West Asheville Epic Mountain Views - 7.5 Mil Downtown Asheville - Sleeps 10

We came to Asheville for a girls weekend and here's our thoughts on the house:

Pros:

- The views from the deck are GORGEOUS! We spent most of our time out here, including a yoga session!

- The house is very large and easily sleeps 10+. We never felt cramped and there was even a whole basement that we didn't utilize (Basement had pool, foosball, games, etc.)

- The kitchen is well stocked.

- The location is great, in a quiet neighborhood and not too far from town. We had no problem getting Ubers / Lyfts to pick us up and drop us off.

Cons:

- The water is high in iron which leaves a stain on all of the toilets / gives the water a "unique" smell / taste. I didn't mind it, but many of the girls couldn't stand it. Bring your own water bottles to be safe. The host is open about this but it was still unexpected.

- There was a sign outside saying that cameras were in use. While we didn't actually see a camera, I don't like the idea of being spied on while I'm on a trip.

- There isn't a house number on the house, so my feedback for the host would be to make it more clear which house is the rental by adding a number to the porch / mailbox / etc.

- I was asked to text a photo of my ID before arrival, prior to receiving the code to the lockbox, and I don't know if this is typical for VRBO, but I prefer Airbnb where I'm already verified and don't have to text strangers my personal information.

Before our trip the host was very responsive and communicative regarding any questions we had and even allowed us an early check in the day of our arrival. Upon entering the house, you could just tell no one has done much to the exterior in a while (deck could use a re-stain, siding could use a good power wash, etc.). The interior of the home is very spacious which was great for nine girls. I would say though, the living room is HUGE, but the couch was so tiny! When we were just lounging around in there most of us sat on the floor since the other couple chairs in the room were not very comfortable. Like others have reviewed, the water does have an odor to it, but I would say its more of a metallic odor than rotten eggs - and it is really not THAT terrible as long as you aren't drinking out of the tap. The deck out back has such amazing views - we spent most of our time out there when we were at the house. At night though, a lot of spiders appeared (what we believed to be black widows). I am not one to freak out over bugs, but I would definitely recommend the host give the exterior a good spray down with defense or something because black widows are no joke if someone were to get bit! Ubers/Lyfts were easy to order but it did usually take them 15 minutes or so to get to the house since it is pretty outside of downtown Asheville. Overall we did enjoy our time in this house, but I would definitely say it needs some TLC sooner rather than later!

I am only able to review the service and outside of the property

1) service - poor, we were offered and guaranteed an early check in at 2pm and were unable to access the property as the wrong door code was given to us, so we were unable to get inside. Then the owner was not available via email, phone or text for 4.5 hours, moreover after calling VRBO/Homeaway they were not able to get in touch with the owner or a second "emergency" contact either. The owner is usually away and generally unaccessible to the renter, even on a check in day.

2) exterior of the property - run down and also NOT proximal to downtown Asheville. If you rent here you will have to drive or take a cab everywhere. I cannot comment on the interior of the house.

3) neighbors - very nice. offered to help us, as they saw we were sitting on the porch for hours, talking to VRBO and also trying to call the property owner.

In summary, we stayed at a hotel, which as we were categorized as "stranded travelers" by VRBO/HomeAway it was paid for - which is lucky as this owner also offered no compensation for our inconvenience (to say the least). We had a great stay at the hotel which was basically the same price as this Property.

The home was not cleaned thoroughly, the furniture is dated and uncomfortable. Several of the beds are too soft and the water smells of rotten eggs. I would not recommend this property for your stay in Asheville.

The only downside was the odor of the water. It was really bad the whole time.