4/10 Poor
Jonathan S.
20 August 2021
Liked: Cleanliness, check-in
Disliked: Communication, listing accuracy
Not ready for prime time, though it wouldn't take much to get there
It wouldn't take much to make this house much better, but unfortunately the owners neither did those things nor seemed to feel bad that they didn't. When you read "4 bedrooms" one would generally expect to have 4 different rooms with beds in them. In this case one bedroom had just a couch, which although it could lie flat, was not something an adult could reasonably sleep on (I ended up choosing the floor). How much more would it have been to just buy a bed? If nothing else, please don't call it a bedroom. I received no response from the landlord to my complaint here.
Another easy fix would be to have canoes and kayaks on the property. I thought that was a reasonable expectation given the lakefront and dock, but unfortunately it was not the case. In fact, you can't even bring your own boat to the lake, so boating is just out. When I called the owners they told me that they couldn't understand why I'd expect boating when the advertisement didn't explicitly say so. Technically true, but I think pretty misleading (any lakefront property I've ever rented had boats) and more importantly, a wasted opportunity. The attitude wasn't great either, but I guess that's in line with them thinking I shouldn't expect beds in a bedroom. Fortunately I can confirm that despite it not explicitly saying so, there were toilets in the bathrooms.
I did take a swim from the dock despite the sludge, but then a safety patrol boat told me that I'd just gone through blue-green algae. They gave me ride back so I wouldn't have to do so again, so I guess I got my boat ride there.
The upshot of no boats or ability to swim in the area (probably not always the case) is that the water is really just for looking at. It is a fairly nice view, though limited by being at the end of the cove. I just think the owner should make it explicit that you aren't going to use that water. Better yet, get some boats so that isn't the case.
Once we figured out this lay of the land we spent most our time a mile away at the beach/pool connected to the association. These were both very nice, with lovely views and good amenities. Other than the previously mentioned aspects and some furniture that wasn't well put together (another easy fix), the house was very nice and well air conditioned. There were games for kids to play and the convenience of a W/D. It was still a fun vacation; just not what I thought we were getting.
With a very small investment this house could be great.
Jonathan S.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2021
