We came with in-laws and our baby to celebrate her first birthday. The location is great - accessible to some cute restaurants and shops, across the bridge from Rappahannock Oyster's docks, and the house's own private beach is great. The house felt cozy and we enjoyed cooking, walking the pup along the fields, spending our mornings on the dock enjoying coffee and local pastries, and laying on the beach. Becky is very warm and personable and greeted us on arrival as she was wrapping up from a group before us.
Overall it was a pleasant and relaxing stay - a few blips but we enjoyed our time. It's clear how much love she has for her family's home, but also how new the owners still are to short-term renting. My career is guest experience for a major brand of hotels and short-term rentals, so these are key industry standards to point out as opportunities to improve:
- There's a lot of supplies to cook with, which was great but a lot is quite aged and some items are dull and/or rusted, which can be a real safety/sanitary issue. This listing would do well if replaced even with simple IKEA starter sets for pots/pans and cooking utensils.
- Switch to soap pumps. Used bar soap throughout isn't sanitary to present to new guests.
- Communication is critical and this was spotty and not ideal. I was nervous the whole drive down after reaching out for 2 days trying to get the check-in code with no answer (messaged online as well as left voicemail). A very sincere apology given, but not a great way to kick off a trip with such stress! Also people came on-property unannounced - 2 unknowns parked in the driveway and walked down the deck steps to use the kayaks while we were swimming. This was a very secluded private property and a private beach that we booked - so that's like walking into someone's hotel room. They said "hello" and nothing more. It was quite disorienting and uncomfortable. They walked right by what was my window - what if I was in there and naked? I got a call 10pm the night prior while asleep - perhaps to give us a heads up - but no voicemail left nor return to the voicemail I left the next morning as a callback. We were offered a late check-out, which we appreciated, but it was texted 15 minutes before the deadline - we were basically in the car by then.
- A serious amount of dead centipedes on the downstairs living room floor on arrival. It's a wooded area and mid-summer, I know, but not sure why they weren't cleaned between stays.