For our annual ski trip, we decided to try western NY and when we found Cottage 18 that close to Ellicottville and right on the lake for ice fishing we thought it would be perfect.
However, when we arrived at the address listed we were at the WRONG HOUSE!!!!! I used google maps for directions, so you may want to check with the host prior to leaving on your trip to make sure you use what GPS program they use so you end up at the right place. After trial and error, we did eventually find the cottage, because my texts and voice messages were not immediately answered by the host. Thank goodness it’s not a big area.
When we got to the cottage, we found it covered in snow and ice and we had to walk through 6-12 inches of snow to find a shovel that was left by the front door and then proceed to shovel a path down the stairs into the house. This would not have been a problem IF the snow fell when we were there, but to say it was a warm welcome would be completely false.
After a 6 hour drive, commotion finding the house and then an hour's worth of shoveling we finally made it inside. It was nice, but also had a few unwelcoming notes (like mold growing in the grounds that were left in the coffee pot) but overall it was very nice and we were happy to move past the earlier events and begin our vacation.
Later that first evening I heard back from the one owner who was very apologetic about the delay in their response. We talked about the address mishap and asked for some ice or more shoveling to be completed. She said she would "see" but in the meantime we were not to use the stairs that we shoveled and to park on the street instead of the driveway, SURPRISE there were no areas plowed for our cars on the street and we woke up to find that our cars actually slid into each other overnight because of the ice and lack of salt provided. Thankfully no damage was done to our vehicles.
The host were able to find someone to plow/shovel the day after we arrived so when we returned back to the cottage after a day of skiing, we found that another path was shoveled and more of the parking areas were plowed, which was very appreciated. Still no salt though, so we went in search of it for ourselves. There was no salt to be found anywhere, so if you plan to stay here in the winter, you may want to take a snow shovel and some of your own salt just in case. As per the owner, western NY in the dead of winter is unreliable.