we arrived to mark`s place in the end of june 2013 and were very disappointed. The rooms are located in the second floor of the house, very small kitchen, dining table for 4 people only, no family room. after asking, mark was willing to open the other two rooms which are seperated from the first three and is connected with stairs to the first floor where he lives.
after only one night in those unpleasent rooms we decided to leave and pay double for a hotel where we could find some privacy
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Jul 14, 2013
Hi Keren, we are very sorry that you did not have a pleasant time here at “Casa Vidal Niagara” or also known as “Tourist Lodging in the Heart of Niagara Falls!” I would like to address your review as we feel we have willingly gone up and beyond to accommodate you. My wife Monica and I wanted dearly for you to be happy so I will address each of your complaints;
Keren, yes the rooms are all located on the second floor of our house that has a private entrance off the driveway and is separated from the main floor. I designed and built this house with the thought in mind to provide comfort and privacy to our guests. This also goes both ways, we have comfort and privacy on the main floor as well. The kitchen is sized accordingly and has plenty of room. We have been complimented just how equipped it is for having everything a typical kitchen would have. Please keep in mind it is a vacation rental but saying that; there is a stove/oven, fridge, all dishware and all appliances ++ at your hand. If anything, we have understated what we have provided. The dining area has setting for 6 + people. 4 chairs are out, there are another chairs and a Bistro table tucked away for guest convenience. We don’t think it is necessary to have all this out on display or set up as long as the guest have it at hand. So in other words, we provide you the accommodations and all its giving’s, you as a guest know best to make it a home away from home that suits. We have a nicely decorated lounge/family room. It has a wall mounted TV, 2 large sofas, a wingback chair, coffee and side tables. It also has 2 nice sized windows where the rear year can be viewed. This is where we provide a booklet of information for our guests to find attractions, restaurants and shopping. We have been told that it is comfortable. To address your comment on the apartment layout, the main section has the 2 bedrooms, a lounge that has a queen pull out sofa that makes the 3rd bedroom, the kitchen, eating area and 2 bathrooms. This is for groups up to 6 people. For larger groups up to 10 which is the maximum I can safely take in, there is another section that has a further 2 bedrooms and another bathroom. Keren, in my email to you prior to your booking date, I asked for the sleeping arrangements so I can plan accordingly. You stated 2 couples a small child and a baby. There would be plenty of room to comfortably accommodate you in the main section. Saying that, we did open the second section in an effort to satisfy you. Please keep in mind that this upper floor is as large as some entire houses with just under 2,000 Square feet. The second set of stairs that go down to the main floor are separate and locked by way of doors from our home. These stairs provide another means to exit to the outside in case of an emergency. Knowing that when we have up to 10 people staying here, by law for Health and safety, we need to provide another way out. I also need to address that in our conversations, you had admitted to not fully reading the Flip Key description where this is categorized as an “Apartment / Condominium”. Keren, we have asked how we can accommodate you so your expectations here can be met. We were saddened that we could not reach that. We were also saddened to notice you had left after one night without notifying us and the unnecessary mess that was left behind. In the Flip Key and Trip Advisor description, it has been written several times that the accommodation are on the second floor of the house and that myself, my wife and son live on the main floor. We have posted 70+ photos many of the house and property. Flip Key has also rated us as “Top Rental Owner”. We take pride in our Cottage Rental and love to accommodate our guests. Though we may be around, we fully respect our guest’s privacy. We treasure the rating of 5 out of 5 and that some of our guests still keep in touch with us. We are here for the long term so that is why we are honest with our rental description and what we can provide. Mark and Monica.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.