Family Lake House Retreat by Avantstay Sleeps 28

We had 16 people in our family group, and the lake house gave us more room than we usually get. We booked it last minute after our original place fell through, and at the discounted price I’d give it five stars. We’re happy our first booking fell through, and everyone, including the adults, enjoyed the game room. The beds were very comfortable, and the kitchen had plenty of cooking utensils, pots, pans, baking supplies, glassware and silverware for a large group. The lake access and beautiful views were huge bonuses. The basic supplies were especially thoughtful: shampoo, conditioner and body wash in every shower, hand soap at every sink, dish soap at the kitchen sinks, new scrub pads, dishwasher tabs, laundry soap by both sets of washers and dryers, bags in all the trash cans with replacements under the sink, toilet paper with plenty of extra rolls in every bathroom, and paper towels in the kitchens. The products were high quality. I’m picky about shampoo, but I liked theirs so much I might buy it for home. It’s $38 a bottle on Amazon. We’ve rented for years and usually bring a bag full of soaps, paper products, trash bags and other supplies ourselves. Having all of that provided, along with made beds, linens and very nice towels, two per bed plus hand towels, washcloths and dark makeup towels, saved us a lot of packing. We only had to pile the towels in the laundry areas at checkout. There were a few problems. The house had some damage from previous guests, mostly cosmetic, and at the price we paid it didn’t affect our stay. At full price, I’d expect the damage to be addressed. The hot tub was out of commission until the third day, but Avanstay told us upfront at check-in, explained they’d fix it as soon as they could, and offered compensation. They did provide an additional discount. Avanstay also came by the next afternoon after our call to replace a lightbulb and help with an indoor lighting issue that turned out to be user error. They were responsive, and the whole process felt seamless and welcoming. There were four refrigerators, but only one had an ice maker, which wasn’t enough for a big group, so we had to buy bagged ice. The trash compactor didn’t work, though that was no big deal because there were nice lidded trash cans in the kitchen and large living spaces. An ice machine or beverage cooler would have been a better use of that space. We looked at booking again next summer, but the price had doubled. At that rate, it wouldn’t feel like five stars.