This was a great unplugged home away from home for my three children and I. We felt right at home, and after a long couple of days of travel, we appreciated the good mattresses and bedding with duvets!

Neil was friendly and prompt with his responses to my questions and accommodating with my somewhat flexible arrival and departure dates.

The well stocked bookshelf was a treat we referenced every day, throughout the day, for our eight day stay. We loved reading poetry aloud to each other at the end of the day, and I appreciated all the mindfulness and nutrition-centric reading, sitting in the comfy chairs on the patio. The woods and the stream in the back yard were an old school playground the likes of which warmed my heart for my otherwise city-bound kids. There were times it would have been nice to have online access for information about weather forecasts and information about local nature areas, but I think the need was more of a want, a matter of habit, and on the whole, I more appreciated than rued the absence of the world wide web. It was a good, heart and soul healthy retreat.

I would, however, have liked knowing that there was a great Bose sound system and a healthy supply of music cd's present in the cottage. I could have come prepared with either a way to play to cd's, or my phone loaded up with music. (Granted, I'm a bit old school myself I suppose, and perhaps most people these days already have a custom playlist on their phone devices.)

As a constructive suggestion, I'd also strongly recommend the addition of an anti-fatigue mat laid in front of the sink and stove. We prepared and cleaned up from three meals a day for eight days there and the ergonomics of standing on hard concrete is super unfriendly to the body! We also eat a lot of vegetarian cuisine, and the absence of a strainer to wash our produce and rinse our soaked and cooked beans, lentils and legumes was an odd oversight, given the apparent veg leanings of the hosts.

It was terrific having the good quality front loading washer and dryer tucked into the space, and all in all I'd have to say the cottage is beautifully outfitted. The furnishings and finishings were elegantly rustic, and I liked the resulting simple ambiance.

We'd definitely come back and would definitely recommend this beautiful, newly built cottage to others!