1) Having driven for 9 hours, and unpacked for another hour, I was ready for sleep. I did not expect that we would first have to put sheets on the beds. Upon questioning Peggy the owner, she said she had advised the housekeeper to leave the sheets folded on the beds, since she never knows how many or which beds will be used. I reminded Peggy that regardless of how many we used, we had paid for all of the beds.

2) I expect the option of taking a hot shower or bath, not just a warm one. We requested that the thermostat for the downstairs hot water heater be raised, but Peggy replied that they had used the house the week-end before and the water temp was just fine. She does not have a management company or local representative on call. Her local plumber does not have a key to the hot water heater room, and he charges $90 an hour. She would not be driving over from Tallahassee to help.

3) When we couldn’t get the DVD player to work, she confirmed that there was no one local to help us.

4) There was a strong fishy smell in the upstairs master, which Peggy attributed to the septic tank. She said to turn on the hot water for a long time to dissipate the smell. Considering the high rental price, my expectation is for Peggy to provide a portable air purifier or have the septic tank pumped out. (We’ve visited St. George Island many times, and have never had a septic tank odor.)

If you focus your decision on the beauty of the location and the pretty pictures of the home, you’ll be fine with this choice. But if you share my expectations, consider a different property. I can’t recommend Hakuna Matata.