The Retreat with Private Pool and Hot Tub!

Vacation Retreat Review – July, 2025We stayed in this house for almost a week in July of 2025. Before leaving Ohio to come to Hickory, NC, after we booked this property, we noticed a 2-star review pop up from another visitor in June. We were concerned, since the review listed many problems with the property. We reached out to inquire about the property before leaving Ohio to make sure we were not going to find the same issues. Our vacation goal was a house with at least 4 bedrooms, a pool, and pet friendly. We were told that all of the problems were addressed, and that the property manager was new along with the cleaning crew. We were also told the pool was in perfect condition and we would have no problems. We were even sent a photo of the pool looking pretty clean. We arrived on Saturday around 4:00 and almost immediately we called about a mess around the pool. We were told it was related to a storm that came through earlier that day. I asked if the storm left the pool vacuum and hoses laying around the deck of the pool and was told that she (property manager) has a second job to get too and that she had to leave in a hurry. We put off the pool for the rest of Saturday and tried to make dinner. The house advertises that it sleeps 12. There were 2 frying pans in the house, both small in size, and both missing all of the Teflon coating and warped to the point of being unusable. We left and purchased 2 frying pans and a cutting board and knifes for our trip, as

This property is HORRIBLE!!! The pictures are very misleading...it looks nothing like the listing. I was there long enough to take pictures and left. This home is unsafe and unacceptable. There was a pile of chemicals (pool cleaner...lighter fluid.. spray paint) on the patio, a rusty, dirty grill..filthy patio furniture...the ceiling paint is peeling...the house is dark and dingy. Pet hair EVERYWHERE and the house reeks of mold and animal urine. There was a broken pool table leaned against a wall. The pool was dark green covered in slime. The owners waited til 15 minutes after check in time (we hadn't arrived yet) to let us know the pool was unavailable..after driving 10 hours with grandkids there was no way we could stay here and had to spend money on a hotel then find a different place to stay. If I could rate them anything less than 0 I would because that is what they deserve...this place is a total scam!! I have stayed in so many VRBO homes...and none of them have been anywhere near as bad as this one.

Although we enjoyed our visit to Hickory, the name “Luxury Retreat” was slightly misleading. It is better to be honest and forthcoming with information. The pool and hot tub area was far from luxurious with outdated patio furniture, and a pool that has yet to be cleaned. The bathroom and one bedroom had no curtain or blinds, there were general maintenance items that needed attention, the oven was filthy, and it was located near a very busy four lane road with heavy traffic.

House can accommodate several people. Pool area is nice, but can use some cleaning and updating. This property is dog friendly, which was a priority for us.

I booked this to have a staycation where my kids and family could just be together and hang out at the pool and relax in a hot tub well…. Started off the first day with the pool and hot tub being dirty with leaves and dirt …then the outside tables rusted and outside furniture being really dirty…. I message to ask someone to come clean it so we could swim and received a quick response we someone would be out shortly but 2 hours later no one showed up so I jumped in to clean it bc my kids wanted to utilize it since they waited long enough… so spent hour with a little hand sized pool skimmer cleaning it then another hour sweeping around the pool bc it was so dirty as you can see in my photos attached …(again this is my vacation yet I’m cleaning the first couples after waiting 2 hours to even get in) Later that night I then had to clean a flooded bathroom downstairs bc after my daughter in law took a bath the tub leaked when draining all over the floor. So mind you I spent 3 hours of my first night on vacation cleaning when check in wasn’t till 3pm so I felt like I lost most of my first day that I paid for. I then the next day my son walking down the pool steps using the rail bout fell as it was cracked and not fully in the ground came out in his hand. I messaged them about the bathroom and the railing but no one besides pool cleaner showed up at 11 am to clean the pool. The one ceiling fan in the upstairs made screeching noises on any speed so was usable, the beds were eneven.

Our family lived this house! Very convenient to any part of Hickory - especially Lenoir Rhyne College. All beds were very comfy and there were thoughtful touches throughout the house. Absolutely would stay there again!

We booked this property with an expectation of being able to host/sleep 12. Even if we put some people on air mattresses to get 12 people in there (5 queen beds), there were only seven plates and a couple of glasses. Not even six chairs at the dining room table, it is not set up for more than five people... Pans for cooking are all very small, as well. We made do because I was local and could bring additional supplies for the group. Would be incredibly disappointed if I had traveled and not had enough plates to eat even one meal or a big enough pan to cook soup in. Also specifically ask if the hot tub will be ready before you go because it was a green swamp mess for us and took a day for them to empty and clean it and another day to fill it and it was not warm enough to use before we had to leave again. The hot tub and large capacity was the specific reason we rented this over another similar place and we won't make that mistake again. I would rent this again for five people or less if we also don't plan on using the hot tub or pool. They were responsive to specific requests but definitely were not proactive, which means someone in the group is not having a vacation because they're going to have to manage all the things that aren't already taken care of.

Great communication

The property we stayed at is in Hickory NC…… Our stay was 10-13 to 10-17 for our son’s wedding…… Representative for this property is MELISSA and for over one month we called to talk with her and share our experience and MELISSA has yet to respond to us!!!!! We are very disappointed with the condition of the rental!! We came to Hickory to enjoy our son's wedding and we had lots to do to prepare for the wedding on Saturday. Our wedding preparations were put on hold because we could not stay in the filthy condition of the house.... Upon arrival we were welcomed by an overflowing garbage can with no explanation as to when the garbage is put to the curb... My husband had to fix the detached faucet in the upstairs hall bathroom sink before we could use it as well as remove disgusting hair from the tub that would drain. The air return filter and grill have not been cleaned or changed for who knows how long and we had to clean it in order to stay there and run the air conditioning. Counters greasy, the oven had to be cleaned in order to use it and the microwave is unusable due to the rusted and peeling insides. We are surprised you would even leave this health hazard in the house.... The refrigerator/freezer was splattered with some kind of sauce and we had to clean it out before using.... The entire house and ceiling fans are full of dust, hair, and spiders in webs.... I've never seen a kitchen so ill equipped in my life... 1 tall drinking glass 5 forks No prep utensils etcetera and so on...... The master bedroom shower curtain was orange and mildewed before we cleaned it....and there is no toilet tissue holder or towel bars in that bathroom....as well as a rickety broken metal shelf… We were leery to remove the hot tub cover after seeing the condition of the house.... I have taken a few photos to include... Needless to say we do not agree with your Retreat with Pool and Hot Tub 5 star rating. It's very sad because the house has potential but needs a lot of love. We were disgusted and disappointed with this rental....”

Great for larger groups. The house was perfect and would stay there again