Lonesome Paws Cabin Rentals

This group rented one of our cabins (we have 18 of them) over the Memorial Day Weekend. On the information packet we send to our guests before arrival there are two numbers for contact if there should be a problem upon arrival. We do not claim that all our cabins are always perfect, BUT we do have an excellent reputation and respond with great customer service if there is a problem.
This group checked in on Friday the 22nd of May and checked out on May 25th. There were 8 adults and a few children at the 4 bedroom cabin. The FIRST indication I was made aware of was an email that was sent to me on THURSDAY May 28th. In the email I was told that there was pollen on the porches, they saw some bugs and they were unable to drive on the gravel road (this is a resort community and is located in the Coosawattee River Resort- I assure you that the roads are well maintained and drive able, this is NOT a cabin in the middle of the woods hanging off of a cliff.My problem with the group was receiving an email almost ONE WEEK AFTER their stay asking me for their money back.
I have traveled and stayed in many places and if I have a problem I call the day of arrival, NOT three days AFTER checking out. If there had have been a problem they did not give us the opportunity to even address it. Our company does not just arbitrarily give money away, especially money that belongs to our owners without some type of proof of a problem. In this day and age, I simply cannot just take someones word for it.We state on our web site and also in the paperwork that we send our guests that we have CABINS IN THE WOODS and as such, there are bugs. Pollen is an act of God and while we work to maintain our homes, pollen can and will settle on a porch over a 24 hour period.I fell this guest was extremely unfair in their approach of things- we should have been call WHILE they were having an issue (if indeed there was one) and not days AFTER they checked out.Our staff of four checked this cabin the day before this party arrived, I am not certain what else we could have done to make them happy.
Did they get ripped off? I hardly think so- we let them bring in extra people with no charge, discounted their rate from the start and provided a contact number as well as an emergency contact number which was never used. If anyone would like a copy of the dated email from this group that I was sent on Thursday May the 28th, please feel free to email or contact and I will be happy to provide the email outlining their problems.You are also welcome to check out our web site at www.lonesomepaws.com and read the FAQ where we address bugs in the woods. In renting this cabin, the guests signed off that they had read the FAQ as well as the contract.
We try very hard as a company and have very few complaints. The ones we get are along this line and as an owner I have to decide whether to cave to being blackmailed and giving someone money so they go away happy or standing my ground. Since we gave the guests every opportunity to have any issues addressed, in this case I am going to stand my ground. A LOT of what they said did NOT add up and they expected me to "just take their word for it".
In the future I would advise these folks to call the office or management WHEN the problem occurs, not ONE WEEK after, especially if they are asking for a REFUND. In the state of Georgia you may get a refund on hotel or rental but ONLY if you choose to leave and NOT stay. When you decide to stay, you are accepting the house or hotel. Calling one week later is not fair to the person that owns this cabin nor to my management. I wonder if I emailed them and asked for money because I find them rude if they would send it to me? After all, I have proof of that.
We now have the "John and Allison Firth" rule in our faq that we send out to our clients- it states- if there are ANY problems with your cabin when you arrive you MUST notify the office when you get to the house" I liken this to the person that goes to Walmart and buys a DVD movie, takes it home and plays it, then tries to return it- "yeah, we watched it, we ALL watched it, but we didn't like the ending so we want our money back." Business have instituted rules to deal with folks like this and now, so have we.Julee King Owner, Lonesome Paws Cabin Rentals

Posted 06/06/09 | Report Abuse

Was this review helpful to you?

John and Ali (Marietta, GA)
Overall our experience was positive because of the beautiful surroundings and good companionship. We were disappointed by the condition of the "R & R" cabin. The cabin was not clean. The deck and outside furniture was covered in pollen. My wife pulled out the hose and cleaned all three decks herself. We had to sweep the floors because it did not feel good walking on the dirt with bare feet. The toilets had scum rings. There were no soap bars, toilet paper in bathroom. There were bugs in the sink. The thing that we really didn't understand was that when we voiced our complaint to management they did not believe us. They said their NEW cleaning crew said they did a very thorough job and our complaint should not have had a bad affect on our vacation. The real kicker was trying to leave. After several attempts in our station wagon to drive out of the cabin road. (Goblet dr.) we could only make it half way spinning our tires in the gravel. I finally made it in reverse after a running start. We should have been informed we needed a 4x4.
I hope our car is not damaged.
We paid over $800 for this weekend with another family. The cabin did not have any serious issues that needed to be addressed immediately. We were able to clean the cabin ourselves but thought the fair thing for Lonesome Paws Cabins to do was to reimburse the $125 cleaning fee or any portion of that.
We have rented from "Above the Rest" and "Sliding Rock" cabins before with great success.

Posted 05/29/09 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful to you?