This is not our first VRBO North Carolina mountain rental. At this price, I was expecting more than what we got. The location is okay, about 30 minutes from Tweetsie, which is between Boone and Blowing Rock. The property is also okay, in a secluded valley which was good for walks, and would be good for kids riding bikes. The town of Todd is very close by, with a few water activities and fishing available on the New River. The house has a very nice close range view of a wooded mountain on the other side of the valley, but not the long-range views with folded mountains that I prefer.
When we entered the house, the windows were all open and the ceiling fans all on, but the house was still very hot and stuffy. First surprise: no air conditioning. At this price, I expected it, and never thought to ask. Nothing was included. The info I received after paying for the cabin includes, "Bring your own toilet paper, paper towels, toiletries, dish soap, trash bags, and detergents (should you have laundry needs during your stay)." The house has 4 bedrooms which slept the 10 of us very comfortably. But one of the upstairs bedrooms is VERY small, with a futon, and the ceiling fan in this room shook and made so much noise it was unusable. There is a loft between the upstairs bedrooms with pullout sofas, a double and two singles. The screens were generally in poor repair, several of them not closing all the way. Most of the doors did not close smoothly. There were utensils and pots/pans, but the silverware was remarkably cheap, several dishes chipped, and everything was mismatched. Everything seemed to be on the cheap. Again, not what I expect at this price point.
The wood trim below the eaves on the front of the house, on the main deck, was riddled with wood wasp holes. There was non-stop wasp and bee activity, making it impossible for some of us to enjoy the deck at all. The picnic table on the deck is warped to the point of being unusable.
There is a nice rustic fire pit outside. We did enjoy a fire after I cleaned up all the beer cans from previous users.
All in all, this is okay if you do not expect luxury of any sort. Cabins are often rustic, even more so than this one. But they should be priced accordingly.