We rented this home as a winter getaway last month, with the promise of a fireplace, pellet stove, hot tub and beautiful views. Although the wooded view from the downstairs windows are lovely, it was bitter cold outside and we arrived to find the house thermostats set to 50 degrees. With very little wood for the fireplace, we stacked some snow covered wood from the outdoor stack, turned up the electric heat and needed to contact the owner to locate information regarding the house. The welcome letter was tucked in a drawer, out of sight, but assured us of enough pellets and wood to heat the house. Unfortunately there were only enough pellets to last about an hour, so we used that hour to try to dry the wood for the fireplace. There was no usable kindling or newspaper to start the fire. We reached out several times to notify the owner of the heating issue, and although she responded, there was no action promised or taken to bring pellets, kindling or dry wood, or to address the heating issue. Each room has a separate thermostat. After several hours, we were able to heat only the upstairs room to an acceptable temperature, but the entire downstairs of the house never stayed above 55 degrees once the pellet stove ran out of fuel. When morning came, we informed the owner that we would be leaving, since the main floor of the house was not reasonably habitable. She fairly agreed to give us a partial refund for the nights not used, however, this has not yet been provided.
It has now been a month since our abbreviated stay with no resolution and no further communication about when we might expect our partial refund. We have since contacted her through VRBO, text and voice mail, with no response and still no resolution. We are laid back, seasoned travelers who recognize that there are quirks to every home, but the lack of responsiveness is unacceptable. This rental wound up being a waste of our money, our time and our vacation. At this time, we unfortunately would not recommend this home.