Reviews for Cave Creek Vacation Rental - VRBO 285321 - 6 BR Greater Phoenix Area House in AZ, 8400sf Mansion on 4 Acre Gated Estate N.Scottsdale/Cave Creek

Great Home for Everyone!

Guest Pam
Date of stay 03/09/13
Review Submitted 03/28/13

We rent a home every year for the family vacation. This was all around the best and safest for the children, too! Ages range from 3 to 67 and there was something for everyone. The tennis court and (heated) pool were in almost constant use, but there were also horseshoe contests, movies in the media room (Spurs basketball games, too), pool games in the game room, and constant snacking in the wonderful kitchen. Oh yes, barbeque from the grill, watching sunsets while sitting around the gas fire pit, watching the sunrise while listening to the multitude of lovely birds. The children loved the playground and in ground trampoline. The house was beautiful with so much room that it was never crowded. It truly felt like a mansion. The Arizona landscaping made for a perfect desert setting and watching the hot air balloons ascending each morning was a real treat. John was available anytime we needed anything or had a question. There was so much 'neat' stuff that we sometimes needed help in how to use it. Even though some took trips to the Grand Canyon and the Sedona loop, some never left the grounds because they were having too much fun. This was a great place, and I would highly recommend it.

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

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

Picture Perfect property for my son's wedding.

Guest Kathy P
Date of stay 09/20/12
Review Submitted 10/20/12

Everything turned out beautifully and I was told by many people it was the best wedding they had ever been at. We had 120 guests and there was plenty of room. John was very easy to work with and made sure the grounds looked beautiful. We were able to have the rehearsal dinner at the house on friday so all the out of town guests could come. My caterer Dave Phelps (owner of Breakfast Joynt) did a great job and the food and service was excellent! Having everything all on one property was wonderful. It was truly a storybook wedding and we had a memorable time.

Recommended for: Families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/4

Reviewer from Salt Lake City

Guest Marilyn C.
Date of stay 06/13/12
Review Submitted 07/10/12

One of the previous reviewers got it exactly right: this is a beautiful large property and home. The owner is a nice guy who tried to be helpful whenever we had a problem. BUT, some of the same issues the other reviewer had after their stay many months before had not been resolved. We had problems with the freezer quitting, the air conditioning not working for a couple of days, an air hockey table that never did work--the owner finally said he needed to get a new one, but I'm guessing that's the standard reply. We had no dish soap, dishtowels, or cloths upon arrival, few hangers in the closets. He addressed these issues. Although the blurb does say there is a sport court and even shows pictures of it that we should have paid closer attention to, it is elsewhere advertised as a tennis court, which it isn't because it is not enclosed. Several of the theater seats were broken. There were problems throughout. But the biggest problem, as the previous reviewer, who was kind enough to still give the property 4 stars, was cleanliness, or the lack of it. The pantry was full of items that need to be cleaned or thrown-out (a sugar bowl without a lid, sticky salt and pepper shakers, dirty appliances). Drawers, cabinets, and dishes in the kitchen need a thorough cleaning. The exercise room had dirty tissues and sticky equipment. Not only that, no matter what drawer you open in the house, it has the owner's personal items in it, and you never know what you'll find: the owner's Christmas decorations, tools, you name it. It was just uncomfortable being in a place that wasn't clean. The closet drawers were gritty, the outdoor grill was not clean, particularly the area around it which was crawling with spiders, cobwebs, and other debris. I think the owner is in over his head and needs to have someone go in and remove everything that belongs to his family. Between every guest, all cabinets, pantry and drawers, etc., need to be cleaned, the appliances wiped off, etc.. Guests should walk into an immaculate home esp. at the prices charged. We were uncomfortable spending a week with an accumulation of other peoples' dirt. And the pool looked murky and turned swimming suits yellow, a problem he couldn't remedy. Our family can only give this property 2 stars.

Owner response: Well, its unfortunate when people are impossible to work with or make happy. Its even more frustrating when they exagerate, and lie. I am going to respond to some of these complaints to give you an idea of what these guests were like. 1st . The home has 5 air conditioning units and one did fail during the guests stay. They reported it to me at 8:30pm on a Friday night. The service company arrived at 11am on Saturday, I met him, there and had the compressor replaced by 4:30pm. The home has 5 air conditioning units and the affected area never went above 79 degrees. The guests set all the AC units at 68 ,unreasonable. The GE appliance serviceman reported that the freezer shelves were rearranged and that the door would not seal properly. He had to deice around the door and I paid the service call and asked the guests not to rearrange the shelves. They never mentioned anything regarding cleanliness or I would have sent the professional cleaners back to the home to take care of any issues. The Christmas decorations that are in the living room cabinets are set up during the holidays, there is no need for guests to use these cabinets. We also provide access to a few tools, batteries and other miscellaneous items in a couple of drawers. We have NO personal items in the drawers or that are accessible to any guests. The loft does have a childrens toy kitchen, books and games that are intended for guests to use. They are not our personal items but are intended to add enjoyment for our guests. The guests ran out of items during the middle of there stay and not as they phrased, arrived with no dishsoap, towels or hangers. They did not think 5 dish towels were enough and requested that I bring them 6 more. I did bring them additional dish soap, dishtowels and 60 new hangers. These guests were an owners absolute nightmare. I made 9 trips to the home in 7 days. I have been in the vacation rental business for many years and have only once experienced anything like this group. The pool was always clean. When you have 30 guests swim all day with suntan oil and lotion on it will affect how clear the water looks. Spiders, cobwebs and debris around the grill is an OUTRIGHT LIE. Homeaway and VRBO need to change their policey to protect owners from guests who leverage reviews for refunds and discounts. I apologise for this rant. Please read all the reviews thoroughly and base your opinion on the majority and not this impossible guest

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 6/7

Family Reunion and Wedding

Guest Pastor Sue
Date of stay 12/26/11
Review Submitted 01/21/12

January 21, 2012 We were blessed with an amazingly warm week for the final week of 2011. That helped our guests utilize all of the special amenities that come with this awesome house. The pool/hot tub were in use day and night. Lots of fun on the basketball court. People were even playing horse shoes at the wedding reception. The owner, John, is very kind and always available prior to your stay, during and after. I needed to visit the property several times and had many questions before our event and John was always accommodating. We have seen the wedding pictures taken at the house and I'm amazed at the different backgrounds that make the pictures especially beautiful. There are beautiful walls and doors, desert scenes, and my daughter, the bride, jumping on the in ground trampoline. Elegant and whimsical backgrounds all at one location! The kitchen is phenomenal but I would suggest having handles put on the beautiful cabinetry in the kitchen. It is a little hard to open. The beds are comfortable. Showers soothing. The sunrises and sunsets are awe inspiring. We had a very pleasant and memorable time together at this beautiful home. As many of my guests mentioned...as wonderful as the pictures are, they do not do this place justice...you need to see it!

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

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/3

Beautiful Wedding and Home!!!

Guest Chris H.
Date of stay 10/18/11
Review Submitted 01/21/12

My wife and I used this beautiful property for our ceremony and reception site as well as a home for us and our wedding party for 7 days. What a trip!!! The home is in great condition and John (owner) could not be a nicer and more helpful guy! The master bedroom, common area (kitchen / living room) and entire outdoor areas are absolutely GORGEOUS!!! The entire wedding party enjoyed the pool, entertainment room, home theater, pool bar, grill, trampoline, etc. throughout the entire week! The neighborhood was perfect for parties due to its secluded location and distance from the neighbors. Our wedding guest list topped 75 people and John stated that he has accommodated upwards of 225 people! Everything turned out amazing and our family and friends continue to talk about the event months later saying that it was like a "fairytale". If you are in need of THE BEST WEDDING PLANNER ON THE PLANET, contact Sandy Walker at In Awe Weddings and Events (www.inaweweddings.com)!!! She has thrown a few weddings on this property and the reviews have been outstanding! She made our wedding the most special day of our life and worked seamlessly with John to accomplish our vision!!! All in all, we loved every minute of our time in Arizona!

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 10/11

Mixed feelings, but a beautiful property

Guest vacation
Date of stay 09/22/11
Review Submitted 10/27/11

We rented this home for our family reunion in September, 2011. It definately has the "WOW" factor, but not everything was as it is described here. The office room, of which a picture is shown on this listing, is locked and unusable. (We had planned to have a teenager sleep in there on a mattress.) The espresso machine is also unusable. The listing says there are 6.5 bathrooms, but please make note that there are only 5 showers: 1 in the Mstr Bdrm, 1 in each of the 2 Jack-'n-Jill baths, 1 in the Casita and 1 in the Media room bath. The pool had issues during our entire stay and we were unable to use the waterfall because of a leak. The owner was very attentive to try to fix problems, but in our family's opinion, he would do better to leave the maintenance of this home/pool to professionals. The kitchen items leave something to be desired for sure. But I have to say that when we told the owner about some appliances that weren't working, he went out and bought new ones and brought them to us. All the kitchen utensils had to be washed before we could use them. We felt like we had to wash everything before we used it. It's obvious the drawers and pantry are never cleaned out or wiped down. My brothers actually cleaned the dryer vent hose because the dryer wasn't working well, and they found a dead mouse inside it! The freezer stopped working and they checked the coils which were so coated with dirt that after they vacummed the dirt off them, the freezer started running again. We definately left the house much cleaner than when we got there! One other note: It would be nice if the owner would remove his personal items from this vacation rental - like the daughters dance trophies. That seemed a bit odd to us for a house used only as a rental. On the plus side, the house is amazing, roomy, comfortable and the landscaping is gorgeous. The owner is a very nice guy and does what he can to reply to issues, but we think he must have too much on his plate to keep this house up like it should be. Not renting it out for 2 weeks a year and doing a thorough cleaning would be a good start. With all that being said, we still had a great time and made the most of it! Would I recommend this property to others? Only if he either gets everything fixed and cleans it up better, or take the items that are broken or unusable off this site so people aren't expecting them! I'm giving this rental a "good" rating because the house is incredibly beautiful and great for groups.

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

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 5/7

The Perfect Vacation Home!

Guest Joe Canadian
Date of stay 07/06/11
Review Submitted 08/17/11

What an amazing vacation home! It was definitely the highlight of our group's summer road trip across the Western USA. Our group was made up of families with young children. The home owner was great to work with; our group has stayed in several VRBO properties over the years and both the home and the owner were the best we've experienced. The pictures and descriptions give you an idea of how incredible the property is but you have to stay here to fully appreciate it! Every aspect of the home is ideal; the massive kitchen and dining areas, the living areas, the grand Master bedroom, the guest rooms, the studio casita, the pool & BBQ area, the weight room, the theater room, and the basketball/tennis court...from the youngest to the oldest we loved every minute of our stay and plan to come back again! Thanks for everything John!

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

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/2

Amazing Rental for Families!

Guest Jessi2
Date of stay 06/24/11
Review Submitted 10/04/11

We rented this house in June 2011 with several other families. This house was amazing!!! During the 5 days we were there the kids (ages 18 months to 9 years old) never left! The adults took turns going out but the kids never wanted to leave! We loved the pool and hot tub, tennis court, weight room and movie room. The owner was so patient when we called if we couldn't figure out the music or DVD selection. We would love to come back when the mini-golf course is complete! The Dad's on the trip enjoyed several rounds of golf at nearby golf courses. Cave Creek is a great little town to spend an evening out. We love, love, love this rental!!! No crowds and plenty of room to spread out!

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/2

Rented for our wedding

Guest Manda
Date of stay 11/08/10
Review Submitted 04/14/11

We searched many houses before finding this house. What made us decide to have our wedding here was the location, (no HOA or neighbors to tell us when to stop our party) the size of the house (I had all my family stay at the house), and the owner was easy to work with. I did not want to deal with an owner who was going to hassle me before or after the wedding. And lastly not many homeowners will allow you to have a wedding at the house. We rented it for the whole week before the wedding, had about 100 guest and everyone loved it. Everyone says it was the best wedding and my friends always ask how I found the house and if they can have the info. to give to their friend for their wedding. My mom's work has rented it twice since the wedding. During the day time swam and BBQ, for the wedding it was nice because we were able to use the whole backyard for the ceremony, cocktail hour and the reception. We also did the rehearsal dinner at the house the night before the wedding. There was plenty of places for everyone to sleep. Nice house, and a house where you can do whatever you want, party as much as you want, sleep as many as you want, and just be respectful to the house and your good to go.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 9/11

Luxurious Summer Holiday

Guest kevmax
Date of stay 07/25/10
Review Submitted 08/10/10

We stayed in this beautiful home July 25-August 1 and loved every minute of it that we hardly ever left the property! We are a family of 5 (14,12,10) and this was our first time booking a house with VRBO so we were a little skeptical at first, but this was our best choice that we could have made as this house and the owners exceeded our expectations! John & Connie made sure everything was perfect and were just a phone call away to answer any questions! This house was like staying in a resort without the bartender and crowds! The pool was excellent (huge with waterslide and waterfall), enjoyed it all with the pool bar right there as well. We all loved the theatre room and watched lots of movies there after a day in the pool and on the great sport courts (tennis, volleyball, and basketball). The kitchen was an absolute dream to cook in with everything you could imagine available. While Phoenix might not seem like the place to go in the summer time, this home makes it enjoyable to be there even in the hottest months of the year. We recommend this property to anyone who wants to treat themselves to the very best!

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

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

Spectacular Spring Break!

Guest shelley p.
Date of stay 03/29/10
Review Submitted 04/09/10

This house far exceeds everything that is written about it! We stayed here during Spring Break 2010. We brought 6 kids ranging from 11 to 23 (she's still a kid in our eyes!). There was so much space that we weren't banging into each other and there was always something for them to do. One of the boys decided to be our personal bartender! The kitchen was so fun that the kids cooked meals every night for us before the evening movie. Sometimes there was a double feature and talk of a triple feature! This house felt like a personal resort, so much to do, so little time. Hopefully we can get our neighbors to go on vacation with us and we will be back! The owners are so delightful. He met us at the house and showed us around, explained his television (!!!), introduced us to the turtles, and made us feel very at home! If you want a wonderful relaxing vacation, I wouldn't even hesitate to book this house, you won't be disappointed!!

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

Owner response: Thank You Shelley. We take great pride in our vacation rental home and believe it to be one of the nicest in all of Arizona. It's very important to us that our visitors fully enjoy everything this home has to offer. It was a pleasure meeting you and your family. Please bring your neighbours for another wonderful time in Arizona..

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/5

Elegant Wedding Reception and Party!

Guest Rhianna's Wedding Reception
Date of stay 02/20/10
Review Submitted 04/15/10

This prestigious estate is not only spacious and roomy for an extended stay but great for hosting receptions and parties. We had a wedding reception with almost 100 guests. We brought in a dance floor and DJ with plenty of room outside for tables, dancing and for guests to mingle. We also had a full dinner buffet and bar set up inside with tables for guests to sit down there as well. I can't decide which is more spectacular, the inside of this spacious home or all of the outdoor amenities set in a beautiful desert mountain backdrop. This estate offers a much more personal and elegant feel for a reception or party than any hotel or resort could ever offer. I highly recommend!

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Owner response: Wow!!! Thanks for the great review. We are so happy that you loved the home and had a great reception. The home has already been reserved for weddings, receptions and as a place for members of the wedding party to stay. I suspect there will be many wedding parties, golf groups and family vacations enjoyed in this home for years to come. Thanks again for choosing our vacation home.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 8/8

Vacation Rentals by Owner

8400sf Mansion on 4 Acre Gated Estate N.Scottsdale/Cave Creek [#285321] | View Property

Traveler Reviews (12)

Great Home for Everyone!

Great Home for Everyone!

Picture Perfect property for my son's wedding.

Picture Perfect property for my son's wedding.

Reviewer from Salt Lake City

Reviewer from Salt Lake City

Family Reunion and Wedding

Family Reunion and Wedding

Beautiful Wedding and Home!!!

Beautiful Wedding and Home!!!

Mixed feelings, but a beautiful property

Mixed feelings, but a beautiful property

The Perfect Vacation Home!

The Perfect Vacation Home!

Amazing Rental for Families!

Amazing Rental for Families!

Rented for our wedding

Rented for our wedding

Luxurious Summer Holiday

Luxurious Summer Holiday

Spectacular Spring Break!

Spectacular Spring Break!

Elegant Wedding Reception and Party!

Elegant Wedding Reception and Party!