Due to character restrictions, I am forced to use only a portion of my longer review.
Disappointing does not even begin to describe the Honeybear Lodge. Upon arriving at the Honeybear Lodge, it just had an exterior appearance of being unkempt. The landscape was somewhat overgrown, there were weeds in the driveway, and the porch appeared to be dirty. When we entered the house, it had a musty smell and was extremely dark. Within 10 minutes we were greeted by the screams of our children telling us they found spiders and ants. The house was literally infested with carpenter ants, and we tracked them, and the spiders, to multiple points in the trim around doors and in the bathrooms, where we plainly watched them enter the house. In addition to the ants and spiders, my wife witnessed bugs that were bouncing/jumping on the beds and in the area rugs. I immediately called Mountain Oasis Cabin Rentals and reported the situation. The woman on the phone told me that ants and spiders are to be expected, should be isolated, and that she would send a maintenance tech over. As to the jumping bugs, she told me that the house was not pet friendly and there was zero chance of fleas or bed bugs.
We ultimately decided that there was no way we could stay at this house and booked a hotel. I sent an email to Mountain Oasis Cabin Rentals and left multiple voicemails. We eventually heard back from Debbie at Mountain Oasis Cabin Rentals who said, “You mentioned "jumping bugs" which appeared to be fleas. It is possible that fleas could have jumped on you from outside and were then transported into the cabin. It does happen. There is a lot of wildlife in the area and they pass through sometimes leaving pests behind them.” WE TRANSPORTED THE FLEAS INTO THE CABIN!?!
Miraculously, we rented another VRBO (that’s right, we had to pay for two) that was even more isolated yet smelled clean when we walked in, and guess what, we did not see one bug in the house for the entire week. It is so crazy how selective these “bugs” can be
To end my rant/review, we did not expect a full refund or even a partial refund for that matter. What we did expect, was a house that was not infested with bugs. Again, I am aware of the rental agreement, but as customers, don’t we have some expectation of a livable home? The moral of this story, avoid this place at all costs. There are VRBOs all over Blue Ridge that match their descriptions and allow you to live without the fear of flea infestation.