15 Mi to The White House! Modern Apt w/ Deck

The property was advertised as a full house with a photo of the front door. It was a sub-basement unit with access through the back of the house. The photos showed a kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, and range, but there was only a mini-fridge, coffee maker and microwave. The shower was tiny and impractical to use. It would have been nice to have had several more towel options, we were each given one washcloth, one hand towel, and one extra-large bath towel. Our hair had to be sopping wet while we dried off, or we froze while we had the towel on our head, a choice had to be made. The listing claimed there were four off-street parking spots, but there was a junk car and a wood-filled trailer occupying the driveway. On the second day, when we arrived back at the home after being gone all day, someone (possibly the owner’s daughter) had parked behind one of our cars, blocking us in. I called the owner and informed them that we had returned. He said that his daughter was visiting, and could we park in the street. I told him that we were planning on packing up our cars because we were planning on leaving early in the morning. He then said he would have the car moved. Despite calling the owner and having them move, the car had returned again when we put some of our belongings in the car later that night. There was no way to alter the temperature, one bedroom was uncomfortably hot. The lights were also on timers that went off if you did not move.

In general, everything about the place will meet the needs of most all travelers. A few issues we did have, as well as some suggestions. Suggest making it clear that the entrance and lockbox are found on the back of the house. We found the pictures and listing were not accurate upon arrival. B4 arriving, we stopped at the store for groceries (our daughter has special dietary needs and can't eat out). Upon arrival, found that full kitchen that was pictured and described closed. It was under reconstruction and blocked. And the fridge was a little dorm-room style mini-fridge, with a miniscule freezer, meaning no real room for the groceries we bought. Only thing there was a small microwave, yet no cooking utensils to make meals in it (no bowls, meal dishes to cook in, etc.). We had to go buy a cooking plate/grill in order to even cook anything. The other suggestion I think needs addresses, is more of a nuisance than a real negative. All of the main lights between the door, hall and living room area, are on motion sensors. There is no manual control to disable it. So, if you are sitting still talking...boom, out go the lights. If you're watching TV in the dark, someone moves...boom, lights on. Get up at night to go to bathroom...boom, lights on, shocking someone sleeping on couch. There needs to be a way to disable this feature. Other than those things, we were comfortable enough. This seems to be a new work in process I guess.

In general, the stay was reasonably decent. Nice, well kept place, but the issues were with what was pictured and described, and what we found when arriving, and some improvements that need considered. First off, I'd suggest updating the instructions to clearly note the entrance and lock box for the key is in the back of the house, as we were quite confused where to go when arriving. Before arriving, we stopped and bought groceries for the special dietary needs of our daughter, only to arrive and find the place has no way to cook anything. No stove or oven, only a small microwave, even though the photos in the listing clearly showed a large kitchen area with stove/oven, and the description listed a kitchen. The kitchen area in the pictures, turned out to be blocked off and under construction. Also listed as being available were cooking utensils, which were absent too. Nothing with which one could use to even prepare main courses in the microwave if desired. We ended up having to go out and purchase an electric cooking skillet to be able to make meals. There also was only a small dorm room sized fridge that wasn't near large enough to support our supplies, meaning of course the freezer size was near non existent.Aside from that, the other issue we had was with the lighting set up. The couple lights coming into the door and down the hallway leading to the main area, were on motion sensors, which was fine. But the main living room light was likewise on a sensor, which had no way that we could find in which to disable the function. This means as we sit watching TV, after a few minutes, out go the lights.Also, the opposite happens; when you want to sit in the dark, if someone moves, up go the blinding lights. Likewise, the same issue at night if you get up to go the bathroom, on go the main room bright lights, much to the shock of someone sleeping on the fold out couch. This was a real inconvenient nuisance, and there really needs to be someway this feature can be controlled/disabled if needed. We made it work, and were comfortable enough with the overall set up otherwise, but honestly at the cost we paid, we would have considered a different location had we known of the the kitchen issues, because that really ended up setting us back to work around them.