Unfortunately had this guest spent any time reviewing our listing prior to reserving, she would have known we are not on the beach but are a short walk to the beach and our hot tub is not available during the summer. Our description and captions under our photos explain when the hot tub is available. We did correspond with this guest during their stay and they reported everyone was having an enjoyable stay.

It is always nice to hear when guests enjoyed their stay. In regards to the dishwasher odor, when issues like this occur, we can often provide a simple remedy. We were not made aware of this until after the guests checked out. In this case, a simple remedy would have been offered by running a cycle with nothing more than a bowl of white vinegar. We keep vinegar on site. However, the feedback is always welcome.

I thought we had good communication with Jennifer however some of her comments make me wonder if she read some information we provided. Jennifer may have gone to the public beach about 3/4 of a mile from us however, our beach is a 200 yard walk from the front door of the cottage to the foot of the beach stairs. I know because I have walked it off. There is a video on YouTube that shows the walk from the house to the beach. The video is 10 years old but you can see it by searching for "Walk to the Beach From the Beach House at Lakeside, Mi." on YouTube. One of the roads leading to the house does have pot holes, which is why we ask guests not to use it and to use the recently paved Lake Shore Road to access the property. It is not one house split in 2. The property is a duplex and this listing shows a photo of the front of the 2 units. I arrived at the cottage 2 days after the guest checked out and the hot tub water was clear with a small amount of sand on the bottom. The tub is checked and sanitized following each guests departure. The guest staying in the other cottage during Jennifer's stay did arrive the day prior to her. The front lawn had not been mowed prior to Jennifer's arrival but has been since and our lawn service will cut it every week during the summer. Frank Owner

The reason we ask for anticipated arrival time is so we can turn the heat up to a comfortable level before the guest arrives. If no one stays in the house during the week, we keep the temp at 57 degrees. Some guests arrive at the check in time and some arrive much later. Most guests do not mind a text message asking if the guest has any questions or concerns. Our property has guests virtually every weekend and most are considerate and responsible, and there are still a few that do appreciate a reminder to review the departure checklist that we provide. Our "rules" as the guest refers to are no different than what you would be expected to agree to no matter where you stayed. We just ask you to actually read them so there is no misunderstanding later on. When you host as many guests as we do during the course of the year, having a system that allows for a guest to have relaxing stay and keep their housekeeping fees to a minimum can be a challenging balance.

The only problem was related to a malfunction on the hot tub which our specialist was attempting to repair. Unfortunately, what first appeared like a malfunctioning heater turned out to be a bad pump caused by a malfunction in the control board. All has since been repaired and functioning fine now. Aside from the hot tub malfunction, Jeanne and her friends did tell me they had an enjoyable stay. We would welcome them back again in the future.

Glad to hear you had a great time. There is no curfew. Township Ordinance has a good neighbor policy that requires a 10 PM quiet time so neighbors trying to sleep are not disturbed. Not unreasonable. Same policy no matter where you stay in the area.

It is unfortunate this guest had poor cell service during their stay. Cell Phone reception issues have not been reported by other guests and is obviously not something any host has any control over. Host uses Sprint which works on the property in areas noted but cannot be held responsible for issues with AT&T, Verizon or any other mobile phone service provider. Some phones in the house may not work due to dead batteries but some do. Internet could have been a 2nd communication option. Guest made no mention of these issues during their stay. Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook and other communication apps could have been suggested if brought to Hosts attention during the guests stay.

Thank you for your comments. Anyone who owns a home in a popular area knows you are held accountable for not only your own actions but also those of any guests you allow to use your property. When a private beach or other area commonly used by others is included, the accountability extends beyond the rental property. The 6 pages is not entirely "rules" but also important information about how certain things work, where things are kept and how to get to places of interest. We agree that most responsible people would not need to know all the information we provide however, after 17 years, we think we have seen just about everything that can happen when renting to 2 to 20 guests at a time. At an average of nearly 40 rentals per year, many of whom rent both cottages, we feel that an information packed welcome letter, serves not only as a guide to our guests, but keeps peace with our neighbors.

Thanks for the nice comments about our accommodations. We are always happy to hear about what guests did and what they enjoyed about their stay. We look forward to having you back in the future and will provide the correct door code next time. We did mistakenly provide the incorrect door code but gave the guest the correct code within minutes. Every guest receives check-in information a few days prior to arrival and is asked to share all cottage information with all persons in their group. When this happens, problems like this are usually resolved prior to the guests arrival. We do not provide fire wood but make this known in our future correspondence.