This is a beautiful home and our family had a magical time relaxing, making meals, kayaking on the stream, and enjoying the hot tub. The home is beautiful, and while it is lived-in and has many personal items on the shelves, it still feels very welcoming to guests. The description and other reviews do a great job selling the benefits of this rare find in Waupaca.
There were a few things that were a little disappointing, that we wish we were more aware of before booking the home. One is that the renovation is still only partially done. Most of the time, that means minor things aren't finished: a missing tile here, exposed wood there. I assume the basement will have more work done. It was not as homey as rest of the home. The lighting is harsh, and it feels very much like an old basement that has beds and carpeting (2 big beds, and a bunk bed). Also, it seems the sump-pump stopped working. There was water in the carpet in some areas, which contributed to a wet, musty, smell. We didn't spend any time in the basement as a result, which also meant that we didn't take advantage of the extra beds, which we expected to use when we booked. We had to adjust our sleeping plan, which wasn’t awful, but unexpected considering how many beds were in the photos.
The kitchen has a fridge with filtered water and an ice maker, but the ice maker didn't work. We ended up buying a bag of ice. Also the filtered water had some problems, and stopped flowing after 6 cups. Bonnie was very communicative through all these issues, but didn't have a solution for the water. I investigated further and found that the filter hadn't been pushed all the way in, and fixed it myself. The water is very slow coming out though.
The house has a coffee maker and a Keurig, but the Keurig did not work after the 1st cup. In my experience with Keurig machines, it needs a deep cleaning because it had been used with tap water, not filtered water. It was nice that there was lots of hot cocoa available, plus some instant coffee. We bought keurig k-cups before we knew the condition of the keurig, so weren't really able to use them.
These are all very minor issues, but things we wish we would have been aware of prior to booking the home. All in all, the home is beautiful and made for a super relaxing vacation. Bonnie was easy to reach and communicate with. We had a great time!