Avis East Otis Reservoir Cabin w/ Porch - Walk to Lake!

Louise, thank you for your review. This homeowner has asked us to pass along the following response: "Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I am so sorry that you had a refrigerator failure! I did everything in my power to ameliorate that unfortunate situation (getting a repairman there asap, setting up a tall dorm-style fridge for you on a handy table for accessibility, and giving you a generous monetary reimbursement for your loss of food and the inconvenience). On the plus side, I had delightful visits with your cousin while delivering the fridge and then monitoring the repairman. It is true that the cottage is old, which is part of the charm and of course part of the challenge. Given that the cabin is closed up for about seven months of the year, the smell can indeed get a bit cabin-y, but I have had good luck with simply opening the windows for an hour or two. The dryer sheets are to discourage mice from exploring the bureaus, as mice seem to be repelled by certain fragrances. The cottage is in the middle of a forest of trees, and so is probably darker than most houses and apartments in the city. We have spent about $5,000 over the last two years removing dead or dying trees around the cabin, which has resulted in additional light coming in, but the huge front porch acts as a giant awning to the living/dining room, which also has dark wood paneling (we prefer not to paint this mid-century feature, which we find attractive, plus which is very cozy with a fire going in the fireplace). For brightness, the expansive screened front porch is hard to beat. The lockbox that caused our guest problems is top-of-the-line, but anything mechanical can be a challenge for some first-time users even with step-by-step instructions. On a final note, we are planning to have our front stone steps re-built this fall with the same materials so that none of the three steps will be more than 7.5” high, and which will still have plenty of depth. Thank you for staying with us and we hope you'll give us another chance in the future!" Best, the Evolve Team

Teresa, the homeowner would like to pass along the following message: "We're sorry you weren't completely satisfied with your stay. However, we don't advertise air-conditioning as an amenity at our cottage. We also provide instructions via email two weeks prior to check-in that is chock-full of information, where we do mention there is “a fan in every room” – fans which work in concert with the many windows. We do provide a French press for guests to make coffee, but not the electric machine you preferred. I am, indeed, sorry that you ran out of cooking gas, but our house manual we provide also lists the location of replacement tank(s) on the premises. We did offer to hire someone locally to come by and change the tank for you, but you declined. However, to prevent this inconvenience in the future, I've added a gas gauge on the tank so I can replace it before each new guest arrives if the reading is low. We apologize that our kitchen sink cold water tap only has about half pressure. However, our water pressure is otherwise excellent. We will have the kitchen cold water addressed off-season. As for the hot water supply, I again refer to our instructions, which state that our cottage has a small hot water heater that supplies, “one nice warm seven-minute shower and one lukewarm seven-minute shower, back to back. Wait 45 minutes to repeat". The Wi-Fi hotspot accesses the internet via a cell tower. It isn't the best for streaming video, but it certainly works very well for web browsing, email, and social media. As we note in our instructions, if you’re looking for video entertainment during your stay, “your best bet is to use the DVD player to watch one of the (90) movies and TV series that we offer.” I love our little cottage, it's a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the outdoors, and we try to provide the best experience possible for all our guests!" We're confident this cabin will continue to host many satisfied guests! Best, the Evolve Team