brenda glidden

Review of Taylor Made Realty

Last week I stayed at Valhalla with a group of fam...

Last week I stayed at Valhalla with a group of family and friends. In 14 years visiting the area I have never been so disappointed in a rental home. There were so many points of unhappiness or just plain inconveniences that I felt feedback was necessary. This home is listed as an "Elite Properties" and it should not be. The view was undeniably breathtaking but that's the only thing this property currently has going for it.

The major issues first:
The oven, as in the large oven that should be used for cooking for a large group, does not operate. In fact it has a sticker that is old enough to be partially worn off that reads - Temporarily out of order, or something to that effect. The wall oven is too small to do a large meal all at once so it takes twice as long to make a meal as you have to do it in shifts. Had this been disclosed at the time of booking I would have elected to choose another home. This inconvenience tops the list as we do not venture out for meals but enjoy doing all of the cooking ourselves.

The bed, lower level, was also broken apart and not laundered. Upon arrival we noticed the odd angle of the bed and once we removed the mattress it was discovered the frame was apart and part of it sits on wooden blocks. The first hour of our stay was spent putting the frame back together and washing the linens. The mattress is not really a mattress at all but instead a 4 inch foam piece with a 2 inch mattress topper thrown on top of it. If you try to sit on the side of the bed to put on shoes the entire mattress flips up and over on top of you.

Every dish, cup, bowl and pan pulled out for use was filthy, greasy or had food particles stuck to it. Everything had to be washed before use.

A visibly set mouse trap with peanut butter was left inside the cabinet to the right of the refrigerator - disgusting

Downstairs television viewing is not user friendly. After 45 minutes of trying we were able to figure out that in order to watch tv and change channels you have to open the closet door holding all of the equipment and point the remote back over your head towards the closet for the remote to work. Getting the dvd player to work was another 40 minutes of wasted time - your directions are wrong. Bottom line - with no tv upstairs the lower level should be as user friendly as possible and it is far from it.

In addition I would also like to share this feedback:
The kitchen is not stocked well enough for the size of this home.
Not enough utensils, especially forks.
Not enough mixing bowls
Not enough baking pans
Hand mixer - broken
No pot holders - we went out and bought our own
Not enough hand towels
Dishwasher - not anchored to the cabinet so when opened it falls forward
Faucet sprayer is cracked and leaks when used
Throughout the rest of the home.
No screens on many windows making opening them for a cross breeze impossible without bees coming in (we tried). The large windows facing the lake make for a heated afternoon and not being able to open other windows is uncomfortable.
There were no hand towels in the main floor 1/2 bath
There was only 1 spare blanket
There were no extra linens (towels, hand towels, etc) - again for a house this size
The master bathroom sink area has ants, lots of them
The hot tub does not heat and cool properly
The shower in the upstairs bathroom has zero water pressure, to the point of being useless - those two guests showered downstairs
The tiles have fallen off of the sink in the lower level bathroom
The towel hanger on one of the shower doors falls off and the other is hard to move so either way you are rolling the dice to something going wrong when trying to shower (lower level bathroom)

I expect some issues to arise, after all these are rental homes, but to be disappointed on so many levels is not acceptable. I search extensively for a home to meet our needs for this annual trip.This rental failed on every level except the privacy and this is the first time I have felt ripped off. And now 8 days later I have yet to receive a response to my feedback. Poor business ethics.