Mary D.

My Sister and I booked in Branford, CT for a weeklong stay with my Mother, Niece and a couple of friends. We booked the house for a place to stay so that mom could visit with the family and friends in the area. Mom is elderly and cannot do stairs and considered handicapped. The house was beautiful and in a beautiful setting. We saw lots of wildlife to include: Deer, birds, chipmunks, frogs etc. Everything except one bedroom was on the main floor. This was helpful since mom cannot do steps. We inquires as to whether the house was handicap accessible and we were informed it was. The owners were very nice however I think clueless as to the needs of certain clients.
The bathrooms were not handicap acceptable. The toilets were not at handicap height and did not have handicap bars. The shower had a 3 inch step over which can be troublesoe for mom. All of the bedding was on the floor, there were no bedframes. This make it very difficult for a handicap person to get in and out of bed.
My mother and I were the first to arrive. The owner and her son were there and all of the doors and windows were open in the house. They gave me a tour so that I could see where everything was. My first thought was Wow where is the litter box. I am very sensitive to smells and smelled cat pee throughout. The first night I had to sleep with a shirt over my face and was outside most of the visit.
Once in the house the owner indicated that they have 2 cats and obviously the dog who was touring the house with us. The owner built a very large shed out back for the cats with AC while folks are staying in their house. What this means is that the owners will be visiting daily to feed their cats.
When I spoke to my sister about the reservation she said that the owner said no pets. We took that to be that she had no pets and we were not allowed to bring pets. This was an issue because my mother and niece are allergic to cats. We could not turn on the AC because the owner admitted to not changing the filter since last October. Looking in the vents there was obvious hair and dust in the ductwork. During a very hot week it was very uncomfortable for all of us not to be able to use the AC.
There were bugs, ants and beetles in the house. One morning my sister and I went to go swimming and the pool was covered in termites alive and dead. We cleaned them out with the net. When we made the owner aware it seemed to be no big deal even though she has an all wood home.
We had family over one night and I had to clean the dog $#*! off the grass so that no one would step in it. If you are renting your house you should clean up after your own pet especially with what you are charging.
On the last day we realized that the owner had 2 active cameras watching our every move on the outside of the house and never made us aware of these camera.
The house did not feel very private or comforting because they came by daily to feed their cats who live in an Air Conditioned Shed out back, they have cameras watching us while outside, who knows if there were any inside, we could not use the AC and creepy crawlers were everywhere. My poor mother was uncomfortable all week and so happy to get home. I too was happy to get home away from the camera's, creepy crawlers, CAT SMELL, and much more. Lamp shades were taped together and by the end of the week lost its stickiness and resting on the light bulb, half of the outlets did not work and it was difficult to find an outlet to charge my computer or telephone.
This type of home make it worthwhile and the hassle of staying in a hotel instead. It certainly was not worth the money we paid and I will be requesting a refund
By the way there was only one smoke detector in the house and there was no battery. Beautiful but remember owners cant and wont respond the way hotel staff will.