Dunnellon, Florida
Meraki: Greek: "That which is done w/ passion; from the soul", how we planned and prepared Meraki for you. Directly on the Rainbow River - 4.5 miles of crystal clear water with more wildlife than you can imagine. Meraki isn't a typical "essentials only" vacation rental property. You will find it more like going to your place on the river. Spices, condiments, coffee, sugar, flour, rice, cereal - they're all there. Canoe / Kayaks / Paddles / Life Vests / Whistles (required on the river) / Horseshoes / Corn Hole Game - All provided. We used to provide tubes and floats but our insurance company nixed that! Meraki provides a pet friendly ($100 Non-Refundable Pet Fee) alternative to our first Rainbow River vacation rental (Pet Free Chimera: www.vrbo.com/730878). (Maintenance costs are higher at a pet-friendly property.) Meraki is designed and stocked to be especially suited for family or company gatherings.
Two breezeway connected structures for a total of 2,529 sf: The Communal Kitchen / Great Room sports a Large Modern Kitchen / Peninsula Counter / Dining Table, Large Family Entertainment Center, plus one (1) set of two (2) Adult Bunk Beds, one (1) Day Bed, and a small Bath Room w/ Shower. The Bedroom House is 2-stories w/ 4 Bedrooms (two Masters), 3 Baths, Kitchenette w/ Mini-Fridge, Microwave, Coffee Maker, and Bar Counter & Sink (used to be a small kitchen), and a small Entertainment Center. (Lets some guests turn in early while the party animals make all the racket they want to next door.)
Our large Communal Kitchen / Great Room is especially suited for family or friends to congregate and watch TV while Mama cooks as only she can do. Four-legged family members are welcome; Meraki is Pet-Friendly; a Pet Fee applies. Directly on the Rainbow River - Meraki sleeps fifteen (15) in beds and sleeps more on large couches. See Rental Rates and Fees, below.
The Vrbo system doesn't calculate the 4-6 Night Mulit-Night Discounts, so we edit the reservation for them after it is made.
Special sanitizing protocols are employed at both our properties; masks, gloves, antibacterial hand soap and dishwashing soap, and extra sanitizing agent are all provided for your use during your stay.
Inquire for Multiple-Night Discounts for stays of more than two (2) nights. We have to manually input correct rates, so the rates you see displayed when you input your number of nights are overstated for stays of three (3) or more nights. When you Inquire, we edit the quote to reflect a Discounted Rate for stays of more than three (3) nights. See a complete Schedule of Rates w/ Multiple Night Discounts at the bottom of this section.
Meraki is an "Old Florida" style property, remodeled to be modern, clean and comfortable, fully equipped, and provides plenty of space for spreading out. Everyone can gather in the Communal Kitchen / Great Room to cook, eat, watch movies, or just chill. Teenagers with their own movie preferences can hang out at their own Entertainment Center in the Main House.
No dock at Meraki: We tried to replace the rotted dock there when we purchased the property, but the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has a new rule for the Rainbow River that requires new docks to be built five (5) feet above the average high water line, which is about six (6) feet above the surface of the water. This would result in a totally non-functional dock. Meraki is directly on the Rainbow River for swimming, fishing, snorkeling, launching the canoe and kayaks or your tubes or floats. Also, Meraki sports a large sandy, gently sloping river bottom perfect for toddlers (supervised, of course).
The large fire pit close to the water's edge has chairs and a bench for sitting and watching the wildlife and just chilling. Fish, Anhingas, ducks, turtles, owls, eagles, wood storks, and otters are frequent visitors. Bring your rods, live bait, and your Florida fishing license for some of the best bass fishing in Florida! Children with poles, small hooks, and bread can catch bream all day long.
Meraki is the most recently purchased of our two Rainbow River properties, but already has more than fifty (50) 5-Star Reviews. To further see how we pamper our guests, see our original Rainbow River property, "Chimera on the Rainbow", 1.8 miles down river from Meraki (www.vrbo.com/730878). Chimera has over one hundred fifty (150) Reviews, almost all of which are 5-Star as well. Chimera has a Custom Bar, a Game Room w/ Table Shuffleboard / Arcade Basketball Net / 60-Game Arcade Game Machine including PacMan / and a Juke Box w/ genre hits from the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's.
Guests from both houses cooperate providing free river access and exit privileges; you don't have the pay the county $25 to use their tube and enter the water. (They don't let you use your own.) Our guests don't experience this because you can float from upriver Meraki to downriver Chimera, about an hour and a half drift, or float another hour and a half to the bridge at Swampy's w/o paying the county anything!. Meraki guests can leave a car at Chimera, drift there, and drive back to Meraki. Chimera guests can get dropped off at Meraki and float home to Chimera!
Chimera: 18531 SW 108th Pl Meraki: 9585 SW 190th Ave Road
Dunnellon, FL 34432 Dunnellon, FL 34432
US US
Summer Reservations book a year in advance. Preferred holiday dates go pretty quickly also, so booking early is necessary. A large percentage of our current reservations are returning guests.
Rental Rates and Fees:
2-3 Nights $394/night
4-6 Nights $379/night (Inquire for this discount...)
7 Nights & More $364/night
Monthly** $7,500 (Oct - Apr Only)
* + Extra Guest Charge of $25/night/number of overnight guests more than ten (10); Children ages six (6) and under are wecome but not counted.
* + $20/day/daytime visitor - Daytime Visitors must leave by 7:00 pm.
* 4-6 Night Rate will apply to Reservations for eight (8) to fourteen (14) days but include more than two (2) Weekend Days. Weekend Days are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
* Meraki has an RV Electric Connection – no water or sewer. No RV Fee, but all RV guests count as house overnight guests.
* + $200 Cleaning Fee
Taxes: Rent, Cleaning Fee, and Event Fee, if applicable, are subject to 11% Tax (7% State of Florida Sales Tax & 4% Marion County Bed Tax)
**Monthly Rate: Subject to availability; Only for stays beginning 1st of the month Oct– Apr; Extra Guest Rate and Daytime Visitor Rate does not apply. Contact Owner
Holiday Rates: We don't increase rates for Holidays, but:
– Multi-Night Discounts do not apply, and...
– Holidays have a Minimum Four (4) Night Stay.
Holidays are Rental Dates that include any of the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any day immediately before or after one of these days.
Holiday Rates: We don't increase the basic rate for holidays, but holidays have a four (4) Night Minimum and above multiple night discounts don’t apply. Holidays are Rental Dates that include New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and any day immediately before or after one of these days.
Online Booking – Rates: Holiday Rates and Multiple-Night Discounts do not adjust in the Online Listing Sites and will be manually adjusted following inquiry.
There are several very nice golf courses in the area.
Horseback Riding: If you want to have a little diversion from river fun and do something else really enjoyable while in Dunnellon, go online and type in "Orange Blossom Trail Rides". Just thirty (30) minutes away, an eighty (80) acre property plus 53,000 acres in Florida's Goethe State Forest. Sandi, the owner, is most hospitable and provides a wonderful guided horseback riding experience.
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I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect location for our wedding. It was one of the best weekends of my life in this gorgeous location on the river. Meraki checked all the boxes. It was cozy, spacious, inviting, and had everything we needed for a lovely weekend surrounded by our family and friends. It was very private, but was also not far from grocery stores, etc. I highly recommend it for a family trip to a quiet, relaxing, beautiful down home Florida destination.
Very clean, lots of room, perfect view of the river
We had an amazing time at Meraki and it was all thanks to Hal and Ellen. We were planning to have our wedding and reception at Meraki, which was seriously the most beautiful location for it. Hal was really helpful and thoughtful figuring out details for the event. We ended up having to cancel the event because of Hurricane Idalia, but we ended up loving our time at Meraki anyway- we even took the kayaks out and had rainbow springs to ourselves right after the storm. We couldn’t ask for a more beautiful place to get married or kinder hosts who made us feel safe and supported through wedding planning AND a hurricane.
This property was just FABULOUS!! We could not have enjoyed our stay more. The owner was very responsive and flexible. I was already asked to book again for next year.
Love spending time on the river exploring, snorkling and people watchin
Our stay was perfectly suited for our large group. The bedrooms and bathrooms were very clean and accommodating. The river access was great for the smaller kids to play in without worry. Parking was ample and the kitchen was large and well stocked with supplies to cook with. We look forward to staying at Meraki again! Hal was very communicative and an excellent host.
This place is a gem, a taste of old Florida with modern conveniences. Wonderful view of a beautiful river, lots of wildlife, good bass fishing and quiet neighborhood. Hal is a very considerate host and Ellen is glad to help or answer any questions you may have.
TL;DR- Very comfortable beds, great separation of space, huge kitchen, fresh and clean towels/linens, weird but awesome construction, tons of parking, perfect location, super convenient river access sharing arrangement, super attentive and caring property owner. Would definitely visit again and recommend to others. We are a big group of adult friends who travel down south every January to act like kids. We swim with the manatees, and enjoy paddling and snorkeling the beautiful local rivers. This property was a bit aged and rough around the edges, perhaps a bit dusty here and there, but honestly PERFECT for us. We absolutely loved it. Hal, the owner, and Ellen the property manger were wonderfully communicative and responsive, and checked in with us to be sure we had everything we needed throughout our stay. The photos in the listing do not do the kitchen/hang out area justice. It's very very large, with a ton of counter space. We are a group that likes to cook, so we appreciated that the kitchen was spacious and well outfitted. The bedroom house is a bit funky with the heat and cooling (regardless of the adjustments we made, the upstairs rooms ran very hot, while the downstairs rooms ran very cold) but we made it work. The separation of big group hangout space and quiet sleeping space was really lovely. It's a bit of a challenge to find properties with four bedrooms with queen or king beds so that we can all have our private space, so that was wonderful. The house was squeaky clean in all the ways that mattered- kitchens, bathrooms, and linens were all fresh. The beds were SO COMFORTABLE. Again, the property is a bit of an odd construction, but it worked for us. The early risers relocated the coffee pot from the big communal kitchen to the kitchenette in the bedroom house and many of us enjoyed early morning coffee while sitting next to the river while the folks in the big space were able to sleep in a bit. It was nice to have two big sitting areas, PLUS a screened in porch with a couch. Tons of parking space. The listing just doesn't accurately convey how big the property is! In addition to the space, the owner has provided games, floaty toys, life preservers, masks and fins. LOTS of stuff to add to your experience. Oh, and the fire pit is just lovely. A special note on the river sharing arrangement- it may seem a bit odd, but it's SO GREAT. Take advantage of it! Thank you, Hal, for sharing your wonderful property with us!
Communication with Hal was fantastic from the moment of booking his property almost a year ago! Ellen was great....she was there when we arrived and answered any questions for us. The beds were incredibly comfortable and having the separate kitchen house was great. From the kayaks, to towels, to games...this is one of the best appointed houses we have ever rented. Thank you for providing a great place for a Christmas getaway!
Hosted a get together with 10 friends, great location on rainbow river, plenty of backyard space for games, and Hal and company are thoughtful and considerate hosts! I highly recommend this location :)
We always enjoy our stay at Meraki. Great location, great house, this was our 3rd year here and we will definitely be back.
We all had a fantastic time
Excellent host, best location! Everything was perfect, everyone had a great time.
LOVED Meraki on the Rainbow River! Hal was great to work with and the property was perfect for our family. We consisted of three brothers and their wives/kids so there was about 15 of us ranging from 1 year old to adults. The bunkhouse/kitchen was AMAZING to have the younger boys sleep in and hang out without them waking three little ones in the main house that went to sleep between 7-8pm. So it made for such a relaxing week. There was a place for everyone and the kitchen area was such a neat place to congregate and the main area could be a quiet respite for day naps and for the little ones and sleepy parents to rest. All in all, a great experience! And it was so fun getting up early each morning to have coffee and enjoy the wildlife! The river was amazing every day and we hope to go back one day! Thanks so much, Hal!
The kitchen with the porch and living room was great for everyone to hang out in the cool air. The gazebo was the next best place around the fireplace. Watching all the tube and kayaking. Then the amount of beds and bathrooms was perfect. Had a wonderful time and will come back.
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Total
Includes taxes and fees