Pet-Friendly Lake Athens Home w/ Fireplace!

Athens, Texas

A cold front arrived before our trip, so it was 19 degrees when we arrived at the house. It was also very cold inside, which was a huge surprise because the homeowners knew that we were scheduled to arrive that day. We found that it is difficult to warm up this house because it has very high ceilings, a lot of big plate-glass windows, and scored concrete floors. This makes the house very cold and uninviting. It was so cold that we had to sleep in our cold weather attire and the house did not warm up to where it was tolerable until after noon the next day! The thermostats have to be turned up higher than needed to accommodate for the high ceilings, the big plate-glass windows, and the concrete floors. The concrete floors are disgusting, by the way! I did notice the night that we arrived that there was one warm spot in the kitchen and I did not understand why. I found out the next day when I started to turn on the oven because it was already on!!! How does this stuff happen? Standing at the kitchen sink was always cold because of the plant window located there. Cold air rushes in through the holes across the top of this poorly-installed window. The kitchen is the main place that I stay and operate and this kitchen was nasty and GROSS!!!!!!! It has not been cleaned in years!!! The cabinets are disgusting! I wonder why they charge such a huge cleaning fee??? Where is this money going??? It certainly was not used to clean the house before our arrival. This kitchen is not salvageable, so the best thing to do is to demo it and start over! I am so thankful that I travel with everything that I need in the kitchen including food, dinnerware, flatware, cookware, servingware, coffeemaker, and cooking utensils. I would not want to use anything in this kitchen! We also travel with things such as paper towels, toilet tissue, facial tissue, and all toiletries. Overall, the house is very dark, especially the living areas and the kitchen. There is not much to offer for lighting sources. Also, the Internet service is iffy at best. For some reason, the television in the family room kept switching to Sponge Bob every hour or so. This was very frustrating, of course! We only found one electrical outlet that will work for our computers. The others are very, very old and do not have the ground plug. If you are pulling a 21-foot bass boat like we do all over the country, beware because this house is not boat friendly.

Wonderful, peaceful and private

We thoroughly enjoyed Neal's lakehouse. It was convenient to the boat ramp and quick to get to on boat to keep overnight at his boat house/dock. It was a bit tight backing up the boat trailer in the one lane driveway but wasn't a problem. The house was clean and spacious. We loved the artsy/studio vibe (if that makes sense- a great place for a writer to stay awhile). The beds are comfortable and the linen smell so fresh and clean. The master shower was nice and hot. We enjoyed the patio listening to the variety of birds and watching the squirrels play. Neal is quick to respond! Thanks for sharing your place!

GO FISH

If your family likes to gather and fish for a few days, this is the place for you. Large house with lots of room and big dining area. Good kitchen space and appliances. Dock has double boat stall, one good lift, and bank room to tie another boat or pontoon. You can kayak fish in the same arm of the dock and catch fish within 1/4 mile of the house. Local support for the house was exemplary. We'll try to come back again.

Great potential, but run down

The house has great potential: large, good location, on the water, nice layout, big backyard… but it feels unloved and neglected. We watched baseball in the evenings and appreciated the satellite tv. The linens were fine. The kitchen has lots of pots and pans but lacked sufficient dishes, cups, glasses, and cutlery for serving. For the price, it needs some investment from the owners. For example, the paint is peeling on the ceiling of the second bath and the shower faucet diverts half the water pressure to the tub faucet. It’s not at the typical standard we’re used to with vacation rentals.