The really good: The house is clean, immaculately maintained and nicely furnished. The location has spectacular views. In the long, dark afternoons of winter, you don't see neighboring homes and have sense of isolation shared with the woods, river, and distant peaks. Our family loved the closet with high quality board games.

The maybe-not-so-good: The loft has two twin beds, great for kids. But the access to the loft is via a very steep ladder (of lovely varnished wood). Younger kids may have a challenge with access. Socks or footy pajamas make it (almost) dangerous, especially for night-time bathroom visits down stairs. The loft also has no window treatments, and there's a street-light that shines on one of the beds all night.

I wish I had known: The kitchen appliances, pots, pans and utensils are 1st rate. A few things are missing. For now, there are no measuring cups or spoons (good luck baking - even a mix - without them). There's no pitcher. Hard to make a pitcher of juice or margaritas! There's also no butter dish.

The warnings: The house is very difficult to find after dark. Good luck counting 5 cabins down a forested one-lane road. There is no house number displayed anywhere. The door with the electronic lock is at the *back of the house* - the river-side. This is not mentioned anywhere in the directions or other info. Looking at each house for a door with an electronic lock with not get you there, unless you know to go around the back.

These items were a problem for our stay: Finding the house was made a lot harder because the directions provided were explicit and **wrong**. They state specifically that the driveway is West of the house. But the driveway is East of the house. The driveway is pretty steep, and for a snowy, winter stay you may need to have good 4WD (not automatic AWD) to get out of the driveway. My truck did fine; our friend's Ford Escape did not.

I've got to share the ugly part, too: When we finally found the house and the door with the electronic lock, the battery was dead in the electronic lock and it would not open for me. (I have a electronic lock at home - I am used to them.) Calling the office just at closing time was just my bad luck, I guess. I got a recording but the line would not transfer to the answering service. About 15 minutes of trying, the service did pick up. First time they transferred me back to themselves. When I did get to a Mysty Mountain staffer, Heidi, she was understanding and helpful.