I stayed at the Duke Mansion in July and deeply fell in love with this house.
The mansion, the grounds were beautiful.
But upon closer inspections, there were several details that needed work:
1. The flat sheets on the bed had holes.
2. The screen doors for the sun rooms also had holes.
3. I felt that the place really needed a deep cleaning - more than just light dusting.
4. The flowers in the large arrangement in the main hall were dead.
5. In the outside area near the back garden, there were several items that needed to be put out of sight (i.e. trash cans, ladders, buckets, etc.)
6. The main fountain up front needed to be repaired. I asked if it was a working fountain and I was told that it was broken.
6. I stayed on the third floor. I didn't sleep well because I kept hearing a knocking...
But as a gardener, I really believe that the garden needed the most work. In all fairness to the gardener, it was a super hot weekend in July, but there were several areas that needed work:
1. In the Nesbit garden, I noticed that there was some raised flower beds in the far left area that didn't have flowers.
2. Everything needed to be deadheaded.
3. Flowerpots needed to be watered - badly. The staff could easily do this, as there wasn't much traffic at some points of the day.
4. The lawn needed to be edged up.
5. The hydrangeas all needed water.
6. Fresh mulch (pine bark) needs to be added to the back garden. This garden has the raised beds with the vegetables. Under the magnolia tree, you could see the black landscaping fabric.
7. The vegetables in the raised flower beds were way too large and overgrown. I saw a Zucchini that was at least 30 inches. Also, in the raise herb beds near the house, there were empty spaces without herbs and some weeds.
8. The deep red Dahlias that are located in the courtyard garden need to be re-staked. Their poor heads were drooping badly.
9. The mini-lawn mowing device in the courtyard garden before the Nesbit garden needs to be put away.
10. It would be nice if all of the plants were labeled.
11. An arborist needs to be called out, as some of those wonderful trees may need some specialized attention.
All in all, I enjoyed my stay and would consider staying there again.;.