Sand Hill On The Lake

The online pictures looked clean and fresh, but this was a big mistake. The room was extremely outdated, dusty, and full of spider webs. The old carpet was stained, the inside of the bathroom door was very dirty, and the hot tub was yellow-stained. Ugh. Check-in is virtual. They email you a room number and door code, and there’s no staff or front desk to provide fresh towels, refresh the room, explain what’s available, or tell you about the area. There’s a sign on the mantle with room and area information, but it’s so high up you might not even see it. Please don’t visit the Sand Hill, it’s not worth the money. Bring a hazmat suit if you do.

I tried for at least two months to arrange a room block for several rooms over a full weekend next fall at the Sand Hill, for my nearby wedding. Online reservations only go out four months, but my calls and emails got almost no response. I left several voicemails, and after about a month someone called back. We spoke briefly, they said they’d get back to me, and then I heard nothing. I even stopped by when I was in the area, but the Inn uses remote check-in and has no front desk. It would worry me to be a guest with an urgent issue. It feels like they’re allergic to money. The French Country Inn next door was night and day. They were accommodating and responded within minutes. Stay there instead.

The cottage had a nice view of Lake Como, and the location is quiet, away from Lake Geneva’s bustle but only a 10-minute drive from things to visit. We had bad weather, but watching a thunderstorm from the room was impressive. The property has decent bones, though it needs more on-site care and general service. Given there’s no on-site staff, I expected better prices too. I’d strongly recommend trying somewhere else. I’d have more grace for the place if we could reach anyone and had received better service, but I don’t expect that to happen. There were no employees at the property during our four-day stay, despite stated hours for someone to be in the main building’s gathering room. Entry was all by door code. We arrived at the main building to find a disastrous room, with water apparently leaking for days from the bath in the loft. I’d seen a huge icicle forming on an outdoor chair before going in, and later realized water was actively running outside. I called the number I’d been texted, with a 262 area code, but it reached some random guy. The text also had a support number, so I called that instead. A woman answered, seemed shocked we’d been booked into that room, and tried to move us next door, but that room smelled of mold and water damage too. Eventually she moved us to a second-floor cottage unit. It seemed no one else was there, so there were options. The room was nice, though not very clean, with quite a bit of dust and a few small dead bugs. It was bearable compared with the smell in the main building. We confirmed the move with her by phone, and then couldn’t reach her again, even after trying during the weekend and afterward. Two days later, a man I assumed was the owner called to hear our side. He apologized. I asked why the water hadn’t simply been shut off. He said they hadn’t been told and didn’t know about it until it was relayed by us through the woman, I assume. He said they’d work on a refund, possibly another stay once things were cleaned up, and that we’d talk more soon. I haven’t reached him since, despite many calls to the number he used and the original support number. I happened to see the property on Zillow while we were there, though it seems to have disappeared. If they plan to change ownership, they may have little incentive to honor what I was told, apart from maintaining their integrity. ServPro was there dealing with the major water problem as we left. We were returning a few things borrowed from the main building and saw they’d started work earlier that day. Two different ServPro workers asked if I was in charge or the owner, saying they were supposed to have someone present while they did the job. I gave them the support number and the number of the man who called me, but I don’t know whether they got a response. Since then I’ve wondered if or how they were paid. I’m not sure what’s happening with this place. Older reviews make it seem like it’s deteriorated recently, which almost makes me feel bad for them.

The location is quiet, the view is decent, and you’re close to several places. But the room smelled musty as soon as we walked in, and the air felt damp. There was a significant amount of mold on the bathroom ceiling and in several spots. There were also lots of bugs, especially on the patio. I understand some bugs are expected by the lake, but they could do a better job clearing away the dead ones outside. After we called about the mold, staff seemed surprised and said they’d discount the room because there wasn’t another room to move us to. That never happened, and now they don’t answer the phone, so I can’t discuss it with them. I wouldn’t stay here. The location is fine, but the mold isn’t worth it. I’d find somewhere else.