The house is large and conveniently located with a nice view overlooking the river. The house is nicer than the photos. There were also ample spices, condiments, etc.
Unfortunately the negative outweighed the positive.
The floors were filthy. Everyone in our group of 12 had blackened feet from walking inside the house. This dirtiness extended to the enclosed porch and the hot tub, which was covered in pollen and dirt.
While we didn't expect curtains (the house is in the woods), we did expect privacy in the bathrooms. Unfortunately, there was no curtain on the unfrosted window in the master bath, which looks out at the hot tub. We hung a towel, but it wasn't large enough to cover the window. The bathroom above the garage doesn't have a curtain and looks across to a bedroom in house, also no curtain. Awkward.
We struggled to cool the house. Eventually, we realized the ceiling fans were rotating backwards. It took us a half hour to find the remotes - one was in a different room and one was buried in a drawer. The batteries in both were dead (we obtained replacements). With the fans working, the house was much cooler.
The biggest issue was that when we woke up the second day there was no hot water. We contacted the owners, and they responded a couple hours later to let us know that no one could come because it was a holiday. Later they told us someone was indeed coming. When we returned later, it still was not fixed so we called the owners and emailed for a status. We received no response and tried both again later. No response. They emailed the next day (no phone calls were returned). Quote:
"We’re doing everything we can but it was July 4th yesterday and no one was open and we were hosting people and couldn’t check our phone constantly. I’ve been calling hot water companies but don’t have a timeframe."
While we know that getting a repairman on a holiday is hard, we expected better communication. We too were entertaining guests at the house we were paying them to rent, and this note implied that the owners' holiday was more important than addressing the needs of their customers.
After 24 hours with no hot water, the issue was fixed.
In short, we felt that the owners didn't care much about ensuring a positive experience for guests. Problems can occur, and owners should be prepared to manage these issues. Basic levels of cleanliness and privacy should also be maintained. Without these issues, it would have been a great vacation home.