The property has great potential but there were SIGNIFICANT safety concerns as well as privacy concerns. It is safe to say this house is definitely a work in progress.
Safety Concerns:
1. On the second day a pellet gun and lead pellets were discovered on the balcony while the kids were playing. It was unsecured and leaning up against a corner. This type of weapon could potentially cause serious injury or death to children. The lead pellets were at about shoulder height to toddlers. Eating or putting a lead pellet in one of their mouth could have also caused serious injuries or complications. Deborah offered to have the property manager come get the gun the next day. We had already moved it an the ammo to a place in the kitchen that was higher than any of us could climb or reach. We appreciated her offer but declined as we didn’t want additional exposure to others.
2. The upper deck had reportedly been recently redone however there were some planks that were warped and sticking up. This house is very high up and while you wouldn’t have been able to fall through a small child’s leg could have gone through and anyone else could have tripped or rolled an ankle. When reported to the host she acknowledged the issue and report she had filed a lawsuit with Home Depot due to the wood warping and pulling up. It is unacceptable to have such a known problem/safety risk yet not report that to those renting the house.
3. The stairs both in the front of the house and going down to the second deck are very steep. One set of stairs doesn’t even have a railing to hold onto as you walk down. Everyone there agreed that any older individual or anyone that has any trouble with stairs could be at risk. Out of the the 4 families there, not one of us said our parents would be able to stay there.
Privacy concerns:
1. The master bedroom was missing blinds on one side as well as in the bathroom. Unfortunately, the missing blinds were in places that looked directly into the neighbors kitchen. One morning I was standing on the side of the bed looking at someone working or eating at the kitchen table. The master bedroom is the same. If you can out of the shower someone could see you. The host acknowledged she hadn’t had a chance to finish the blinds and that she was sorry for potentially having to shimmy past windows after getting out of shower. The property manager offered to have the blinds installed the next day. We declined. We had all tested for COVID and wanted to be safe. We also didn’t want someone working there one of the few days we were there.
2. There were also blinds missing in the other bathrooms in bedrooms. The deck wraps around the house. So while there are no neighbors on that side you would need to make sure someone isn’t walking around the deck while you get out of the shower.
Amenity concerns:
1. The TV in the game/ movie room would not play anything we tried besides cable TV. We reset the internet and tried to see if that would work but it didn’t. The other TV in the great room did work. It was significant for us that the TV in the movie/ game room did not work because we were having a reunion and wanted to have time with just the adults. The kids had to come out to the great room with us in order to watch a movie and therefore adult time would have to end
We rented and were willing to pay such a high price because of the amenities, toy, and stress free environment with the kiddos. Thankfully, we were able to adjust our expectations and still have a good time with friends. However, if the property would have been as promised with proper amenities the trip would have been much more relaxing and less stressful. When the issues and safety concerns were reported to to the property manager he was very apologetic and seemed to understood the magnitude of the safety issues and the disappointment with the house not being as advertised. He asked what the owner could do to make it right because she would wants to for sure. I told him I wasn’t sure what type of compensation would be fair and that I would leave that to them. He said he would talk with the owner Deborah and that she would definitely want to talk with us. When Deborah called while she apologized and promised all the problems would be fixed, her responses did not in our opinion seem to understand the magnitude of the problems. A pellet gun and lead pellets being found at a property that is advertised for children is a HUGE problem and safety concern. She acknowledged that she had been the one to leave the gun out. She reported that there were additional weapons in the home but that they were behind the locked closet doors. She apologized about the blinds and the deck and reported about the law suit. She also said she was a contractor and just hadn’t been able to get her crew up there to fix the issues and hadn’t been able to finish sewing the blinds or window covers herself. I understand construction can take time and one can be anxious to get a place rented but you can not rent an unfinished place and you certainly can not rent a very expensive place unfinished and not disclose it. In the end, no compensation for the stay was offered only compensation of $500 off staying an additional day due to a child being sick. This offer was not taken as the property needed to be much less that per night due to the issues.
The place has great parking, a big deck with great