Nauvoo, Illinois
This historic home was built in the 1840's on Hyrum and Mary Fielding Smith's farm ground. The home had an addition in brick added in the 1860's during the Civil War years. Then the home received a third addition, including a modern kitchen and additional bathrooms over one hundred years later.
This beautiful vacation home is now a combination of historic and antique brick, trim, plaster, doorways and hinges as well as modern luxuries and room to enjoy all of it indoors or out! The home has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a large kitchen/dining/family room area, a den and a large game room. It has a large patio over looking the old barn and working farm fields, with sprawling grass, room to run and it sits across the street from a Nauvoo City Park.
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Staying in the Hyrum Smith Farmhouse was a great experience. Our kids loved it and had a great time in the playroom and at the park across the street. Check in was smooth and everything in the house was orderly and working as expected. We loved the historical significance of where we were staying as well. I would highly recommend staying here.
About an hour before check-in the owner called to tell us the A/C was had just stopped working. It was early September in southern Illinois and the weather was hot and humid. She didn’t offer anything to remedy the situation other than to tell me that there was a window unit in the kitchen which would keep that area cool if we kept all the doors to the main house (which included all of the bedrooms) closed. She said that they had left some fans behind to help. She acted like there was nothing more she could do and it was pretty much tough luck for us. I asked her if they could place a couple of additional window units in the house, but she told me that the windows in the house would not support them. Feeling annoyed that she informed us of this so close to check in and the fact that we had traveled 12 hours by car to visit Nauvoo we dug through other reviews for the property and found that the A/C had been a problem prior to our arrival although she was trying to act like it had just gone out. Since all of the lodging were booked within an hours drive of Nauvoo we resolved to try our luck and stay. It was uncomfortable but we had no other option. The TV’s did not work, they weren’t even; they had no remotes and all but one weren’t even hooked up to cable of DVD’s players. The one TV that was hooked up to cable could only get one channel. This was in convenient as we had children with us. The owner was not easy to get ahold of she would only respond through the VRBO messaging application; I asked her were the remotes were located to the TV’s but in short she was unhelpful and seem to care very little about helping. To top it all off there was a horrific smell coming from the laundry room/bathroom that was right of of the kitchen. It filled the entire kitchen area which was the only area which had any cooling. Clearly some sort for drainage issue with the toilet of the washer which smelled like sewage. Lastly, one of the bedrooms has a door that goes directly to the old dirt floor cellar; the cellar has a wall out door which is made out of plywood and would not securely shut; so any one or any thing could easily get into the cellar and simply walk up into the house (people, bugs, animals, anything). Do not stay here. Owners still hasn’t returned my deposit although I have reached out to her; probably using it to fix the A/C. Don’t be suckered in by the advertised history of the house. Stay away!
Staying here was a great experience for us. The home is comfy, fit a lot of people, and was a good location. We enjoyed the rural atmosphere and the city park across the street. We had everything we needed. Unfortunately the basketball game machine was broken just before we came so wasn't repaired, and we couldn't use it; but the children liked the other games and puzzles that were available and they enjoyed the playground across the street. There were plenty of towels and sheets and the washer and dryer worked well for the loads of laundry we needed to do. It felt safe and we were happy we could stay where Hyrum Smith once lived.
Across the street from lovely park with playground and ball field. Location was best feature of this property. Host did not respond to repeated emails. This could be a glitch with the website and not her negligence. Lots of sleeping space. Gathering area does not accommodate all guests together and the a/c could not cool the gathering room. Ample towels but not enough sheets for parents’ beds
PHENOMENAL! Exactly as advertised and communicated. Nothing but easy and comfortable.
We had such a wonderful time at the Hyrum House! The decor takes you back in time and it was such a dreamy place to stay! It’s just minutes from Old Nauvoo and the Temple, there’s a playground across the street, and the home itself has a large gathering place with toys/activities for the kids. We hope to stay there again someday soon!
This was the perfect place for our reunion and for touring Nauvoo.
Upon arrival we found the telephone and internet inoperative, no working shower, and hotwater only in one bathroom. Since cell phone coverage in the Nauvoo area is unreliable, we had to go to the Mayor's office to use their landline to communicate with the maintenance help. They sent someone by the afternoon, and one shower was fixed, and the landline and internet service restored. On day 3, a plumber came out and restored one of the hot water heaters, and said the other needed to be replaced. It wasn't replaced while we were there, so we had two showers with hot water for the rest of our stay. Unbelievable. The rental is advertised to have four hot water showers, not two. The owner offered us a $200 gift card to a local restaurant which had no take out, and only served on Friday and Saturday evenings which wouldn't accommodate our large group, so we returned the card. The parking was inadequate for 28 people since we weren't allowed to park on the roadside (we were told we'd be ticketed, and we were asked not to park on the grass). The park opposite the house was excellent, the kitchen worked great, and the place was spacious enough for all. So again, please come to Nauvoo and visit it -- it's a wonderful historical site, but just don't stay in Nauvoo; give your business to those who actually want to do business with you (as an added example, a different rental in Nauvoo cancelled on us 10 days before our arrival disrupting our carefully planned reunion -- another member of our group was also cancelled a short time before their arrival as well). Maybe Nauvoo doesn't want to do business.
We came as a youth group. This was great because there were both private rooms for adults and a bunk area. The host was amazing and so quick to respond to any questions we had. It not far from downtown and very peaceful!
What a great memory for our family. The house is so historic and charming. The large bunk room was perfect for a bunch of boys. They loved the game room. The yard and adjacent park were great fun. Fireflies at night were a bonus. We did struggle a bit cooking for our bunch with the available pots and pans, but we made do. We are so glad we stayed ther!
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