Owner's Response: Sadly, Marie is not giving an accurate description. The cottage is not infested with spiders. She admitted her 18 year old son has a spider phobia. I requested we meet inside so she could point them out. She refused, instead shared hard to discern images, a spider inside, pictures outside. The "house spider" (like a small daddy longlegs), was relocated. In rural NW having a harmless spider show up in anyone's house is a way of life. While we are sympathetic toward those who have an extreme spider fear, this should have been discussed prior to the visit and is not a reason to break an agreement of "no refunds for early departure”. Marie had the keys for 6 hours and did not call to say there was a problem, but had a sister from AZ call, who also stated Marie's party had an invite to stay with other team members, so wanted out of the contract.  The no shoes policy was discussed before booking and it is written on the VRBO site. Recycling is mandatory in the county. Composting optional. Photos were taken minutes after Marie’s departure were not manipulated, and sent to her directly via phone. They verified the cottage had to be cleaned and showed carpet stains. 11:30am check-in was requested so everyone could nap. To accommodate, grass scheduled to be cut that morning was rescheduled. Garbage pick-up as needed. 3 sticky notes. The question of where the boys wanted to sleep was so the trundle bed would be ready. Fresh bouquets were for the “mom rooms”. We go to great lengths to provide a beautiful, peaceful and healing retreat for our guests. We are upfront with cancellation policies to which all guests must agree. Marie booked 5 days, not a week, as so stated. We offered her a payment of 1/2 of the remaining 4 days. She said she would stop Paypal and damage deposit payments. The check was cashed because of the carpet stains, which require professional cleaning and money will be refunded after the Paypal dispute is settled.  Marie has sent threatening letters, personal assaults and attempts to discuss the situation has been met with closed ears. In 13 years of running the cottage, nothing like this has ever happened; no spider complaints. The cottage was occupied the day before Marie's group arrived, with glowing comments in the guest book, and a promise to return. A realtor came the night before, to inspect and assess the worth of the cottage -- she looked at it very closely and has attested to the fact in is very clean and does not have a spider infestation.