Karen,
We greatly appreciate your feedback and have taken a day or two to process this review because we have never had a negative review, only 36 - (5-Star Reviews) prior to yours. The last 5-Star Review was 2 days before your arrival.
However, nothing is more important to us than our guests and their experience at our mountain home. We will address each comment with absolute transparency and with the sole intent to continue to provide a world class 5-Star experience to everyone.
For proper background and context- the first communication I received from the guest upon arriving at our cabin was a phone call from her where she was crying and nearly unconsolable. She stated that she was vegan and that the dead stuffed animals (taxidermy) in the home creeped her out. This is the guests exact words:
" The taxidermy was/is the #1 issue. I still have to do laundry and those darn things are disgusting. IT CREEPS ME OUT."
We did have all the dead animals (taxidermy) moved to the shop within an hour of her calling us.
Additionally, she demanded that we add screens to all the windows so that, in her words:
"relax in the evening with fresh crisp air and be lulled to sleep by katydids".
I explained to the guest that since the house has double covered porches and an abundance of patio and outdoor enjoyment area, maybe they could enjoy the katydids from those areas.
However, she stated that there was too much pollen and the pollen would get on their clothes.
I explained to the guest that this cabin is remote, in the middle of the 100k acre Cohutta Wilderness WMA, and that pollen was just part of being in nature.
To note, the cleaning service does wash and/or blow the decks and patios prior to every new guest arrival. However, at certain times if the year the pollen can recover very quickly. We also have several hoses around the cabin and a blower in the shop area.
The open "food" items were common condiments and we have never had a complaint regarding this prior to your arrival. However, we did send the cleaning crew back out immediately and she addressed the issue. While we are not perfect, the cleaning crew does an amazing job and we have NEVER had a single complaint regarding the cleanliness of the cabin.
The faucet in the upstairs kitchen had a small rubber band that helps hold the wand to the arm, but it is not required for the faucet to operate correctly, its just a convenience thing and it has been removed.
The statement NO ELECTRICITY in one of the bedrooms" is not correct. The upper guest bedroom ceiling fan was discovered as non-operational upon your arrival. However, the rest of the room including the outlets and the lamps were operational. I sent my electrician out immediately and the repair was made.
The shower diverter in the master bathroom is not broken and again, we have never had this come up with previous guests. The diverter is European style and you turn it until the water comes on, then turn it until it cuts off.
Three weeks before this guests arrival and in-between guests, we had the entire upstairs repainted. The week before this guests arrival we nearly completed the entire downstairs repainting. However, there was one room (kids bunk room) that had some minor spackling on the walls and has since been finished.
The refrigerator ice make is intentionally turned off due to this being a vacation rental and not occupied full-time. Ice maker lines are the number one reason for flood damage to vacation rentals. However, there are ice trays and we almost always leave a bag of ice or remind the guests to buy a bag of ice.
The microwave is nearly brand new and it worked perfectly upon checking after your departure.
There are hair dryers in at least one of the bathrooms on each level. You may have overlooked them.
Upon your departure, we looked at the wine glass inventory and there were 7 wine glasses. You may have overlooked them.
Every bathroom has nice tile floors, and the master bathroom even has heated tile floors. We choose not to add bathroom floor mats as we believe it is more sanitary not to have them. However, this is a personal preference and if future guests want them, they will be available.
The ironing board was in the shop area where we had to hide all the dead animals (taxidermy). I suppose you did not look in the shop area.
We have never had a complaint regarding the pot holders, but they have been replaced.
The sounds of Mountain Town Creek can be heard very, very clearly from the front and side porches, and from anywhere on the patio and fireplace area. The sounds are prevalent and very noticeable. We often crack the master bedroom side door to the porch just to hear the river sounds early in the morning.
All the photos were taken recently from the property and are very accurate. I was there yesterday and could see the mountains, the lake and heard the rushing river vividly. We will new photos from yesterday to the VRBO website soon.
There are 2 kayaks, one canoe and a jon-boat. The life jackets (6) and oars (6) are in the shop area. There is also 2 trolling motors, 2 batteries, and ample fishing rods and gear. You may have overlooked them.
The guests also had a large older dog that they did not pay the pet deposit for. The dog was sick and while we allow pets, we require the pet deposit to protect against pet damages and clean-up.
In conclusion and with great humility, our family takes the responsibility of providing a top tier 5-Star service to our guests very, very seriously. Over the past 5 years we have NEVER had a bad review prior to this guest (36- 5-Star, 1-4-Star). We are not perfect, but we will continue to accept any feedback and address accordingly, as long as it will improve our guests experience at our amazing and secluded cabin get away.
We are sorry and apologize that this guest was so traumatized by the dead animals (taxidermy), and the lack of screens on the windows to listen to the katydids. We will add notes to the site with regards to the taxidermy for future guests that may be triggered from the encounter. We will also add a note regarding the absence of screens for those that need to sit inside to listen to the katydids.
New news and update:
We as a family have worked so very hard over the past several years to provide our amazing guests with a real 5-Star experience. Our guests and all of their 5-Star reviews are the clear and unbiased truth. The only misrepresentation and shameful behavior is represented in the real motives of deceiving us about the pet fee, being triggered by circumstances that have nothing to do with the quality of the property, and now their desire to abandon their responsibility of payment. I really wish them the best, but their behavior and motives hurts everyone.
All the best and blessings to you!
Chuck