1) There is a 50 dollar per car entry fee to the gated community that was sprung on us the same day as we arrived
We include this information in all our listings (before anyone books), in our rental agreement (after they book), in our information emails (we sent several), and in the email we sent with entry codes (before they arrive).
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This is a one-time fee that the Pine Mt Lake Association collects to help offset the cost of having a 24-hour manned main gate, 24-hour security patrols, maintaining roads, the private lake, beaches, marina, golf course, driving range, tennis courts, pool, pickleball, equestrian center, and other facilities, etc. Pine Mt Lake also maintains the roads everyone uses. The lake is private, and only owners and their guests may use the lake and its facilities.
2) plumbing in the house needs work
Don't know what the guest is referring to. The guest never mentioned any plumbing issues. Things do happen, and guests with kids may have put something in one of the drains. If they had said something, we would have had a local handyman look into it and fix it.
3) air conditioning wasn’t working correctly
I responded as soon as you informed me on Tuesday morning via a text message to April at 7:53 A.M. I promptly called back and scheduled a technician to look at the unit that same day. The entire Heating/AC system is new, as we had the old system replaced and upgraded in October 2025 ($14,000 ), so I was surprised when you said it wasn't working. Clearly, this was completely unexpected, outside of our control, and our response, along with the Heating/AC Company's, was immediate, the same day.
You informed us about the AC on Tuesday, June 16, and the Heating/AC Company came out the same day. (They were very busy, had a full schedule for the next 2 weeks, and made a special trip for me.)
When the Heating/AC Company came out on Tuesday, they checked the AC and said they couldn't fix it the same day, but they would come back the next day.
They came back the following day, on Wed., June 17, and fixed it.
On Tuesday, June 16, the weather in Groveland was a high of 89 and a low of 60 that night. On Monday, June 15, the high was 88, and the low that night was 63. In my experience, since we are on the lake and on the lakefront, our temperatures are several degrees lower than in town. The lodge is sheltered during the day by 100 foot trees. At night, the lodge cools down when the evening air is cooler, with some sliders (there are 7 of them on 3 levels) and windows open.
The house does have a small AC unit in the loft, just in case. While it wouldn't cool the whole house, it does keep the loft cool, and the cooler air would flow to the lower floors. The house has some ceiling fans and portable fans to circulate the air for those who don't like to run the AC. Also, at night, with temperatures down to 60 degrees, the house cools off completely with the windows and sliders open.
4) ceiling fans didn’t work in the house
We disconnected some fans for safety reasons because of the bunk beds, so if someone leans too far over from the top bunk, they don't get hurt. There are extra floor fans in the closets in these rooms.