Paint Creek Lodge

This place is kind of a sad story about what could be, and I'm leaving a long review in hopes that it will live up to its potential someday soon. The cabin itself is gorgeous, and the location is beautiful and secluded, but the property is poorly maintained. The biggest problem is cleanliness. I am honestly not a picky traveler but our large group unanimously felt that this place was disgustingly dirty. There were literally piles of dog hair everywhere. If you put up the recliner, peeked under the bed, or just looked in a corner, you'd see huge balls of dog hair. The place had not been vacuumed since the previous guests, or maybe several guests. Or swept. The carpeted steps were so gross I vacuumed them myself, and filled up the entire vacuum canister - I honestly doubt they had ever been vacuumed. It looked like the baseboards throughout the cabin have never once been cleaned or dusted. Or the mirrors, pendant lights over the kitchen island, fans, or really anything. Cobwebs everywhere. So dirty behind the toilet. All windows dirty. The hot tub smelled funny, was really foamy, and had a brown film around the edges and underneath the cover... We opted not to use it. Finally, the bed we got in the basement (middle room) was so horrendously squeaky we couldn't even roll over without waking each other up, plus it was worn out and sunk toward the middle. The second bed we tried was a full mattress on a queen box spring so it sloped down on one side. I share all this in hopes that the owners will realize that cleanliness is important, even in a cabin in the woods. Some TLC would go such a long way. Clean up the junk by the shed and empty the garbage barrel. Paint the front steps. Maintain the hot tub. Buy decent mattresses. And for goodness sake, especially if you're dog friendly, CLEAN this place. It needs a really good, deep cleaning. And vacuum everything between every guest! This cabin could be an absolute gem. The scenery around it is stunningly gorgeous! The furniture and artwork are really nice. The loft is beautiful. And there is working WiFi, if you want to stream a movie, which we did in the evening. Overall, our extended family enjoyed our three nights in the woods, mosquito bites and all (there is a beautiful wetland on the property - bring bug repellant!) but would have enjoyed it so much more if it had been clean.
8 years ago (25-08-2017)

The place just isn't very well maintained. There are light bulbs that don't work, light fixtures that aren't even there, electrical faceplates that are missing, a ton of cobwebs, screen doors out to the deck where the screen is barely hanging on, rickety chairs around the dining room table (the property manager said he'd bring new ones out but never did), a deck that needs a good power washing and refinishing, a loose tread on the third-from-the-top step that can throw you off balance if you're not expecting it, loose floorboards that sound like they belong in a horror movie, a ring of black mold around the floor drain in the basement, landscape that needs a lot of attention and a good mowing, and a general unkempt look to the grounds. We spent our first day's afternoon at the laundromat washing the quilts on the beds because there was so much pet hair it was driving some people's allergies crazy. There's a small selection of TV channels available, and the internet is about 2 MBPS at best. The internet router needed rebooting at least two times each day. There is NO cellular service (US Cellular & Verizon phones were on our trip) in this cabin and no landline phone in the cabin that I was able to find, so keep that in mind if you're someone who needs to be reached while on vacation. I suppose we'd have had to run out to the main road to make a 911 call... The pictures on VBRO and Iowa Cabin Rentals show the property likely after it had been given the good deep cleaning that it really needs. It's representative of what could be, sadly not of what is. The kitchen countertops are some sort of solid surface (granite) and they're beautiful. The log cabin feel is nice and homey, especially out in the woods, and the wildlife mounts hung throughout the cabin reinforce that nicely. The shower in the master bathroom is something I'd love to have in my own home along with the whirlpool tub, too. If you go to this place, plan on spending a good amount of the first day or so cleaning it to your liking. Caveat emptor!!
8 years ago (01-07-2017)

Very nice, large, clean cabin.
8 years ago (18-07-2017)