Tom’s cottage, deck and bonus room was just as his photos show. Restroom in bonus room is closer than we thought it might be, but luckily we didn’t have to get up in middle of the night to use it. Towels and bed linens smelled so clean and fresh. Bed is amazingly comfortable! Maybe Tempurpedic (?), can’t recall from listing. We used hot tub every day, once twice that day. The combination of cold weather and hot water made it possible for us to stay in and enjoy the hot tub for several hours each time, and it felt so especially good after a 6-7 mile hike. He was very generous with complimentary snacks and drinks, which we expected because of his listing, but he also provided toiletries that someone may have forgotten to bring from home: face mask, contact lens solution and case (which I needed because mine spilled in my luggage), pain relievers, bandaids, shampoo/conditioner, single-use makeup remover, and a few other creative items. We realized this late, but we should have left our luggage in the bonus room (since the bathroom is there) and that would’ve left us more room in the bedroom. As he describes, the wall in bonus room is a shared wall to his own place, and we could hear him cooking/washing and sometimes talking, but it didn’t bother us. We were more worried he’d be bothered by us laughing at a comedy show we were watching one evening—the only hour we turned on the TV our entire 3-night stay.
It rained while we were there and the air felt so fresh. The sound of the rain lulled us to sleep. If you’re a light sleeper, I recommend you use a white noise machine (you’ll hear every single sound in the dead of night or early morning—the occasional car, birds, wind bustling the leaves, water drops or pine needles falling from the trees above, etc)... and if light disturbs your sleep early in the morning, you should bring your dark eye mask, as light enters through the door, even with shade pulled down, and through small, upper and side windows.
I am posting this review because we owe it to Tom and to anyone already here, looking for insight (as I was), but I can tell you I am considering keeping this gem a secret from my friends so that I have a *slightly* higher chance of finding availability the next time I want to stay!!!! We live only 40 miles south, but it’s just the isolated, but not so remote, place I think I need on a more regular basis.