the left half of the house. Several beds have plastic mattress covers under the sheets, and not to protect against bed-wetters. In one case to cover up large dark brown stains - gross. One bedroom has no A/C (but wasn’t needed in June anyway as its cool at night). The furniture is generally ancient and not that comfortable. The kitchen is functional, but missing many kinds of glasses and the dishwasher works but the wheels are missing off the racks. I'm surprised by so many 5 star ratings, as it doesn't warrant those in my opinion. The house is dark (the rear faces dense woods) and the outside is dirty and the paint is peeling. There is no real garden or outdoor space to enjoy because the house sits on a 'busy' road (for the area) so you will hear cars late into the night, and little kids can't be outside by themselves as the road is too dangerous for them. I would not return to this house.
Owner's Response: This is the first review we have had in ten years that is less than satisfactory. The guest is confusing 5 star grading (of hotels, etc., generally done by an independent organization) with the 1 to 5 star ratings given by a guest according to his/her personal satisfaction. Our house rents for $1795.00 for a week, and sleeps 14. This breaks down to $18.32 per person per night.
All our mattresses are fitted with covers. We did find two 1 - 3 in. spots at the pillow end of the mattress, close to the headboard, which to us indicates a spill rather than anything else. Furthermore, it was removed easily using soap and water. We decided to replace the mattress as it has been 10 years. As the house is about 200 years old, we’ve tried to find comfortable furniture to suit the house.
We counted 27 water and juice glasses. The lower rack of the dishwasher had the rear wheels on, but the front wheels missing. These we found in the kitchen drawer. Wheels often fall off. Some just place them in the drawer. The house has a southern exposure for sunlight. Behind the house there are woods, though not dense, considering we are located in the 300,000 acre Catskill forest.
The northeast bedroom has less window space than the other rooms. Placing an air conditioner there would reduce the flow of cool mountain air entering. We opted for a table fan instead. We will, however, place an air conditioner in the closet for those who prefer air conditioning.
We have re-painted the front door. Paint was peeling in a 1 sq. ft. area 3 ft. above ground-level, which indicates, perhaps, children knocking with toys. We are on a county road which does get a bit busy on weekends. The road bends and is posted 20 MPH, so the cars go by slowly. There are very few cars late at night. For children, we have a fenced-in area in the backyard. We have a small, decorative garden off the front porch.
One bush has obscured some light from one window. Watching a cardinal fly in and out of this bush is the payoff. For outdoor sitting, we have a picnic table on the grass off the kitchen, situated behind some bushes specifically planted to give the area privacy.
When we contacted the lady who had rented the house, we were informed that until that phone call, she had been unaware of any review. We offered to reimburse her for the room her guest was not happy with.
Helpful votes: 3/4
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