Executive Summary: Nice location but a really old unit that has been about 50% renovated nicely and about 50% really old and busted. This is "Cabin A" in the Diamond D Ranch.
Pros:
- The "side road" to get here is fun and scenic.
- Plenty of hot water (80 gal)
- Some nice flooring and lovely furniture.
- Decent breeze through the house if you open all the windows and doors. The windows all work well.
- The satellite based internet is not nearly as terrible as I was expecting
- The "log cabin" atmosphere (exterior walls) is really neat.
Cons:
- All the non-renovated stuff. There are old electrical boxes exposed, you can even see one next to a kitchen cabinet in one of the VRBO listing photos!
- Lots of cracked paint and drywall in the bathroom and a few other areas. Like, just 1+ inch gaps in places. Massive gaps around the shower/tub unit both on the walls and the floor so there is probably a mold problem underway given the location. $10 of caulk and an hour or two of time could prevent this, but maybe you could already tell the owner doesn't care.
- Bathroom fan doesn't work (this is an $80 part and a 5 min DIY fix if the owner cared, I had the same problem on the same kind of unit at my own house). Took owner almost a day to reply via VRBO.
- No bathroom toiletries provided
- Linens seem clean, but the floors and furniture were not. We found food under the master bed, lots of food on two living room chairs, and a horrible sticky mess on the floor by the sofa. The sink was also dirty. The fridge needs a box of baking soda since it smells like old garlic. The kid's high chair had lots of old food in the seat.
- Really lacking on power outlets, some extension cords and power strips would help.
- Light fixture over dining table completely missing it's cover (owner says one is "on order").
- Some burnt out light bulbs (can you tell the owner just doesn't care at all yet?). Most other VRBOs have all bulbs checked between renters AND they supply spares in case one goes out while you are there.
- At least one front door does not seal well and lets in bugs. There are cobwebs in the ceiling.
- As another example of cutting corners is that the backsplash in the bathroom is screwed to the walls through the face, with visible drywall screw heads.
- The blinds in the bedrooms provide privacy but do not block the morning sunlight at all.
VRBO limits the length of these reviews but there are lots more cons I could list. STAY ELSEWHERE.