We rented the Grondin Retreat for our annual girl’s golf and wine weekend. There were a number of things that were, in our opinion, unacceptable for the price we paid. Here they are:
1. Firstly, in looking for a place, we eliminated all properties that required us to provide our own linens. Two of us were flying in and the other was driving from Ottawa and we were arriving later in the evening and didn’t want to pack linens or make up beds when we arrived. After booking, lo and behold, we receive a PDF of rules, the first one being that we had to provide our own sheets, towels, dish towels, paper towel and toilet paper! What happened to the “home away from home” philosophy? We feel it is wrong for the owners to only reveal this AFTER one has already booked.
2. The place did not offer wifi. We understand that they may have a “come and get away from it all” philosophy, but it should probably be stated in the listing that wifi is not available.
3. We were slightly concerned by one review stating cleanliness as an issue, but booked anyways as there was only one. We didn’t find cleanliness to be an overall concern, however, there were cobwebs with live spiders in every corner of the house and other places such as under the couch. We aren’t scared of spiders, so it wasn’t a biggie for us, but if someone is afraid of spiders, they will want to stay away from this property. Also, one of our party ended up with over 50 bites by the end of the weekend. We weren’t outside much be because of weather and they weren’t mosquito bites. We don’t believe they were bedbugs either, but something was having a good feast. A fumigation may be helpful?
4. The listing mentions proximity to wineries as one of the nearby activities, which was one reason we chose Prince Edward County. We love wine. Imagine our surprise on the first evening when we opened a nice bottle of red wine and had to drink it out of Irish coffee mugs! There is only one proper wine glass in the cupboard. Four nice wine glasses should be a must in a home that lists wineries among its advantages.
5. The few days before we arrived, the weather was hot and the house was hot and stuffy. We discovered it had no air conditioning! Also, although fans are mentioned, they are not in evidence in the rooms. Luckily it cooled down the day after we arrived, so it wasn’t a huge issue.