My family of five spent the week of July 4th at this treasure on the lake. The house was spaciously laid out with lots of comfortable seating in the living areas and dining area. I had absolutely everything I needed to prepare meals, and comfortably move around to cook. The porches wrapping around the house, also had lots of seating from wood rockers to cushioned outdoor furniture. I spent lots of time reading on the porch. There were plenty of games, movies, and books for entertainment too. We also were pleasantly surprised to find the beds super comfortable! A rare treat when renting a house for a week.
The dock is amazing, it had every kind of float imaginable to play in the water. There is a ladder to climb out of the water as well as a step in the shallow end. My kids loved jumping from the second level into the deep water below! The dock had seating on each level. Shade umbrellas or covered, or lots of sunshine... something for everyone to enjoy. They even had some poles and nets for fishing.
The neighbors were all very friendly, and helpful with the area. For example, they told us about the best place to take our little ones to water ski where the wake was minimal and quiet boat traffic. They also invited us to sit on their dock for fireworks, as they had better view on their side.
Lake Gaston is a quiet area to begin with, so keep in mind that this will be about relaxing and enjoying the lake life... all that being said the house is located in the best possible location. It is very close to the grocery store, a restaurant or two, a few takeout locations, an Ace Hardware (all the fishing and boating stuff you could need) and marinas are all within a 10 minute drive or less. I will say preparing to bring what you need if you are particular on wine, beer or groceries is probably a good idea, the Food Lion is small and seems to have trouble keeping everything in stock, especially when the lake is busy.
Check in and check out was very easy, and communication throughout the week was very timely and wonderfully helpful. I definitely felt our hostess Jo wanted us to be very at home, comfortable and enjoy our trip to the fullest! We can not wait to return some time in the future, we have already shared the house link with a few friends.