We booked Helen’s Hideaway to spend some time relaxing & see the fall colors. When we arrived, we unloaded the car & headed to the grocery store. We went to lock the door, but when we checked it to ensure it was locked, it was not. We spent a half an hour fiddling with it to try to get it to actually lock. We called the owner & she said they’ve had problems with it but it’s the best it was going to be. She suggested locking it from the inside and leaving through the side door. Well, the front door could still be unlocked from the outside without a code upon locking it from the inside (scary thinking about going to bed that night & how we were going to get that door to lock). We finally managed to get it to lock & left out the side door, leaving just the knob locked. It was the same thing the next day so we decided we would leave out the side door again, but realized it could just be pushed open if the the deadbolt wasn’t engaged. So the cabin & all our valuables were left unsecured the evening before, under guidance & direction from the owner. We finally managed to get the front door to lock correctly after 15 minutes. I messaged the owner about both issues & she said she would go by to look at it. The side door was fixed but regarding the front door, she told us she was able to engage the lock several times with no issue, & she tried it “15 times to be certain”. A response like that made us feel like she thought we were lying. It is very frustrating when your safety is in question & you’re made out to feel like it’s incompetence on your part. When we arrived back to the cabin, we recorded a video of us walking up to the door & turning the deadbolt without the code & opening the door. A second day where our valuables were left unsecured, this time by the owner herself. After the video she said she misunderstood what we were saying & changed out the lock the next day. So in the end she made it right, but for half of our trip we battled that lock & what felt like just trying to get the owner to believe us that something was wrong. Some other things we noticed- there were some cob webs in the bathroom & around the mirror, some towels did not smell fresh which made us wonder if they had all been washed, dried sauce on the countertop, & a window was unlocked upon arrival. The trees are also more mature in front of the porch than when these pictures were taken. Not a big deal but just something to think about if you’re expecting more of an open view.