My extended family has traveled a lot together and we look for large homes to accommodate us to all be able to stay together. With this past weekend being our patriarch's and matriarch's golden anniversary, they rented this home because of its central location hoping the whole crew would be able to stop in at least part of the time. When we arrived, the place appeared clean and ready for us. The home was in a rustic style, sparsely decorated, but comfortable. The rooms were plenty spacious. The listing said it slept 20, but we failed to ever find the 20th bed. There was a master with a king, 3 rooms with a queen and a queen/ single bunk, and then one room with a queen only. That totals 19 beds. The listing had a shower in each bathroom, but only three were full baths. The fourth bathroom was only a toilet and sink half bath. There were also only 19 plates and not enough silverware. We had to go buy paper plates and plastic forks and wash them each meal. I mention these things so future renters will be prepared and assured it will meet their needs, not to scare anyone away. The property was very well maintained. As is typical at these types of privately managed rental homes, there were a few things in need of repair, but it was obvious that they keep on top of them. It's just like owning a home and something always needs fixed. The water pressure was good and all the appliances worked well including the air conditioning, the washer/dryer, the gas grill and the hot tub. The beds were comfortable, but the pillows could have used replaced. The furniture was all in good repair except for the kitchen counter stools that all had some rips amongst them, and then one family room chair with some separated seams. I'm guessing these things get replaced in rotation and were minor overall. The pond was clean and appropriate for swimming. There were plenty of fish that the children could be successful fishermen. The floating dock was nice and the water was deep around it. The beach area was stone and would draw the honey bees from a neighboring bee keeper. We did have an incident with a child getting stung in the foot as they would swarm every day at the shoreline and blend in with the pebbles. We became aware at one point before arriving that the owner didn't realize their contract had given us one free bundle of wood per night. When we brought it to his attention he said he'd honor it, but there was no wood there when we arrived. After waiting for 24 hours we were given directions to a store to buy our own and he'd reimburse us, which he did. We also needed to add on the internet service as a couple people needed to attend to work emails. The connection was poor and they kept getting booted off. I just used my cellular data and my reception was fine with Verizon at this location. I don't know that I'd recommend adding this service since cellular service was strong. The prices of this location were comparable to places we've stayed that have had more beds and baths and more local tourism activity. There's very little to do outside of the property. Wifi should be included as well as firewood. Some additional outdoor recreation equipment would have been a nice touch. The paddle boat was perfect. Outdoor games such as can jam or cornhole would be nice as they're large to transport... maybe some fishing poles for the pond or lounge chairs? There were several indoor recreational games like pool, air hockey, a poker table and a couple arcade games. The children as well as adults enjoyed these. The property was nicely secluded with a large useable yard off the back. Overall, the home was nice. It was spacious, clean and comfortable and very peaceful. The pricing, in my opinion, is a little high for what it had. We were charged almost $4000 for four nights once the taxes and fees were added in. As per usual with vacation home rentals, you are expected to do a pre-cleaning before you leave if you want your deposit back. We did find that the manager/owner here was easy to work with and are considering renting another of their properties in the future. read more

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