Beautiful spot with a great view! The bottle of wine and thank you card were very much appreciated. The bathrobes were a nice touch and perfect for the hot tub in February. The check in process was easy and they provide everything you could possibly need to enjoy your stay.
We did have a few issues though… The listing states: “no hidden fees …… we’ve incorporated our cleaning fee into our pricing, so other than the regular Airbnb service fees there are no extra surprises ….” To me that means they charge a slightly higher nightly rate that includes cleaning so they don’t have to charge the additional Airbnb cleaning fee. I was not expecting to find a list of cleaning that expected from us which included: hand washing certain items, turning the dishwasher on, putting sheets, pillowcases and towels in the wash, bagging up all recyclable and garbage and taking them down to the garage and a general overall tidy. You shouldn’t advertise it this way if you expect you guests to do 90% of the cleaning for you before the next guest arrives.
Some smaller issues that weren’t as big of a deal but still worth mentioning…
There was a significant snowfall a few days before we checked in. The steps were shovelled but the area in front of the bottom step was not. It was a small snowdrift that was hard and slippery and there was no way to get from the driveway to the steps without stepping on this snowdrift. I almost fell every time I left the house.
The steps around the hot tub were shovelled but there was ice on them. Very slippery and my husband did end up slipping and falling on our last night. The hot tub cover has to be carefully folded up and lifted off the hot tub and placed on the ground next to it. It’s a two-person job for sure. There is no “cover valet” for the hot tub but yet there are instructions and diagrams for it in the house guidebook.
If you use the stove/oven all the lights in the house blink. The Wi-Fi is not great (can’t watch Crave and scroll Facebook on your cell at the same time) but that’s to be expected in such a remote location. The tub in the main bathroom had some green stuff floating in the water and I don’t know if that was soap residue from a previous guest or if the jets/tub aren’t being properly cleaned.
Tips for potential guests in the offseason:
If you book your stay during the week, make sure you stop somewhere along the way and get groceries. There are ZERO restaurants open Monday-Thursday except 1 pizza shop that is just ok, not great. There is a general store (gas station) where you can get some food basics, but it is definitely NOT a grocery store.
The Airbnb is located at the top of a VERY steep street. Like I mentioned above there was a significant snow fall a few days before we arrived, if we had of taken our car instead of our truck, we would not have made it up the hill because of the road conditions and if we did make it up in the car there’s no way we could have made it back down the hill without going off the road.
Alma is definitely a seasonal town and I bet it is a lovely place to stay during the summer. We would definitely consider going back in the summer months. The Airbnb is really lovely, but overall, I don’t think it is worth $280+/night, on week days, during the off season.