This particular vacation to SF was particularly important for our family, as it also fell on the year anniversary date of our sisters death.
Let me start with the good. This is a lovely home. Note that some of the common areas would be tight if you have a large group. The home is close to the heart of South Fork making you close to the highway, so you will hear some road noise. If you are looking for a quaint, private space, this is not the rental for you. If you are looking for a place to sleep and shower, this would work.
With that said, having the opportunity to book this space again, we would not. In the initial listing description, the renters made no mention of living onsite. That has since been updated. It is fair to note, that they also semi run a business onsite as well, as they will have many atvs/trailers on the property that they will power wash at 6:30am. This is an important detail if you appreciate sleeping in. It also impacts onsite parking. The other facet to this was the property owner “checking in” often, which felt a little bit invasive. The owner noted in their agreement that there was to be no smoking in the home or on the decks. The first morning we were there, she scolded my mother for smoking on the property, which was followed by a 20 minute lecture on potential forest fires. It’s worth mentioning that the owner then spent the evening at the adjacent neighbors cabin while they smoked cigarettes and sat around an outdoor fire pit. Truthfully, we felt a like we had a helicopter parent the first couple of days onsite. After the first day, we made considerable efforts to not be on the property short of sleeping which was unfortunate to my aging mother who struggles to participate in many activities, but felt too uncomfortable with the property owner to stay there during the day. This frustration, along with the early morning power washing, the owner walking circles around the cabin, and the total lack of privacy for our family and kiddos left us with a bad taste in our mouths.
If you have a large group, are quiet, stay inside, plan to be away from sun up to sun down and absolutely do not smoke, this place is acceptable. If you are looking for a private relaxing retreat to the mountains for you and your family, I would recommend a different rental. Again, after spending a lot of mone, we were hoping for a better experience for our family (4 adults/5 children.) Hopefully this will help someone avoid the same mistake!
