Wow
Review Submitted: February 15, 2009
Date of Stay: February 2009
Was very surprised by the neighborhood as we arrived. The house was full of dead ladybugs and had a very stale smell. When we went to make the pull out bed the sheets smelled like they hadn't been washed in months. We had brought both our dogs along and one just couldn't seem to get acclimated to the place and was very nervous. We never saw the game room because we were unaware that it was in the garage. Now I realize that there might have been a small room in the garage with the fun toys, but still was not happy with the house itself. The neighborhood was very dark and run down. I was concerned for the safety of my family while staying here. We ended up leaving after one night and went home to live with no bathroom while our house was under construction. We also never received anything by mail before our stay like it was specified on the phone.
Owner's Response: Unfortunately on a very rare occurance, actually this is our first occurance, we have a guest who posts a seriously inaccurate portrayl of the cottage. To date, we have had over 100 bookings, and have never recieved a poor review.
At the time of booking the cottage, all of our guests receive an e-mail which contains confirmation of the reservation, my contact information, including my cell phone number for use in the event that our guests need anything during their stay (ie. directions, dinner suggestions, etc.) and invite our guests to call us at anytime with any questions or needs they may have, often our guests call for site seeing ideas, to get information on the best fishing locations, etc. Within this confirmation e-mail, we also attach written directions to the cottage from the guests' region of origin (ie. Chicago, St. Louis, etc) as well as the key combination for guests to use to enter the home upon their arrival. This guest did indeed receive the e-mail (with the key code), as she would not have been able to enter the home if she had not.
There are absolutely no safety concerns present at this cottage. The cottage is in a rural setting, which has never experienced any safety issues. It is a very quiet community. So quiet that it appears that our above noted guests from the city felt it was "too" quiet as she had noted in an earlier post-visit e-mail to me.
As noted on our listing, the cottage hosts a game room, complete with board games, Playstation 2, a foosball table, an electronic dart system, a vintage Coleco videogame, half bath and washer and dryer. This room is located as an addition to the garage, and our teenage guests love using it as an "escape". Unfortunately, the above noted guest did not enter the game room although it's location was noted in the listing and in the confirmation e-mail, as the keyless entry combination is the same for the main home and the game room. And quite frankly, the property isn't that large that an entire room could be overlooked :)
In closing, the dogs which accompanied the travelers this weekend were indeed "nervous" as evidenced by the damage left behind in the home.
It is unfortunate to have a poor review, although I trust the other reviews on the cottage will provide potential guests with an accurate portrayal of the fun, memorable times which await them at Chatauqua Escape :)
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marks the location of the property in Illinois
