We are always delighted to hear that families have a good time together at our retreat..kids especially! We saw your note telling us that the fan lights in the bathrooms needed the light lens cleaned. Thanks for bringing that to our attention. We cleaned them during our preparations for our next guests. Since we are focused on washing floors and bathroom facilities (and checking ceilings for unwanted insects due to being on the river) we overlooked those light fixtures. I’m sure that your granddaughter will treasure her memories she created with you all in the beautiful Elk River wilderness.

We are always happy to hear that guest’s have a good time while staying at our retreat on the beautiful Elk River~ and gratified when they choose to return, as many have over the years. The view of the river from the sitting area in the kitchen/dining space has been enjoyed by many, making window coverings there unnecessary. However, since hearing of your discomfort, we responded immediately to you that we were installing a blind on that window in hopes that future guests, whom perhaps would need more privacy there, would be pleased. All other windows in the home have coverings. I did respond to you in surprise about the “black and white” tv issue. That was something very unusual, so we tested a video while doing our cleaning prior to our next guest…found no problem. Perhaps it was some button on the machine that needed pushed~?? We always vacuum the furniture along with the floors during cleaning. Since we welcome four legged family members, we do our best to remove what hair they leave behind. However, we do not have the upholstery or carpets commercially cleaned between guests. That kind of deep cleaning is only done yearly during our slower season. All towels are washed and sheets and pillowcases are laundered and returned to the beds after every guest. Since research has shown that covid does not adhere to material, our focus has been to disinfect all hard surfaces. Bathrooms and kitchen are always cleaned with bleach~ covid or no covid.

Thank you Dana for taking such great care of our Retreat. We are pleased that you and your family enjoyed your time there. We certainly would welcome your return in the future.

Dear Duncan family…we, the owners of Elk River Retreat, thank you for taking good care of our vacation retreat. We are glad that your family could gather in it by the beautiful Elk river. It is unfortunate that it did not meet your expectations. We endeavor to provide a clean and comfortable home for our guests. As a result, we have had many guests that are very pleased and return yearly. I, too, would be upset to find hair on sheets at a place I rented. I must say that I am surprised to hear that you found such~ since I personally made all the beds that the previous guest used. * For our future guests, I assure you that we wash all sheets that have been used~ static electricity can cause hair to attach to sheets, so perhaps that is the explanation. However, I am very particular about the linens and I do not think that this is something I would have overlooked. We air the house during the 4 hours it takes for the cleaning to be complete between guests. However, it is located in the country and right on the river~ so as for affecting your allergies….well, that’s unfortunate. We have a variety of books available. We rented the house to a group of therapist for a retreat., so some of the books deal with addictions. Apparently you found the book your son selected upsetting. I apologize. That book has been in the bookcase for years and no-one has mentioned it. With all the issues around that subject, my hope is that that book has been an eye-opener for those whom have looked at it. We wish our home to be a place of harmony, healing and building of fond memories. And it pleases us that our guest book confirms that for many, that has been the case.

It always pleases us to hear that our guests enjoy their stay ~and especially that they enjoyed our retreat so much that they choose to return! Thank you for taking such good care of our home. We welcome your return and congratulations on 37 years of marriage!

Karlie. We are glad that enjoyed your Elk River vacation, in spite of the things you have listed as unacceptable.. We endeavor to provide a clean and comfortable environment for our guests. Many of whom have returned yearly. I must refute your comment that we “popped in”...we do not LIVE across the street. We do have our own retreat across the road and do stay when we have quick turnarounds, which was the case the day you checked in. We were leaving our cabin when you were carrying your things in. We saw your young son knock the screen out of the entry door and stopped to fix it. Your son was very polite and explained it was an accident. I understood. Since It is our property, that repair seemed appropriate for us to do and be sure that you had the benefit of that screen door during your stay. Check out time is 11AM and check in is 3PM. Your party of 13 used every bed in the house, which takes us several hours to get them ready for the next guest. (Along with vacuuming and moping a large home, sanitizing two bathrooms, emptying the dishwasher, wiping kitchen counters, frig, stove, microwave, polishing furniture and glass, washing towels, cleaning the BBQ grill, AND blowing off the driveway, paths and deck during dry weather., removing trash~.etc. consequently, getting right to our job at check out is extremely important. As for coming “right at check out”, our cleaning crew told us that they waited to go to the house till 11:15 because you were still packing. They were trying to be respectful, but as stated, they had lots of work to accomplish before the next guest arrived at 3 and check out time is 11AM unless other arrangements have been approved by us. My husband and I attended church in Coos Bay Sunday morning and did not arrive to the house until 2pm.. Long after your departure. It is true that there is no door at the entry to the master bedroom, however, the door to the laundry room adjacent to there is lockable should one need total privacy. There apparently was a very young child in your group as evidenced by the hand prints low down on the sliding glass doors. (That’s a non issue to us) But I guess the drapery for the doorway in the master bedroom was a temptation for a little one, as it was apparent that it had been pulled down (the rod finial had been broken as well as the bracket for the corbel which holds it~ I chose not to address this with you, feeling it’s just the risk we take with young families. I don’t know why the DVD player in the master didn’t work for you, no one else has had a problem. But for future guests information~ that room now has a new flat screen TV.

We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your stay on the river and would be happy to welcome you back! Thanks for letting us know about the bathroom door. Since we do not live in the house, this sort of thing isn’t known to us unless guests bring it to our attention. Sorry about the tissue~ I will alert our cleaning crew about that. Generally I am there to help with the preparations, but have been in Mexico.

We are glad to hear when our guests have a pleasant stay on the beautiful and pristine Elk River. It is a jewel and the main reason travelers appreciate an opportunity to relax at it’s edge~ there are not many lodging opportunities on the river. You were blessed to have experienced it as you did in February, when the rains fill the river. It’s beautiful, but too cold to be in! We have several guests who return each summer when they can play in the water. They truly appreciate having a place that can accommodate several friends and family for lots of outdoor fun as well as indoor sharing of meals and games. Our hope is that the photos we’ve placed on our site provide prospective guests adequate information about the home and what it offers. Then the choice is theirs. It certainly is no “TAJ MAHAL”~nor does the nightly rental rate reflect that.

We are delighted to hear that your stay was also shared with friends this year. That’s one of the reasons we placed so many beds in the bedrooms. It helps with the sharing and building of memories with both family and friends. Who didn’t love sleepovers as a kid!

We are pleased that you found our Retreat worth returning to and wish to thank you for treating it with such care. We hope that life allows you to enjoy the Elk River next year as you desire. You are the kind of guest that we look forward to welcoming back.

We are glad that you enjoyed your stay on the Elk River and are surprised that you found the cleanliness less than expected. That is unfortunate. I can assure you that we spend many hours cleaning after each guest, so I can only assume that since it had been a while since the cleaning had been done prior to your arrival, dust had settled~ for which I apologize. Country settings do get dusty.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be a part of your vacation memories. We know that you drove a long way to make this event happen and we are pleased that you found it worth the trip.

We are glad that you found the river a relaxing spot during your stay. We know that a beds comfort is a personal thing. We knew that one out of the eight beds available was due for replacement and that has happened since your stay. As for the stoneware dishes. That, too, is a personal thing~ we’ve never had complaints before.

Thanks for the information about the bathroom door locks. No one has ever told us that and since we do not live in the house we never use those locks. We will check on that.

Thank you for sharing your Elk River experience here. It was a pleasure to provide a place for you and your family during your relocation to the beautiful state of Oregon. We’ll look forward to your return to our Elk River Retreat! Rita

We are happy to know that you and your wife enjoyed your time on the beautiful Elk River. Relaxing in the wilderness is a treat. So thank you for allowing us to provide you a place to do so. I agree that the upstairs bathroom (while functional) could benefit from a new updated look. It is in our plans!