Bespoke Stay

“We had a mixed stay at this property. On the positive side, the location is fantastic, very convenient to the historical district, and the home itself is quite spacious. However, we encountered several notable issues. When we arrived there was no hot water. To the host's credit, they had it fixed by the following morning and offered a 25% refund for that first night. The home also showed significantly more wear and tear than expected from the listing photos, including ceiling damage near one of the showers, noticeable scuffs and chips on the walls. The main driver of our lower rating was the cleanliness of the bedding. We found a stain on the sheets of the smaller bed upon arrival. I texted the contact to let them know and their response was a generic thank you for informing them and they would tell the cleaning crew, no offer of fresh linens or further assistance. After washing the sheets ourselves, the stain came out completely. Were the sheets actually laundered before our stay?”

“Place seems to be a full time rental managed by a company. We called out an issue about drainage and a shower upstairs that was never resolved, but multiple promises. They did extend our checkout but made it seem like a favor since the normal charge is $100 per hour for late checkout or early check-in. We let them know that we will be bringing a pet in advance and agreed to pay the fees, but are disputing those charges and attempting to charge more. Location is great and the house is beautiful. Overall average experience.”

“Scott was an amazing host; very kind, responsive, and accommodating. Unfortunately, the house itself was disappointing, especially for $1,200+ for two nights. While it looks exactly like the photos, the pictures don’t reflect the actual quality or condition. The furniture, appliances, and decor all felt extremely cheap, almost like a staged home rather than a comfortable place to stay. The location wasn’t ideal either. Towels were limited, and those provided had visible stains. There were also no washcloths or hand towels, so we purchased our own and left them behind for future guests. We booked this home for a large reunion, but several guests ultimately chose to stay at nearby hotels instead. I read the previous reviews before booking and wanted to form my own opinion, but I now understand the concerns. Scott truly was wonderful, and I hate leaving a negative review, but the property simply did not deliver the quality expected at this price point.”

“We enjoyed our stay. The house was nice, clean, and in a good location. A few things kept it from feeling like the best value for the price: the king bedroom door wouldn’t stay closed, and the third step after the landing was loose and caused a fall. The showers, especially downstairs, were quite small, and the living room had limited, uncomfortable seating. Although the house is listed to sleep 13, I’m glad our group was about half that size. The grill had no propane, and we needed to buy toilet paper and Swiffer pads. Parking was limited, so we sometimes parked a block away. All the bedrooms are upstairs, which may be challenging for guests with mobility concerns. With a few repairs and better stocking, this could be an even better stay.”

“Amazing place- incredible rooms, location, views. The only issue was the wifi which was terrible. Network failed and needed to be restarted many times. Other than that which was super annoying the place was perfect.”

“The house is cute but small, nicely decorated. The yard was shabby and others had not picked up after their dogs. It is an old house so there is a distinct moldy, musty smell in the basement that is starting to creep upward. For what I paid, I expected more than thin, cheap towels to shower. It would have been nice to have dish towels in the kitchen also.”

“No elevator Location, location, location! We loved this place and we were close to everything we wanted to do. Our only complaint was the lack of elevator. For older adults or those mobility impaired those 3 flight of stairs are not negotiable. You need to let those wanting to rent this know about the elevator up front and not 48 hours before the use date. The lack of elevator needs to added to the front page of the listing.”

“The place was clean and as described. We had a toddler with us so the barn doors were not great since they could not be locked for bathroom privacy. The most challenging part of the stay was the broken elevator. We had a 2 yr old and an elderly person with knee problems that made it hard to access apartment. The host did not alert us ahead of time - we would have tried to get a different place. He did inform us the day of check in or perhaps the day before. Not enough time to rebook. The host did refund 15% of the cost which we appreciate.”

“I booked this place to sleep and get some work done, but it fell short. The Wi-Fi stopped working the second night, and with both Verizon and T-Mobile having poor service in the area, I couldn’t work. The street is also very narrow, making it difficult to get into the garage with a larger vehicle. The cleanliness could be improved as there were spider webs on the ceiling, flies, mosquitoes, and a spider inside. The check-in process was also more involved than expected, requiring ID verification through a separate portal. Overall, it was okay for sleeping, but the issues made the stay more frustrating than expected.”

“Scott has Bestoke Stays manage his place. We were notified the week of our stay that the elevator was broken. It said we are on 2nd floor but there were 3 steep staircases to go up which made luggage challenging. I wouldn’t be surprised if the elevator was part of a bigger electrical issue because the fire alarm went off at 3 am and fire co. could not turn it off. When I reached out Bestoke sent a message they would send someone out (likely in morning), but did not ask about our needs that night. Luckily we lived a half hour away but lost our $70 parking pass for the weekend. Bestoke did not contact us when promised by 1pm the next day, so we booked somewhere else. They would not refund us without our signing an NDA saying we wouldn’t say anything negative. We did not sign & contacted Air BnB about our horrible experience. We had video of the screaming alarm & Air BnB got us properly refunded. Also Bestoke Stay added a $40 fee AFTER booking which is against Air BnB policies.”