4-305S - Clemson Cedars * Sleep 8-10 * CU-15 * Cable Speed WiFi * +PET$

My husband and I rented this lakefront home during Memorial Day weekend with my brother and his wife and my parents. This house has a lot of things going for it, with a very comfortable family room with seating for all six of us, strong WiFi and good cable with an updated 60” television (newer than the one in the photo), three good-sized adult bedrooms, a covered dock in a quiet—but deeper water—cove for swimming and sunning, a large gas grill, and a well-equipped kitchen.

But I wouldn’t rent this place again for a few reasons -

1. Most importantly, it wasn’t clean. We rent a lot of vacation homes, and this was the dirtiest one yet. We had to clean all of the bathrooms before we felt comfortable using them, and we also had to clean the kitchen. The carpet in the family room had a lot of stains and needs a good deep-cleaning (or total replacement). The grill was really dirty, and required cleaning before we could use it, and many of the dishes needed to be pre-washed before using.

2. There were no toys on the dock for us to use. I understand that liability likely prevents the owners from sharing their boat, but it would have been nice to have had a kayak, standing paddle board, float, or something else for fun. We did enjoy swimming in the clean water, but we envied the other residents who had water toys to play with.

3. Two of the three bathrooms (both upstairs) are quite dated and need refreshing.

4. It was a real pain to have to pick up the keys at the office, 11 miles away (a 20-minute drive to the home). Why no lockbox for the convenience of their guests?

You could tell this may have once been a family home, with a comfortable layout. It could be a much sought-after vacation home with just a few updates and an improved cleaning service.