Vacation Rentals by Owner

Awesome place in Angola by the Bay

Guest: dave (VA Beach)
Date of Stay: 12/30/11 Review Submitted: 01/08/12

Great location, right on the Rehoboth Bay. Dock right out back. The hot tub was huge! Disregard the earlier comments from others about the hot tub not heating up. They had us worried when we went, but the hot tub worked great! And it's huge. Like ten adults comfortably huge. Just follow the directions available and the hot tub will heat up. We went in the winter and the heat worked great as well. Everything we needed was there: from dishes, to cookware, and blankets to towels, fully stocked house for sure. The deck was great. Didn't use it, but there's a full sized propane grill on the deck. And plenty of chairs. The only reason we couldn't rate the house as excellent was that the furniture and appliances were a little out-dated. That and since it's a pet-friendly home, it's not spotless. I wouldn't call it dirty, but it wasn't perfect. However, as someone who is extremely allergic to cats, I can say that I had no problems at all with my allergies. Great place, we'll go straight back to this place if we ever return to the Rehoboth/Lewes area.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Very unique house

Guest: Pamela (Manchester, CT )
Date of Stay: 06/17/11 Review Submitted: 07/27/11

Hi, I just wanted to send you a quick note and let you know how much we enjoyed our stay at your lovely house in June. You sure do have a beautiful location and such a unique style of house. I spent most of my time just relaxing on the deck and taking walks along the bay. When we arrived I tried my best to rehabilitate your pretty flowers you had in the pots. Unfortunately, it did not appear any of the previous renters gave them anything to drink. The plants added such a nice touch to the deck. The inside of the house was so nicely decorated and furnished with everything you needed. The first night we were there was a lightning storm going on across the bay and it was just beautiful to sit on the swing and just watch it. We loved dining in Lewes it has so many wonderful restuarants to choose from. After a tough day of shopping in Lewes (I love how quaint that town is) it was great to soak in the hot tub or relax in the hammock. Thanks again for sharing your house!

Recommended for:Age 55+, girls getaway, sightseeing.

Picture Perfect Week

Guest: Harley's family (Wilmington, DE)
Date of Stay: 06/11/10 Review Submitted: 04/16/11

Our family (my husband and I, our two sons aged 24 and 21 and our yellow lab) stayed here in June of 2010. We had a picture perfect week at a great place. Ours sons loved the fact that they had the downstairs all to themselves, with their own entrance and a hot tub. My husband and I loved sitting out on the deck overlooking the water. The kitchen had everything we needed to make meals, although everything was fairly close when we decided to eat out. It is hard to find a rental that allows pets, and at this price, it can't be beat. We hope to be back soon.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, pet owners, romantic getaway.

August 2009

Guest: sondra2009 (Philadelphia)
Date of Stay: 08/28/09 Review Submitted: 06/11/10

The house, yard and hot tub were poorly maintained. The hot tub did not go over 70 degrees. The air conditioning was broke on arrival, and was fixed during our stay. One night was given back for the inconvenience. I thought the view, location and price were good. I enjoyed Lewis. It was my first time in the area and I would definitely go back but would stay at a nicer place.

Owner response:This is a review from the 2009 season, posted a year later. At the time, the A/C system failed and needed complete replacement. The problem began with the renter before this one (who also posted a review about this one-time problem) but the work was not completed until one day into their stay. We did make adjustments in the fee for the rental, and thought they were satisfied. Moreover, the house has water breezes and many windows, plus three ceiling fans upstairs and three downstairs so the house was able to stay cool even without the A/C working on the first night. The house was professionally cleaned, except for one bathroom, where the A/C unit was installed in a closet area that backed into the bath and the cleaners could not access it because the repairmen were there. The renter never mentioned any problem with the hot tub, but it was working and has been working. It does take a while to warm up and for safety reasons, we have it set below 100 degrees to protect children or persons with any health conditions who might use it. It may be that they did not start it correctly. The yard is also professionally maintained by a service, and was never mentioned as a problem by them at the time of their stay. I am perplexed why they are choosing to bash the property now, after we corrected the A/C issue (at a cost to us of $7500) within 24 hours of their arrival and made a monetary adjustment to their rental rate. This is not representative of our rental history.

Recommended for:Families with young children, pet owners.

Frustrating Week

Guest: Dorothy (East Berlin,PA)
Date of Stay: 08/21/09 Review Submitted: 09/01/09

First off the house and location is beautiful. My family and I had fun, however we arrived Friday afternoon to about 5 loads of laundry and the house wasnt cleaned yet. We did the laundry and left for the cleaning people when they arrived. Not a great start but things happen. Sat the air conditioning quit working. When we finally got ahold of Adele she did try to make things right immediately which meant Mon for a repair. After the whole weekend without air the repairman spent 6 hours trying to fix which did work Mon night and Tue then quit working again sometime Wed.Left a message for Adele. We were frustrated and ended up leaving a day early. Adele did apoliogize and offerred to give us a small refund for our trouble but we felt we deserved a little more, so we asked for a discount on next years rental. She refused. We definately would have rented again next year and given it another chance had she given us a break. I dont think that was to much to ask after the week we had. The house is great, just needs a little TLC. If you are looking for perfection, this isn't the house for you! The view is great. I am sad I wont be going back!

Owner response:Although the renter indicates that the A/C went out on Saturday, I did not learn of this until Sunday evening, and I had the repair crew out by Monday morning. I was not notified that it quit again (unfortunately, I had to have the entire system replaced and it gave no warning until the initial failure that weekend) until more than 24 hours after that occurred. This was an unforeseeable event and I took immediate corrective action as best as humanly possible. The house has panoramic windows on both levels that open in all rooms and also has three ceiling fans on each floor so there were other cooling options when the A/C quit. I might add that they never told me about the previous renter not doing the laundry until they were leaving at the end of the stay. Had they told me, I could have arranged for the cleaning company to do it while they were there. The cleaning company arrived during the scheduled 10am-3pm window ... I believe these renters arrived early and that is why they got there before the cleaning company. I did recognize the inconvenience of the reported problems, and offered a significant refund (which I have already paid) but they also wanted more than 20 percent off the following year, which I could not afford to do given that 2010 is already mostly rented for the summer. I am sorry that they did not enjoy their stay as much as possible, but we have been renting for 9 years and never had any equipment system failure occur before. I assure all potential renters that the house now has brand-new air conditioning in place and this issue should not arise again.

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

Needs work

Guest: JK/RK (Endwell, NY, USA)
Date of Stay: 08/15/08 Review Submitted: 09/19/08

The hot tub never got above barely warm. We called Adele numerous times and she told us that nobody else complained, and tried to tell us how WE could try to fix it (sorry, that's what we paid YOU to do). The upstairs smelled like pee (apparently the pet-friendly part), and there were stains all over the upstairs carpet. A steam cleaner was out when we arrived (as if I was going to clean up after the people before me). I did have to spray it with resolve to kill the smell. The downstairs shower leaked all over and was COVERED in mold. We had to clean it ourselves or else the whole downstairs smelled musty. The windows didn't open, or if you could open them, you couldn't close them afterward. By the time we left, it seemed like the air conditioning had stopped working. The place really need some work.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 03/01/08 Review Submitted: 03/29/08

We stayed here in June 2007, LOVED it so much & wanted to go back but because it is so wonderful it is booked early. I really love this place & hope some day to get back.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Debbie Major (Baltimore, Md.)
Date of Stay: 08/01/07 Review Submitted: 08/24/07

Our family had a wonderful time! The house and the view is beautiful! The house was equipped with everything you need. Thank you so much Jim & Adele!

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Christine_HAC101876 (Lancaster PA)
Date of Stay: 08/01/07 Review Submitted: 08/16/07

Adele and Jim's home was amazing! From the perfect sunrise to the lovely sunset and we had so many options for entertainment. The kitchen is very workable and the house quite roomy and very friendly! My family agreed that this most certainly was a home away from home...maybe even better :)

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Russell and Angel (Wilmington,Delaware)
Date of Stay: 05/01/07 Review Submitted: 05/07/07

The house is so beautiful and we had a wonderful time there. We enjoyed the view on the deck to look out back yard of the bay. We fall in love with the place! It is a great place to relax. Thank you Adele!

Recommended for:

nice views but dirty and poorly maintained

Guest: Bruce, Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
Date of Stay: 04/12/07 Review Submitted: 12/12/08

We stayed there for an off season week with my parents. While the location on the lake is nice, it's within a housing development, with the other houses much closer than they appear to be in the pictures. There were two main problems with the place. First and foremost it was filthy. There were pet stains on the carpet, and there was a layer of dust on the cupboards that must have taken a very very long time to accumulate. The hot tub never got very warm (in spite of several calls to try to resolve the problem) and it felt like there was a layer of slime on everything under the water level. If they got serious about cleaning and fixing up the place a bit it could be a nice place to stay. Bruce.

Owner response:This review is nearly 2 years after their stay and no concerns were expressed at the time concerning the cleanliness of the house. We have a professional cleaning company that cleans between renters and has always done a good job. The rugs are also shampooed multiple times per year to avoid any potential "pet problems" and there is a spot shampooer available in the house in case renters' pets have an accident. We also wash the furniture slip covers as appropriate to keep the house looking good. Back in early 2007, during the off-season, I do recall a complaint about the hot tub not heating adequately or quickly enough, and it may have been this renter. We did have the service people look at it but it was not defective. It does take longer to heat off coming from totally cold (in the off-season) when the house is colder, than in the summer when it is used pretty continuously by renters. It is a large tub and so takes a while to get to maximum heat but it is functioning fine without complaints throughout 2008. The water is also changed out regularly, chemicals checked, tub cleaned etc. I am perplexed as to why this renter chose not to raise the issues during his stay but waited nearly 2 years to write a bad review. I ask that this not be given any significant weight due to the delay and subjective nature of his complaints. We have gotten many favorable reviews and most of our renters are "repeaters" for 2009. Thank you.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Diane Steinbrecher (Voorhees, NJ 08043)
Date of Stay: 09/01/06 Review Submitted: 09/19/06

The vacation home was great, took my parents away to relax and that is what we did, the home has everything, I could best describe it as on golden pond.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 09/01/06 Review Submitted: 09/18/06

We had a wonderful week at Adele and Jim's place. The location of the house is convenient to so much. The most impressive thing was that they had the house so well stocked and they are pet friendly. Thanks Adele and Jim!

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Jennifer Waterston (Havertown, PA)
Date of Stay: 03/01/06 Review Submitted: 03/27/06

We rented this house during August 2005, and we just loved it. The location is perfect and the view of the river from the patio is delightful. You won't be disappointed.

Recommended for:

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Michele Healey (Springfield, PA)
Date of Stay: 10/01/05 Review Submitted: 10/23/05

Your house was so wonderful and our weekend there far exceeeded all our expectations. The owners were so delightful and accomdodating and the house was simply amazing. The water view was so beautiful and relaxing, as well as a home that was sparkling clean with all the amendities of home. Best of luck with your beautiful home and as my husband said "we have found our home away from home", we will be back every chance we can. I highly recommend this home to anyone.

Recommended for: