Huckleberry Haven

peaceful and enjoyable area

Still creek was close by, and the radio worked. We had to go out and by a sponge, couldn’t communicate because no cell phone reception. Firewood cost extra, Christmas deco still up. Neighbors lights on constantly and shining into both bedrooms. Would love half my money back.

Feels off the beaten path, yet not far at all from grocery, coffee, etc.

Where to start...? 1) NO HOT TUB- The listing title and several photos clearly state and show that a hot tub is at the home. Lo and behold, the hot tub was definitely not working and in a state of disrepair. When I contacted Vacasa about this, they argued multiple times that 'hot tub' was removed from the amenities description so I should have known there wouldn't be a hot tub. Obviously I pushed back on this deceptive advertising and poor business tactic... I'm still waiting on them to 'review my case'. This was a must-have for our weekend getaway and we were completely misled. 2) NO WATER- The water was not turned on when we entered the home on a rainy Friday evening. Since there was no reception or wifi at the home, we had to keep shuttling out of the home til we found reception to message them and figure out what was going on. They merely provided a poorly constructed and unprofessional instructions for how to turn the water on... which involved having to crawl on the ground to reach a lever underneath the house to turn the water on! I kept thinking that something was going to bite my hand off as it was pitch black... 3) NO HEAT- After finally getting the water back on, we were confused why no hot water was coming out of the faucets or showers. We didn't plan on taking an icy shower in the middle of the winter... The furnace didn't work either so we had to burn through plenty of wood to get by. No instructions or directions were ever given to us. After a full day of self-exploration, we discovered that the fuse switches for the water heater and furnace had been turned off. 4) NO WIFI- This is worth it's own section even though they state in their description that they don't have any wifi. Reason being we had to shuttle back and forth from the cabin into town to find reception so we could communicate with Vacasa about the myriad of issues and lack of basic necessities that made this weekend getaway a horrible waste of time and money. If you're not willing to provide wifi to communicate... you better make sure that everything is actually working properly. I could list other issues too like the funky smell throughout the house, microwave not working, random cluttered junk in the cabin, etc., but I think my point is clear. It's too bad because this cabin was in a great location and has a ton of potential, but it doesn't matter if the owners/Vacasa don't own up to all these issues.

If you are looking for a quite place with no connection to the outer world then this is your place if not look elsewhere....

An overall acceptable weekend getaway. But there are a few items to note... Might suggest an overall price reduction for future guests, when looking at similar homes in the area. Especially weekdays. Get the hot tub serviced ASAP! It ran constantly and would not get above 94-95 degrees no matter how hot we attempted to set it at. Suspect heating element is not functioning properly. 94-95 degrees is cold when the human body is 98.6 degrees. I also suspect you are overloading your electrical service panel, as the lights inside the house would dim briefly every 5 seconds, while the hot tub was attempting to heat up. Also, have HVAC technician come adjust the blower / fan speed inside the furnace (which we had no idea was even installed when we arrived). The furnace fan is blowing EXTREMELY fast and will literally get the house to 80 degrees and burn you out of the very small bedrooms. If you close the dampers in the rooms, it still whistles like a freight train. Way too much airflow. A simple adjustment inside the furnace by a qualified tech. Other than those two items, the home was overall clean, with a great backyard / privacy. Neighbors were out of town, so we had the area all to ourselves. Location is nice! We would return again, as we travel to Mt. Hood from Vancouver, WA. all times of the year. But, the HVAC fan speed and hot tub heating issues should be addressed. We arrived thinking wood stove was the only heat source. Should update listing to reflect furnace is present. But hey, if you are not picky, this place will do just fine. I would love to recommend this place to others, especially on social media. Get those items addressed and then it is totally 100% dialed in!