Beware of Cottage owner in Ottawa/Renfrew area
Nov 25th, 2010, 06:49 AM
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Beware of Cottage owner in Ottawa/Renfrew area
December 2009, My wife and I decided to spend our Winter vacation in Canada. We did a search through http://www.Cottagesincanada.com and finally decided on one of the cottages close to Renfrew, listed under http://www.cottagesincanada.com/loon...ult.asp?lang=e
Although a bit on the expensive side, we thought the comfort might be worth it and went for it. Even when the owner decided to charge us $250 to supply us with one linen only for 2 weeks, we still didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
When we arrived, the cottage was in ok standart. It was dusty here and there but full of dead flies all over the floors. It might have been close to 400-500 dead flies lying around everywhere in every room and corner. This seemed a bit strange to us because the cottage was supposed to be cleaned up before we arrived. The infamous $250 linens were wrinkled and full of moth holes.
We unpacked and decided to jump into the outside jacuzzi to relax a bit. After 10 minuttes in the jacuzzi, I felt something at the bottom of the tub. Carefully I picked it up and to my suprise, it was a very big piece of broken glass. This piece was as big as the palm of my hand and it could have scarred me or my wife in a way that we would have needed stitches. I felt the bottom of the tub a bit more and to my horror, I felt more broken pieces of glass. I called the owner and informed him about this.
Nevertheless, we didnt let this experience dampen our spirits and the day before we left the cottage, my wife and I spent the whole day cleaning the cottage from top to bottom as if it was our own place.
We came back to Germany and a month later, I sent an email to the owner, Mr. Denis Patry, requesting my refund. The owner claimed that he had not received the phone bill yet and he would refund my deposit as soon as he receives it. (We had made 4 calls to United States). 2 months later I sent another email. The owner never replied back. Another month passed and I kept sending the owner emails and calling him on the cell phone number he provided. He never replied back. I left numerous comments on his website http://www.looncove.ca but none of my posts ever showed. Finally one day the owner replied back, and to my suprise, he was stating that he would not refund my deposit since we left the cottage in a bad condition. I decided to sent an email to the advertising website, asking the website owner to interfere. After numerous emails, the website owner informed me that the owner agreed to refund my money and to let him know in 2 weeks if I didnt receive it. It has been over 9 months now and still to this date, no refunds!
The funny thing is he even said that he has forwarded my emails to the authorities and if I show up in his property, they would deal with me
If interested, you can read my article, including his emails at:
http://rentinginontario.com/archives/34
Please keep my warning at mind if anyone comes across his advert.
Although a bit on the expensive side, we thought the comfort might be worth it and went for it. Even when the owner decided to charge us $250 to supply us with one linen only for 2 weeks, we still didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
When we arrived, the cottage was in ok standart. It was dusty here and there but full of dead flies all over the floors. It might have been close to 400-500 dead flies lying around everywhere in every room and corner. This seemed a bit strange to us because the cottage was supposed to be cleaned up before we arrived. The infamous $250 linens were wrinkled and full of moth holes.
We unpacked and decided to jump into the outside jacuzzi to relax a bit. After 10 minuttes in the jacuzzi, I felt something at the bottom of the tub. Carefully I picked it up and to my suprise, it was a very big piece of broken glass. This piece was as big as the palm of my hand and it could have scarred me or my wife in a way that we would have needed stitches. I felt the bottom of the tub a bit more and to my horror, I felt more broken pieces of glass. I called the owner and informed him about this.
Nevertheless, we didnt let this experience dampen our spirits and the day before we left the cottage, my wife and I spent the whole day cleaning the cottage from top to bottom as if it was our own place.
We came back to Germany and a month later, I sent an email to the owner, Mr. Denis Patry, requesting my refund. The owner claimed that he had not received the phone bill yet and he would refund my deposit as soon as he receives it. (We had made 4 calls to United States). 2 months later I sent another email. The owner never replied back. Another month passed and I kept sending the owner emails and calling him on the cell phone number he provided. He never replied back. I left numerous comments on his website http://www.looncove.ca but none of my posts ever showed. Finally one day the owner replied back, and to my suprise, he was stating that he would not refund my deposit since we left the cottage in a bad condition. I decided to sent an email to the advertising website, asking the website owner to interfere. After numerous emails, the website owner informed me that the owner agreed to refund my money and to let him know in 2 weeks if I didnt receive it. It has been over 9 months now and still to this date, no refunds!
The funny thing is he even said that he has forwarded my emails to the authorities and if I show up in his property, they would deal with me
If interested, you can read my article, including his emails at:
http://rentinginontario.com/archives/34
Please keep my warning at mind if anyone comes across his advert.
Nov 25th, 2010, 04:16 PM
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That is unfortunate that you had a bad experience. I had a similar experience with dead flies at a place we rented in Newfoundland.
The website looks like the place is very nice. I hope that the situation will be resolved.
The website looks like the place is very nice. I hope that the situation will be resolved.
Nov 25th, 2010, 04:37 PM
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I have to say that I'm always a little suspicious when someone's first/only post on the Fodor's forums is to make a complaint about a specific place/service. But when that post also includes a link to that person's website, it adds to the suspicion that the only reason for the post was to drive up hits on the website (and possible ad revenue).
Nov 25th, 2010, 11:31 PM
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Not at all Shelli. I just discovered this website by accident and wanted to share my experience as a warning for possible future renters. Certainly dont intent to generate any hits for the owners webpage
Nov 29th, 2010, 09:29 AM
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Actually it is not my website, nor do I get paid for any hits. Just like this page, I discovered that page by accident and wrote an article. Funny you should think of any article or warnings as a way of profit rather than just seeing it the way it was intentended.
Anyyywayyss....
Anyyywayyss....
Nov 29th, 2010, 09:55 PM
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Sorry for my skepticism Bijan, but there's a history of people who write posts on these forums which link to their own personal blogs "for more details". Although I think most of them are well-intentioned, it defeats the purpose of having the information available on these forums.
Please don't let my cynicism leave a bad impression. These are great forums.
Please don't let my cynicism leave a bad impression. These are great forums.
Nov 30th, 2010, 12:50 AM
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No problem Shelli.
I have tried to find a website or a forum that deals with cottage rentals in general for Canada or U.S that allows people to share their own experiences and reviews but couldn't find one.
Almost none of the rental websites allow for customer reviews either. Some of the landlords personal webpages allow people to sign their guest books but they only publish it if it is a good review. So, I have decided to share my experience with any webpage that allows me to do so. The reason I included the name of the webpage where I published my article was to allow for the readers to judge for themselves whats going on, based on the email correspondances between myself and the landord. Its easy just to bad mouth a person on personal feelings. My only goal is that hopefully, it may prevent someone else from making the same mistake that I did or to have a pre warning about one particular cottage/landlord.
Otherwise, you have every right to be skeptic about a new user
I have tried to find a website or a forum that deals with cottage rentals in general for Canada or U.S that allows people to share their own experiences and reviews but couldn't find one.
Almost none of the rental websites allow for customer reviews either. Some of the landlords personal webpages allow people to sign their guest books but they only publish it if it is a good review. So, I have decided to share my experience with any webpage that allows me to do so. The reason I included the name of the webpage where I published my article was to allow for the readers to judge for themselves whats going on, based on the email correspondances between myself and the landord. Its easy just to bad mouth a person on personal feelings. My only goal is that hopefully, it may prevent someone else from making the same mistake that I did or to have a pre warning about one particular cottage/landlord.
Otherwise, you have every right to be skeptic about a new user
Nov 30th, 2010, 03:20 PM
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I know that cottage!!!!
We have a beautiful cottage on Lake Constant, where my Mother and Father in law purchased property in 1957. It is a paradise for us.
That man is a terrible neighbour. He is a bully who threatens other residents.
He and his loud, obnoxious family have persistently trespassed on a friend's recently purchased property, where they want to swim. When the friend complains, this bastard simply replies "I don't believe you actually own the land. Anyway, I'm going to use it and how are you going to stop me?"
Their boat and other horrible watercraft constantly disrupt the peace of the lake.
Unfortunately, this goon also owns another cottage at the other end of the lake, which he occipies when this cottage is rented. So we are exposed to nuisances from both directions!
I'm sorry you had this bad experience. I will ensure that our many friends on the lake are aware of what he did to you.
We have a beautiful cottage on Lake Constant, where my Mother and Father in law purchased property in 1957. It is a paradise for us.
That man is a terrible neighbour. He is a bully who threatens other residents.
He and his loud, obnoxious family have persistently trespassed on a friend's recently purchased property, where they want to swim. When the friend complains, this bastard simply replies "I don't believe you actually own the land. Anyway, I'm going to use it and how are you going to stop me?"
Their boat and other horrible watercraft constantly disrupt the peace of the lake.
Unfortunately, this goon also owns another cottage at the other end of the lake, which he occipies when this cottage is rented. So we are exposed to nuisances from both directions!
I'm sorry you had this bad experience. I will ensure that our many friends on the lake are aware of what he did to you.
Dec 1st, 2010, 03:43 AM
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Hi Tedgale
Thank you very much for your reply. I think your reply is good enough to give people an idea of this guys character as well.
Please email the link of my article to everyone you know in the area. The more people know about this guy, the safer it will be for future renters.
Thank you very much for your reply. I think your reply is good enough to give people an idea of this guys character as well.
Please email the link of my article to everyone you know in the area. The more people know about this guy, the safer it will be for future renters.
Sep 4th, 2013, 09:29 AM
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Oh, and by the way:
The swimming spot where Patry and his family (and others) used to trespass was badly hit by the July 2012 wind storm.
Huge trees were uprooted or snapped in two, including the tree from which kids used to swing from a rope, then "cannonball" into the water.
He won't be trespassing there any more, I warrant.
The swimming spot where Patry and his family (and others) used to trespass was badly hit by the July 2012 wind storm.
Huge trees were uprooted or snapped in two, including the tree from which kids used to swing from a rope, then "cannonball" into the water.
He won't be trespassing there any more, I warrant.
Sep 15th, 2013, 02:16 AM
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This sounds really bad. I own a furnished accommodation company and we have a couple of apartments in down town toronto.we have to really take care of our guests! We clean and disinfect each apartment till its squeaky clean. I don t understand how people can do business like this. They will lose out big time.
At livingsuites-Toronto we spend about three hours cleaning each apartment and they are only one bedrooms!don't think he will last long in this business!
At livingsuites-Toronto we spend about three hours cleaning each apartment and they are only one bedrooms!don't think he will last long in this business!
Dec 8th, 2013, 08:32 AM
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I have been on this lake for 14 years and know the gentleman and his family quite well. I will say that inevitably some people simply don't like other people for whatever reason, jealousy, difference of opinion etc…..
I will provide commentary on two separate issues that you and one of the other replies have raised.
I never rented a cottage from Mr Patry as I have my own so I can't speak to your experience. I can tell you that close friends of ours rented from them for 5 years as they needed a large cottage and they had nothing but glowing reviews about the property and the owners. The owner even showed up one afternoon to take their young kids on a Seadoo ride around the lake. Obviously there is a reason for your unhappiness with your rental experience, but i can tell you from experience, as I also rent my cottage from time to time, that there are always two sides to every story.
I have to reply to Tedgale, as I was one of the cottagers involved with Mr Patry regarding the so called land that you think your friend owns or that he has told you he owns. And so that the readers of this article are aware, I do believe you are speaking about Mr Flett and his family. The rope that was on the tree has been there for years, and is on the point of a piece of land, and a group of us from the lake went to the township and have confirmation from the township that the piece of land that you think people are trespassing on is indeed Crown Land. We don't need now nor have we ever needed your Mr Flett's permission to use that tree for family fun on the lake. Mr Flett's repeated threats and posting of no trespassing signs on property that he does not own is ridiculous and shameful seeing as many young kids on the lake have enjoyed that swing for years. Mr Patry did indeed have issues with him and his family for trying to take over land that does not belong to them, and he stood up to him on that, with the support of many of us who use that area. It did get decimated by a bad storm a couple of years ago so now that area can no longer be used. I believe Mr Flett even tried to insinuate that his family owns the island adjacent to that land point, which is also ridiculous as people have been camping there for years. If you like I would be more than happy to forward you the documentation from the township that clearly outlines that he does not own that land. You can also make a quick phone call to the township where they are quite familiar with Mr Flett.
Regarding your commentary about their boat, I found that to be quite humorous. There are at least 30 to 40 boats on our lake, some larger than his, and many of them are often out tubing and skiing and wake boarding. I also have a large boat and I am on the lake every weekend with my family tubing, our kids yelling and screaming and we love those fun times on the water. For us that is what cottage weekends are for. For you to single out Mr Patry for enjoying the lake in his boat just like the rest of us seems somewhat self serving to try and further your point. There are often many weekends where there are large bass boats on the lake with huge motors and many of these people put there boat in for the day on the lake and don't even have cottages there.
I will provide commentary on two separate issues that you and one of the other replies have raised.
I never rented a cottage from Mr Patry as I have my own so I can't speak to your experience. I can tell you that close friends of ours rented from them for 5 years as they needed a large cottage and they had nothing but glowing reviews about the property and the owners. The owner even showed up one afternoon to take their young kids on a Seadoo ride around the lake. Obviously there is a reason for your unhappiness with your rental experience, but i can tell you from experience, as I also rent my cottage from time to time, that there are always two sides to every story.
I have to reply to Tedgale, as I was one of the cottagers involved with Mr Patry regarding the so called land that you think your friend owns or that he has told you he owns. And so that the readers of this article are aware, I do believe you are speaking about Mr Flett and his family. The rope that was on the tree has been there for years, and is on the point of a piece of land, and a group of us from the lake went to the township and have confirmation from the township that the piece of land that you think people are trespassing on is indeed Crown Land. We don't need now nor have we ever needed your Mr Flett's permission to use that tree for family fun on the lake. Mr Flett's repeated threats and posting of no trespassing signs on property that he does not own is ridiculous and shameful seeing as many young kids on the lake have enjoyed that swing for years. Mr Patry did indeed have issues with him and his family for trying to take over land that does not belong to them, and he stood up to him on that, with the support of many of us who use that area. It did get decimated by a bad storm a couple of years ago so now that area can no longer be used. I believe Mr Flett even tried to insinuate that his family owns the island adjacent to that land point, which is also ridiculous as people have been camping there for years. If you like I would be more than happy to forward you the documentation from the township that clearly outlines that he does not own that land. You can also make a quick phone call to the township where they are quite familiar with Mr Flett.
Regarding your commentary about their boat, I found that to be quite humorous. There are at least 30 to 40 boats on our lake, some larger than his, and many of them are often out tubing and skiing and wake boarding. I also have a large boat and I am on the lake every weekend with my family tubing, our kids yelling and screaming and we love those fun times on the water. For us that is what cottage weekends are for. For you to single out Mr Patry for enjoying the lake in his boat just like the rest of us seems somewhat self serving to try and further your point. There are often many weekends where there are large bass boats on the lake with huge motors and many of these people put there boat in for the day on the lake and don't even have cottages there.
Dec 19th, 2013, 11:24 AM
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As a long time Fodorite with many posts and Trip Reports, I always click on the poster's name when someone unfamiliar replies to my comments, TRs or posts.
It is interesting to see that "Ottawavalleycottager" has only posted once on any Fodor's travel forum.
And it was on a thread that has had no activity since Sept. 2013.
Who goes searching for old, inactive threads to comment on? Something odd there....
Just sayin'.
It is interesting to see that "Ottawavalleycottager" has only posted once on any Fodor's travel forum.
And it was on a thread that has had no activity since Sept. 2013.
Who goes searching for old, inactive threads to comment on? Something odd there....
Just sayin'.
Dec 20th, 2013, 04:28 AM
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Well it's nice to see that "tedgale" has taken an interest in my Fodor's membership. Being new here I enjoy reading the reviews as my girlfriend and I travel extensively. Perhaps you could elaborate on what you consider to be "odd", or what you are "just sayin" about my posting? I may not agree with your posting, however I believe that is what these forums are for, posting opinions. I do take issue with posts that are misleading or not factual. Someone posted about Mr. Patry having a water plane? Or his kids having dirt bikes? His kids are 22 and 28 and one of them lives in Toronto and he does not have any dirt bikes so that makes no sense. And a water plane, what is that about? In my 14 years there I have never seen him with a water plane, I don't even know if he has a plane license but I will be sure to ask him.
You can understand my skepticism given some of the things that have been said here. I was actually quite shocked when I read this article. And having a cottage on a lake and complaining about boats and watercraft is ludicrous, in my humble opinion anyway. And may I ask why you think that the land where the rope use to be is owned by your friend? Could the Township have made a mistake?
You can understand my skepticism given some of the things that have been said here. I was actually quite shocked when I read this article. And having a cottage on a lake and complaining about boats and watercraft is ludicrous, in my humble opinion anyway. And may I ask why you think that the land where the rope use to be is owned by your friend? Could the Township have made a mistake?
Dec 3rd, 2014, 07:29 AM
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