Thanks for your comments! I did contact you the day after check in to see if you had any questions or concerns and you responded that you couldn't think of any. I encourage guests to contact us so we can respond and assist with any concerns to make your stay most enjoyable. Yes, we have had unprecedented rain this summer and the water table is quite high. Unfortunately that means the sump pump has to run periodically. It has never turned on in the the summer before. Only one room would have been affected during that time. Fortunately the water table has receded and the pump is no longer running. The grill should have been clean for your use. It had just been power washed the week prior. Thanks for letting us know!

Kristine , thank you for your review, we always welcome constructive criticism. Unfortunately you've written a fake review. As a result, your ncomments are challenging to say the least. I’ve tried to reach you to better understand your experience.and hope you’ll call me back. Several people have looked at your comments and we’re all perplexed. Kiki K. raved about how clean the property was (see review) in her review several days before you arrived. She liked the property so much she immediately booked for 4 days just after you left. Since then she booked a a third stay! Like many hosts, we do a pre-turnover video of the entire house before guests arrive. This protects you and us from the rare misunderstanding We’ve watched the video a few times and can’t find evidence of the awful things you described. The rug in the bathroom was clean for sure.. We are so picky about clean we invested $1,900 in a top of the line Miele vacuum. One of your party likely tracked bits of leaves in to the house on their shoes. The house is in a forest setting. The dark charcoal colored rug then shows those bits. I’m sorry you felt “taken advantage of,” again we would welcome an opportunity to better understand what you are trying to communicate. Our cleaners did clean the upstairs. We would never skip a room. We’ve been doing this for 18 years. Again I’d welcome a call to better understand your concerns. What would really be helpful is if you could send photos. Also when you’re renting property, it would be helpful to contact VRBO or the owner immediately if you are experiencing an issue. I would have made arrangements to take of your concerns ASAP. We take great pride in our all white beds featuring a freshly laundered cotton duvet cover, fitted sheet, top sheet and two king pillowed. Again I wish you would send me a picture. There’s not a chance that the sheets were “dirty” as you screamed in your headline for some reason. You mention you think I should give you a discount. Our prices reflect the season. If you are angling for a refund in exchange for removing your review we will pass. We don’t “buy” positive reviews because it harms the integrity of the review process. One thing I like to close with is the towels. I was notified by the cleanest a that the dryer was not fully operational and that the towels in the dryer were not fully dry. Fortunately we have more than enough towels folded and ready to go in the storage closet. I came by to make sure you were good to go and left out about 15 full size bath towels, lots of face towels and loads of washcloths. I have to call foul on your comment “about taking his damp towels with him.” at all times you were treated well by me. Even before you arrived I assisted you in finding you a limo or van to take your group on a wine tour.

Christine leaves out the fact that no one expected her arrival. She failed to make her final payment despite six reminders to do so. The system cancelled her reservation automatically. With an opening on the calendar we had some annual maintenance underway including the hot tub. Christine informed me that she would be coming only few hours before arrival but no payment had hit our account. Christina did finally make a payment but it was well short of what was owed. The other senior citizens, all female couples, were unaware of the payment issue. We decided to accommodate them but the house wasn't completely ready. It takes about 5 hours to clean and prep the house. Christine is not being honest. No confrontations occurred, the other seven women were friendly and helpful once they recognized Christine's failure to pay the final rent. They pitched in to help, making beds, etc. Christine had several hours of overlap with me but never mentioned a single problem. Regarding he one year old hot tub, I posted photos taken October 21, 2022. It's a wonderful new state-of-the-art, bromine based therapy tub. The massage chair blasts hot water into your aching back muscles helping to cure aches and pains. During Christine's unexpected visit the hot tub was undergoing annual maintenance because we did plan to have guests. Let's see... A guest left some clothes in a drawer, not a cause for hysteria. This is important.. all five of the Marvin French doors function perfectly and lock, of course. None of the locks are broken. The big question here is why is Christine trying to steer customers away by making false statements and creepy insinuations about locked doors, ladders and windows. All of the other reviews make it clear she's not telling the truth. It's illegal to attempt to damage a business owner this way. Not a single guest was "freaked out." What does that even mean? Christine wants to paint me as a bogeyman so "lock the doors and windows." Christine Puffima - I have keys, I own the property. To be clear, Im not a caretaker living above the garage. I have a home in Chicago's Gold Coast where I live. I have a graduate degree. I've lived ten wonderful years as an expat overseas including five years in Paris, four in Singapore as a senior executive. We've rented the cottage for over 15 years with over 200 great reviews! Thank you.

Bernice, you and your family were so kind and took great care of the cottage. We hope you can return one day!

Lauri, thanks for the comments. Yes, indeed our housekeeper had an emergency concerning a family member and literally dropped everything to attend to the situation. We are glad you enjoyed your stay.

We were unable to accommodate Ms. Rose and her friends due to the condition they arrived in. We made every attempt to find the ladies a different property but they flat out refused.. We allowed them to remain at the property at no charge until they were ok to drive. We refunded 100% of the fees though VRBO advised us we were not required to do so. Unfortunately, Ms Rose decided to exact revenge and wrote a false account of the events in a retaliatory review. Over the past 13 years, we’ve built trust with dozens of repeat customers who stay with us on annual basis, sometimes twice or three times a year. Our record speaks for itself as do the 100+ reviews by satisfied customers. We’ve discovered that friends if Hundreds of GREAT guest reviews tell the real story.

Thanks Amy! You were terrific guests and are welcome back anytime.