Rustic Poconos Home w/ Grill: Steps to Beach!

Reviews

• Don't believe everything you see

  1/5

  When you look at the pictures you think "this looks a really nice place to rent". When you see it in person you will probably think otherwise. The walls are dirty and could use a coat of paint or a very thorough cleaning. There are also holes in the wall not shown anywhere in the listing. The listing touts a fully stocked kitchen but when we arrived there wasn't any pot or pan large enough to cook for the 8 persons the house holds. When we went to bed we discovered that the sheets on the bed were dirty and stained. One bed didn't even have a full set of sheets on it. If you have a larger group or want to use the the jacuzzi tub you will not have enough water to fill the tub or for more than 1 person at a time to take a shower. When someone flushes a toilet or uses the sink the shower water pressure pretty much goes to zero. When we arrived a number of the dining room chairs were broken and ready to collapse. Like one of the other reviews, the freezer did not maintain freezing temperatures. We had bought ice cream when we went to eat it, it had turned to soup in the freezer and was in-edible. When contacting the person on call about the issues he pretty much gave us a "what do you want me to do about that?" attitude and pretty much insinuated that we caused the problems (we had only been there 2 hours at that point). We contacted the other number provided on the check-in sheet and found out the person on call was really the owner (who was out of town for the weekend). Fortunately, the other person attempted to fix the issues by coming to the house and tightening the screws on the dining room chairs, bringing some kitchen towels and pot holders and changing the dirty sheets on the bed. We still had to go out and purchase some pots and other kitchen items in order to accommodate our guests.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  Cameron, we always appreciate honest and constructive feedback, but after talking with the homeowner, we'd like to clarify the following points:
  -"Transparency is very important to us which is why we use professional photographers to ensure the home is as advertised. We can assure you that after inspecting the home, we found no holes in the wall or any other problems with them.
  -We provide a full set of pots and pans in the kitchen to accommodate the maximum occupancy of 8 guests. Previous guests who have stayed with us found this to be a more than adequate amount to satisfy their needs comfortably. When we heard from you, you let us know there were more than eight people in the home which of course violated the occupancy. We can only imagine this was the reason why you had to purchase more kitchen supplies.
  -The house is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each guest
  with EPA products to kill all germs and viruses. All the linens on the beds are removed and replaced with clean and fresh linens. Upon being notified of a problem with the sheets, our cleaning service inspected them and found one small mark which was caused by our laundry detergent. We replaced it immediately with new linens so you could continue with your stay. The other bed that you mentioned was equipped with bedding, just tucked professionally.
  -The jacuzzi tub is only meant for one person and most water heaters cannot accommodate a supply for 8 people back to back. Regarding the water pressure, our home works on well water so the pressure is determined by how much water is being supplied elsewhere in the home.
  -We're glad our contact could assist with the kitchen chairs. While they were not broken, they did appear to need just a quick tightening of the bolts.
  -We haven’t had any problems with the freezer before or after your stay. The owner checks the home for any issues before each guest's arrival and the freezer was in working order. Sometimes leaving the door open can result in the freezer losing temperature.
  Unfortunately, the unit was left in unsatisfactory conditions after your stay which impacted subsequent guests. While we want our guests to enjoy their stay here, we also need them to respect our house rules and treat the property as their own."

• Fun in the woods

  4/5

  House was nice and clean. Beds were comfortable. Kitchen was missing some necessities. No dish towels, no hot pads, no dishwasher detergent and almost no dish soap. Had to run out and buy those things. The fireplace was great. Kitchen chairs were on the verge of collapse. There was no water pressure and it took forever for the water to get hot. So overall it is a nice place but could use a little help.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• Plumbing disaster

  1/5

  The pipes were not able to handle draining the tub, and water started pouring out of the shower drain. We cleaned it up as best we could, but didn't dare use the plumbing anymore. This happened about an hour before bed time, so we really couldn't make any other arrangements. Couldn't reach the owner. Had to use the bathroom at a local gas station. We packed up and left in the morning, even though we paid for two nights. The owner has STILL not contacted me or refunded my money. NOT SATISFIED.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  Hi Julia, we always appreciate hearing from our guests, but the homeowner would like to take a moment to clarify a few things raised in your review:
  - You confirmed that a member of your group poured a bubble bath in the whirlpool tub, which caused the plumbing issues.
  - When you reached out to the local Guest Contact about the incident, they responded to the text immediately. They also called and left a voicemail to call them back. Additionally, the Guest Contact reach out to Evolve to report the incident.
  - The tub and plumbing were tested by filling the tub with water and running the jets. Then the tub was drained; however, there was no backup of water into the shower drain or bubbling up of water into the shower.
  - Further, other guests have recently used this tub and have had no issues.
  - There are two bathrooms in the home; one on the first floor and one on the second floor. Either of these bathrooms could have been used during your stay.
  - Our records show that you were issued a partial refund for your stay.
  The owners do all they can to make the best possible stay, and we look forward to this property hosting many satisfied guests!

• Decent for a weekend

  4/5

  House was well furnished and bed and towels clean and newer looking. Everything in working order. Location is as good, very close to beach and neighborhood seems to have a lot to offer. Quick ride to Jim Thorpe and some hiking areas. And area is removed from other population centers (i.e. if you need online food deliveries, then not the right fit for you, probably what most people are looking for in this area but worth noting)TONS of deer throughout the neighboorhood and will walk right up to house with no fear.Some parts of house are a little run down which may or may not bother you. Specifically, window cranks dont consistently work, some small wall patchwork needed, screens/door missing on part of back porch, all decking is weathered. Also a/c is in main living areas but need fans to bring cool air into bedrooms if the night is warm. All and all it was fine for us, and a good value but depends on what you are looking for and how finicky you are in your rentals.

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

• not like the listing

  2/5

  The listing photo shows a clean and nice home but you wont find deck furniture to enjoy the mountain air or to sit with friends and just have a morning cup of coffee the overall home was not what i was expecting I had to clean the grill charcoal there was 5 lb's of ashes in the grill it was old and beet up to say the least the floors were sticky in the bathroom yuck the refrigerator had problems I had to play with the door switch to keep the temp below 50 degrees the table in the listing was found in the back porch and was so dirty you could not see through the glass the chars were old and unstable to sum up my stay i was going to leaving after the first day but decided to stay 5 of the days the porch had termite damage and the wood was rotted mold on the porch ceiling and the eye sore in the back of the house was a old shed the would fall over if you touched it one more thing the front desk had some plank repairs but there were still some planks the were sticking up the you could trip on be careful to fix all of what i found would have taken a truck of supply's and a team of contractors what a shame the listing photo was so nice but not a true representation of the home

  *This review was originally posted on Vrbo

  Manager's Response:

  From the owner: "Emilio, thank you for staying with us! We are sorry that you did not enjoy your visit.
  
  - The grill is less than a year old. We are sorry if it wasn't to your standards.
  
  - We checked the whole house prior to check-in and the floors were clean and not sticky.
  
  - We checked the refrigerator during our visit and it was working perfectly. It is a new and modern refrigerator that has a computer circuit board and automatically defrosts after running for a certain length of time. The temperature goes up to 50 degrees when in defrost mode and then drops back down to 35 degrees.
  
  - We are sorry about the furniture being moved around. Guests move furniture around from deck to deck which I have no control over. The table and chairs are a set and anything that is damaged is always removed.
  
  - We always check the condition of the exterior of the house during our visits and we saw no termite damage.
  
  We appreciate your feedback and we truly go above and beyond for our guests, and we are confident that future guests will have excellent stays!"