There are much better choices on the Olympic Peninsula, at much lower prices. The cabin--the BUILDING, that is--is OK. Any photos you find online please realize are taken at creative angles to make you believe that you are about to frolic in the Elysian Fields for a weekend, when really you are down a 15' dirt driveway overlooking a glorified puddle of a pond, with the nosey owners 100' away.



You will realize that this is no bargain after you check out and are pursued by the owners for "damages." Their chief rhetorical strategy is as follows, and I quote directly from email correspondence: 1. Overstate the extent and severity of the damage. (e.g.: "Hot tub trashed beyond recovery. Inside filter askew and light cover broken"). 2. Cite a preposterous figure for what repairs would "normally" cost. 3. Back off that figure slightly, while implying this is because they are such reasonable/kind people. It's classic, really.



Please don't picture some Spring Break scene in the hot tub, with tequila-fueled games of chicken fought with pool noodles. We were two couples in our early- to-mid thirties who ended our soak by midnight each night. There is no way our collective grunginess could have clogged the system, nor do I think a "cracked light" = "trashed beyond recovery."



Then they tried sticking us with a $15 charge for not putting the dishes away from the dish rack. They backed off. But they did try.



And, finally, my favorite blanket statement of indemnity: "The stove WAS FUNCTIONING WHEN YOU WERE THERE AND UPON YOUR DEPARTURE, but because it had been bumped hard enough to move and displace the stove from its normal position it set the stove pipe and internal logs askew is not typical. WE REALIZE IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN YOU directly that caused the displacement but it is why WHOEVER RENTS THE CABIN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEMSELVES AND ANY GUESTS KNOWINGLY OR UNKNOWINGLY for any damage."



Ask yourself: Do you really want to deal with these people? I rest my case.

I strongly advise avoiding this cabin rental mainly for the unprofessional business practices of the owners and the lack of privacy during our stay. We stayed in the Julianna’s cabin property, part of Beaver’s Pond Retreat. The cabin itself was fine, a two bedroom that is cozy enough with modern amenities and a hot tub on the front deck. The rental was $200 a night for double occupancy, plus $30 per person above that. That added fee was a bit steep but we accepted it so I can’t complain too much about that. Upon reserving the cabin we were also presented with a gigantic list of various fees we could incur related to cleaning the cabin etc, that seemed a little over the top. I stayed with my wife and another couple.



The first gripe I have with the cabin is that it is in no way “secluded” as you may be lead to believe by their online presence. The owner lives about 100 feet away from the cabin on the other side of the pond with a direct view of the front of the rental cabin. Contrary to feeling “recharged” out in the woods, we all felt like we were under constant surveillance during our stay. So do not expect a high level of privacy here. While sitting in the hot tub at night, I felt like the owners were watching us to make sure we weren’t causing trouble or something.



Upon checking out, within hours we were contacted and told that we had broken the gas stove that heats the cabin, and that we had also broken a glass cover on the hot tub and dirtied the water of the tub so much that it required a complete cleaning. All total, we were threatened with additional charges of about $165 for various damages we supposedly had caused. In terms of the stove, it was fully functional during our entire stay up until I turned the thermostat down at checkout and the flames turned off. As we fought the bogus charges of having broken the stove, the owner changed her story and claimed that it was making an abnormal wooshing sound on ignition that prompted her to get a service call and found a leak in the pilot light, which she blamed on us (the stove did make a noise on ignition, but I’ve never heard a gas oven or fireplace that doesn’t). So if this damage was actually true, it was there before we checked in and she let us stay in the cabin with a leaking pilot light, awesome. In terms of the tub, none of us recall breaking any glass cover. The cabin does advise showering prior to entering the tub if you have been hiking, exerting yourself or sweating. The weather was so bad during our stay we spent most of our time driving around the peninsula in a car and by no means broke a sweat during our entire stay. Despite this, the owner wanted to charge us $50 to clean the tub. If she truly plans to do this to her customers, she should make it policy to shower prior to entering the hot tub no matter what. Just to be safe, if you make the mistake of renting this cabin, you might want to walk over to her place prior to entering the tub and reassure her you just showered. Otherwise expect a nasty charge.



In the end, we were charged an extra $65 only, I’m not sure what for, but probably the supposed tub related damages. This was all just such a negative experience, please do not rent from these people, it is not worth it. My theory is that the owner though we were troublemakers for some reason, perhaps because we “enjoyed the hot tub until the wee hours” (her words), when we only stayed in the tub until about midnight both nights and were not loud or otherwise disruptive. The property obviously tries to cater to families on their website and perhaps they though a pair of young couples were trouble for some reason. For whatever reason, I think the owner just decided she did not like us, and decided to try to tack on as much extra charges as she could. Do not rent here because you will never know how much the final bill really will be and you are being watched….

We stayed in Juliann's cottage and it had a very nice LITTLE pond in front of it--but it was set right on the road and very close to another "cabin". You are certainly not alone.

Also, the cabins are described as "luxury" vacation spots; this is only true if "luxury" means that the cabin comes with its own set of ants and a terribly desperate need to update its horrible early 80's southwestern decorating theme. This place is a dump with a great view and nothing more. It is certainly not worth the price, no matter how nice the owners are!