Sukie H.

VRBO.com listing #*******. Non-potable water, Boulder, Colorado

Renter Beware!

In July 2014 my brother rented this house for a family reunion with my sister and me, and our three spouses, for three days. The renovated house is beautiful, as is the setting, and looks just like the photos posted on VRBO. The description on VRBO.com is "Spectacular Mountain Style Home Just Minutes from Downtown Boulder!".

But -- before we rented, we didn't think to ask about whether or not we could drink the water. We flew in from Washington, Texas and California, arrived at the house and found that there was a sign posted over the kitchen sink (and in the renters' notebook), warning us not to drink the water, that it wasn't safe. As of that weren't bad enough, we then discovered that in the showers in both bathrooms, there was very low water pressure, just a tiny trickle of water to take a bath or shower.

Apparently, the house water is supplied by a well which is contaminated, and the pump on the well is underpowered.

You know, we weren't going to a Third World Country, we were flying into Boulder, and we didn't think to ask if we could drink the water. It didn't even enter our minds to ask about this ahead of time. Who knew? Fortunately, none of us is immunosuppressed, and fortunately, none of us got sick.

But it was a bummer. We didn't want to make a fuss because we wanted to enjoy our time together, without a lot of negativity, so we just put up with it -- where else would we have gone? We'd already flown into Boulder and previously paid our rental money (plus a cleaning fee and security deposit). But all of us were disappointed at best, and very, very angry at worst.

This information about the non-potable water should have been disclosed so that we could have had a choice about whether or not to stay there. I'm sure that the house is not up to county health standards, and that renting a house with non-potable water violates health codes.

The owner charged top dollar, plus a hefty cleaning fee, all for a house where we couldn't drink the water and had to bathe in a drizzle of water.

I want other people to know about the water situation at this house -- I don't want them to be surprised and disappointed the way we were. I cannot recommend this house to anyone else.