Amanda

RENTERS BEWARE!
If you are looking for a peaceful, private, lakefront cottage to rent with your family, keep looking. This property is misrepresented online. The photos portray Tumble Down “Cottage” to be a private getaway on a gorgeous lake with a private dock, fire pit, hot tub…and these amenities are all available if you’d like to share them with the owner, their 3 sons, and their guests. That’s right, though the “cottage” has a private entrance, it is attached to the home the property owner lives in. Not only is the website deceiving, the homeowner never mentioned once in our 30+ emails that she lived in the house and that we’d be sharing it with her family. This was a gross misrepresentation of what we signed up for since the shared situation was not mentioned on the website or in the communication. We have used VRBO many times. This is the first time that we felt deceived.
We know that when vacationing on a lake, homes are built close together. Close neighbors was not the issue. We expected that “private” meant “not shared with other people living on the property” and we expected that our family would be the only ones using the spaces advertised. Our “private” firepit was a shared space with the homeowners and littered with a bunch of beer cans. Our “private” hot tub was on the homeowner’s patio, directly outside of their living area. If we’d used it, we would’ve had to walk upstairs and onto their deck. The “private” dock in the photo was anything but. The “private” deck overlooking the lake was directly below the homeowner’s deck. The overgrown plants on the steps made it difficult for our small kids to get around. Upon arrival, the homeowner told us they’d be having a party that night where she said that “things would get crazy” with lots of people using the stairs directly next to our patio and the small grassy area near the lake would be crowded. What!!?? Absolutely zero privacy.
We did lots of research well in advance to rent a lakefront property with our family. The discrepancy between the photos and reality is dumbfounding. We left within an hour of arriving. If the homeowner had even hinted at the fact that the “cottage” was on the same property as their home, we never would have considered renting. Had we stayed, we would’ve been vacationing in a total stranger’s home with them and their guests. If you’re looking for a getaway with some peace and relaxation, keep looking.