Every summer I rent a house for a long weekend with a group of family and friends. Wendy's house has been our best experience yet!
The house has everything you can think of, even things that I hadn't thought about before the trip, like a cooler and board games. There are pleasant surprises everywhere - the garage had a ping pong table that we didn't know about! The kitchen / living room area is great for assembling a group, as is the beautiful porch area. The bedrooms are comfortable, and the master bedroom/bath especially is wonderful. The shower is great!
The backyard is probably the highlight of the property. It's large and has a gas grill that Wendy provides a tank for, a firepit, and a hot tub.
There was one disappointment, which I quickly got over - In the photos, the house looked to me like nobody had ever stepped foot in it before, but it's actually more lived in than that. That doesn't mean that the house is run down - it's in very good shape - but there are a couple areas where, for example, paint has chipped off the walls. It didn't interfere with our trip at all. I doubt the house would have been so well-stocked if it hadn't been enjoyed by Wendy's family
Wendy is the best! She responds within minutes to all questions and was consistently reasonable and flexible. For example, we were able to check in early and stay late. She also gives you complete privacy - she isn't in town but provides a phone number for a handyman whom I assume can help you out if you have any issue with the house, which we didn't
The location is great too. Under 2 hours driving to NYC. Several people took the Amtrak to Rhinebeck, which is about a 25 minute drive from the house. The surrounding area is beautiful and peaceful
Some tips for future travelers
-There's wifi and a landline at the house but cell service is very spotty in the area. If you're going to go driving in e.g. to pick someone up from the train station, plug it into Google maps before you leave the house, while you still have wifi
-As Wendy will note to you, the hot tub truly does take a long time to heat up. Turn it up at least a couple hours early
-Cover the hot tub when it's not in use. Wendy will also tell you to do this, and we did our best, but we still ended up gathering a fair amount of leaves and outdoor debris in the tub, which made it somewhat less appetizing after the first night
10/10! Everyone in the group commented on how great the house was. We'd love to go back
