3rd times a charm!

Guest: Hilda (Melrose, MN)
Date of Stay: 01/27/12 Review Submitted: 02/08/12

This is the 3rd year we have rented this home for a long weekend...and plan to be back for the 4th year as well! Everything was WONDERFUL...keep up the great work Joel & Kari!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

BRRRR!!

Guest: Heather (Barnesville, MN)
Date of Stay: 01/20/12 Review Submitted: 02/06/12

We rented this home with three other families for the weekend on January 20-22. We had 6 children under the age of 4. We had rented this home because of the indoor pool and had contacted the owner prior to make sure the pool temperature would be warm enough for the kids. Owner confirmed heater was working and pool temp is kept at 80 degrees - so we booked for a weekend. When we arrived the pool temp was 73 degrees - it was too cold for the kids to go into. The owner did come over on Saturday morning to try to warm up the water but it did not warm up and our children were not able to go in - it was too cold for us adults even. The home was very cold as well - we stayed in the basement bedroom which got so cold at night (around 55-60 degrees) that our two children had to crawl into bed with us to keep warm. We tried to increase the thermostat but it did not help - not sure if they have controlled heat in the home. We were all cold and wrapped in blankets all morning on Saturday. The owner had to come over in the morning and start the wood burning fireplace to heat up the home - the gas fireplace does not work because the owner felt it was too expensive for gas. Finally, the projector for movies was not working as well so owner had to also come over to fix in the morning. If the pool and home would have been warm it would have been a wonderful stay - but without heat, it made for a long weekend to entertain children when they couldn't go in the pool. The home is clean and in a very nice area - but we would not go back.

Owner response:Between renters it is necessary for us to maintain our lake home. The swimming pool water was low and had to be filled a few days before these guests arrived. We received a call late friday night that the pool water was cool. My husband was there first thing Saturday am to check on it. The heater was on and working. It ususally takes a couple of days for the temperature to reach the setting after a fill, although wanting to try and accomodate our guests he turned the heater up to 100 degrees to speed up the process, and they were offered a late check-out on Sunday. The pool room has heated floors, and to keep the atmosphere comfortable for the pool, hot-tub, and sauna the temperature in the pool room is kept at 83 degrees. The home has a thermostat with no lock, and a furnace to heat the house. There is a stone-wilkening wood burning fireplace in the home that is an added luxury, and also can heat the home; at times we have had it so warm from the fireplace we have opened a window. Because the guests were complaining it was cool in the home (and after finding an open window in the lower level), my husband, as a courtesy started a fire for them. There is free firewood conveniently located outside the lower level patio doors to all of our guests. Regarding the home theater, the fan went out in our old projector and the one this guest is referrring to was brand new. There was a loose cable that needed to be tightened. It took several minutes to fix it. We were unaware it was loose, since these guests were one of the first renters to use it. In closing we have had many families stay at our home, some that return year after year and have great memories. We are sorry and it is unfortunate we could not satisfy these guests, but we can say we tried.

Recommended for:

Couples Winter Getaway

Guest: Couples Trip (Zimmerman, MN)
Date of Stay: 01/13/12 Review Submitted: 01/16/12

Amazing house! We took a trip with five of our couple friends and it was better than expected. There was plenty for space for everyone to sleep in a bed and have the privacy of their own bedrooms. The pool area was wonderful! It was great to be able to warm up in the sauna and hot tub, and then have some fun in the pool. They even had a volleyball net set up in the pool and it made for some great men versus women volleyball game! The men also had great luck ice fishing just walking out from the house! Watching tv and movies on the projection screen was really cool too. Everyone had a great time and hope to return next winter!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Thanksgiving 2011 at Walker

Guest: Retiree 2012 (ND)
Date of Stay: 11/24/11 Review Submitted: 12/30/11

We stayed at this beautiful home over the Thanksgiving weekend. There were 7 adults and 5 children (ranging in age from 1 year to 5 years old). The home is spacious and had ample room for everyone. The view from the front of the house is deceiving but once you enter the home you realize its expansive size. There are 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms on 3 levels so everyone had their own space for their family and it was nice that everyone could have their own personal items in their own bathroom. Everyone enjoyed the pool area. It is large and has a beautiful pool with a depth from 3' at the edges to 5' in the middle. There is a volleyball net across the middle but high enough that it didn't prevent you from swimming underneathe it. There were several beach balls inflated for our use and the kids enjoyed playing with those in the pool. The hot tub was also used extensively and was warm and clean. There are also a few large banquet tables and several chairs for use in the pool area. This room also has a sliding glass door which leads out to a patio area. The theater room is as beautiful as the rest of the house. There were some issues with the fan on the projector not working properly so we didn't use this room. We were only here 2 days and there were plenty of other things to do so it wasn't really an issue with us. The weather was beautiful for November when we were there so we spent some time on the upper level deck that is complete with a grill (which we did use to make breakfast sausage) and a large table and several chairs. There are steps leading down to the back yard. There was a firepit in the yard and we did have an afternoon fire one day. The view of the house from the backyard is gorgeous. You get the concept of the size of the house from this view. It is spectacular! We went into Walker on Friday after Thanksgiving and did a little shopping. Some of the group went into town that evening for the Annual Christmas Light Parade. It is a short drive to town so the house location is perfect for that too. The kitchen is adequately furnished and we didn't find it lacking in any capacity. It is well stocked with plenty of pots and pans, plates and silverware. There is also a small kitchen area in the basement that is beautiful and looks brand new. The refrigerator was in working condition but the stove/oven wasn't but we didn't have a need for it. Overall we loved our stay here and would highly recommend it

Recommended for:Girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Great Family Vacation

Guest: Vacation Time (Andover, MN)
Date of Stay: 07/09/11 Review Submitted: 07/25/11

My husband along with our four married daughters and their families spent the week in this beautiful home. It was very clean and had lots of room for all of us. We enjoyed the beautiful view from the deck, we were able to all fit in the kitchen for our evening meals in a well equiped kitchen and space to have some private time in the home theater or sit beside the indoor pool. We spent a lot of time fishing for walleye however we were not too successful so we plan on coming again and try some new spots that the owner recommended. We would recommend this to anyone looking to spend time on Leech Lake with family and friends. We loved it!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Lovely vacation in Minnesota

Guest: Jean (Sleepy Eye, MN)
Date of Stay: 07/02/11 Review Submitted: 07/24/11

Our family rented this beautiful vacation home for a week and had a wonderful time. It was over the 4th of July, so lots of exciting times were had by all. The lake was great! Caught enough fish for a very large meal. The Northern and Walleye were very tasty, Thank you Brent, Brian and Dad. Great access to the lake from the house and enough fun time at the water edge so the little grandchildren could have some sand time fun as well as the indoor pool and hot tub. The sauna was nice experience for all as well. We had all 4 grandchildren and 8 adults and amble room for all. The Movie Room was great! It was so nice to not have to go anywhere else for family entertainment. We would definetly come back again!!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Wonderful Family Getaway

Guest: Roaming Entrepreneur (USA)
Date of Stay: 03/20/11 Review Submitted: 05/21/11

We've rented dozens of vacation homes all over the US and Caribbean, so we've become fairly picky and have pretty high standards. We loved this property! We originally booked 10 nights, but were having so much fun we extended our stay to 12 nights. We have two children - ages 5 and 8 - and they loved every minute. This property has an incredible amount of space. During our stay we invited friends and family to come visit us for a couple of nights each which was great. The pool is surprisingly large for an indoor pool - very impressive! High quality sauna with ample room. This home is shaped like a "U". The main home is one side of the "U" with a large entry area forming the base of the "U" and the garage makes up the other side of the "U". The owners do live onsite above the garage. However, due to the layout you would never even know they are there. The entry area separates the two sides of the home by such a distance that there was total privacy for us. We respected the home and our security deposit was refunded entirely and promptly. We'd highly recommend this home!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

our stay

Guest: not satisfied (maplewood, mn)
Date of Stay: 06/26/10 Review Submitted: 08/29/10

My family 11 of us, rented this home in June 2010. The home was beautiful, spacious, and in a great location, However we had some issues with the house and owners. First we had no idea that the owners house was attatched to the rental home so if you want privacy this is not what i consider private, I personally think they should state this in the description of the property, also if you do not like dogs or are allergic to them , the owners had 2 dogs that they let just run around and so they were always on the deck or trying to get in the house, our youngest daughter is very frightened by dogs, so this was difficult to deal with all week. We had looked for a house to rent with a pool we knew the kids and adults would really enjoy that, so having the indoor heated pool was great until Wednesday, when we had noticed it was much colder than the previous days, much to cold to go swimming in, so i had called the owners to inquire as to why, and although being right next door, received no response until Friday, well we were leaving on Saturday so were unable to use it for the remainder of our trip, that was very dissapointing! There would have been a beautiful view of the lake if it had'nt been for the huge construction crane parked in the yard, I guess they were having a boat lift put in for there boat, but dissapointing for us to look at all week. Finally after we returned home and had not received our damage deposit i had again contacted the owners, and they said there were scratches on the wood floor in one of the bedrooms by the bed and that they would email us the pictures of the scratches and that they were keeping our deposit. We have no idea about how these scratches got there and I am still waiting to see them pictures, and its now been 2 months! The bed in that bedroom is metal with metal legs i would think they should have some protection on the feet of the bed to protect the floor incase someone drops a remote or needs to plug something into the outlet behind the bed and it needs to be moved. They also said that we left behind a can of chewing tobacco, wich is ridiculous since none of us chews, on our first day there we seen in a dresser drawer a can of chewing tobacco, that we just left there not knowing who's it was, so i'm left wondering how well they check the house between renters! To sum it all up our family was not very satisfied with our stay there and would not go back.

Owner response:We are sorry for this review. The reason that the pool did not work is that these renters had left so many floats and toys in the pool unattended, that they burnt out the pool heater and it had to be replaced. We had just had brand new wood floors put in the home and they admitted having a teenage boy stay in one of the bedrooms that may have put a huge gauge in the wood floor. The bed was moved about a foot from the wall. I doubt that this was intentional, but it caused damage to the brand new floor. We never heard a complaint from them until the deposit was not refunded. In all the times we have rented we have never kept a deposit from any other party. The home and pool area is private only for our guests. We did not demand any difference in the cost of the repairs to what the deposit was. This was very unfortunate for both parties.

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