Vacation Rental Authority

This was our second time staying with VRA. Both vacations were wonderful! The homes were clean, as described and very well maintained. The most important and impressive thing to us is the customer service that the staff exudes. All emails were answered asap. Our second stay, within a week before our vacation, the home we had chosen was unavailable due to some construction time restraints. VRA offered us 3 new options and our stay was perfect. We will forgo the "man-in-the-middle," in the future, ie; VRBO/AirBB etc, and book directly. See you soon!
Apr 4th, 2024

Our family had the pleasure of staying at Osprey Mountain Lodge, which was a beautiful experience. The view was incredible, the property was brand new and spotless, and the location was convenient to Coeur dAlene. We originally booked a different property with Vacation Rental Authority, yet on the day of our cold arrival date in late December, the Vacation Rental Authority team discovered an issue with the heating system in that rental. They proactively called us to provide details and other rental options. The team made it easy for us to choose different lodging and we were impressed with both Osprey Mountain Lodge, as well as Vacation Rental Authoritys excellent customer care! We are frequent travelers, accustomed to making adjustments when things dont always go according to plan, so we were especially grateful for Vacation Rental Authoritys thoughtful approach, demonstration of integrity and database of additional options. Had we booked this reservation with another entity, our lodging would likely have been cancelled, rather than upgraded. Well done, team - your 5 stars are well deserved and we will definitely return!
Jan 28th, 2024

Stunning views of the lake and fabulous amenities. I highly recommend this home. Our family looks forward to booking this luxury home again in the future.
Dec 20th, 2023

We had such a great time in Coeur dAlene at the Forest Chateau with our three small children. It was a nice house in a great location downtown. My kids loved the toys there. They had a packnplay & high chair to use also. Hosts were very responsive to any questions. The hot tub was nice and easy to use. Only thing to change might be the rug under the dining table as its peeling up. Thanks for the great stay!
Sep 27th, 2023

Unfortunately, this was the worst rental I've ever experienced. My dad and I have been traveling for the last year and we have stayed in at least 15 different Airbnb's, VRBO's, and private rentals. This rental and Vacation Rental Authority were absolutely awful - we dealt with spiders, ants, and problems with the house in general. We stayed at Ivy Cottage off Front Ave. Upon check-in, I found many spiders in the basement. At first, I chalked it up to the fact that it was a basement, but in the first 24 hours, I saw over 10 large spiders in multiple rooms in the basement and many more over the next few days. I made the rental company aware on Friday night and they did have pest control come out on Tuesday. Then the problem was that the pest control spraying dislodged ants and a few days later the entire kitchen was covered in ants. They got into all of our food on the counters and pantry, I had to throw away over $200 of new groceries. I informed the the rental company and they told me they were reaching out to pest control. After cleaning out the entire kitchen and throwing away our groceries, I still had not heard back from them. We went and bought ant spray and traps and thankfully we did that because we NEVER heard back from the rental company. I called and no one answered the phone. The next email I got was about checking out and leaving them a review. And it wasn't a small amount of ants - almost every surface of the kitchen was covered. It was disgusting and I am appalled that they never responded. The house is laid out in a very odd and unfortunate way. Upon entering through the front door into the foyer, there is no light switch to illuminate the step into the main floor. My dad tripped on this multiple times. As you enter the main floor, every where you step causes loud creaking and squeaking that will honestly wake up everyone in the home. It was awful when I was trying to sleep downstairs and my dad was awake in the kitchen or main TV room. We could not move around freely without waking each other up. There is one small bathroom that serves the three largest bedrooms (2 on the main floor & 1 upstairs that has no access to a bathroom on that level). The nicest bathroom/Shower is in the basement. The major problem is that to access it, you have to turn on the stairway light and negotiate a VERY steep stairway. The steps have a very short step platforms and it is very easy to loose your footing. My senior dad could not go down them and I fell down them a few times. Also there is NO light switch in the basement to shut off the lights in the bedrooms. The only way to turn off the lights is to climb up the stairs, turn off the light switch, and then attempt to go down the stairs in the pitch dark and not fall. It's extremely dangerous. The day after we checked-in, I mentioned this as I was very concerned and was told to "keep some lamps on downstairs for better visibility." This did nothing as the staircase is still completely dark and you have to navigate down the steep steps. The pest control was amazing, but as they explained, the spiders got worse before they got better. I am so thankful they came and treated outside and inside the basement, but we saw even more spiders as they came out of hiding/started dying. They got into my sponge in the shower, in my clothes in the drawers, and even in the blankets on the bed. This was an absolutely awful experience and I will avoid all of their rentals. Yes, this house was in awful shape, but it was also how all of these issues were handled by the rental company. We paid over $2K/ week and it was NOT WORTH it at all. I highly recommend avoiding this company and not giving them your business. I would also like to add that we have a perfect 5 star rating as renters that can be checked online. We don't like to give bad ratings, but unfortunately this rental AND the rental company were a horrible experience we don't want anyone else to have to endure- esp while paying their premium pricing.
Sep 24th, 2023