Vashon Island Retreat

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Vashon Island Retreat. This property has SO MANY things going for it: AMAZING VIEWS (watching the boats pass on Puget Sound); a quiet, secluded neighborhood with lots of wildlife (deer, raccoon, birds!); comfortable, modern décor (exactly as shown in the listing pics); a well-equipped kitchen; thoughtful amenities (the usual toiletries but also night lights, games, and lots of cozy blankets); and clean interior spaces.

The property also needed a good exterior cleaning and a few fixes. Specifically, the windows were grimy on the outside and smudged on the inside (hard to ignore as you try to enjoy the amazing view beyond those windows) and the tracks were filled with grime and dead flies. In addition, minor maintenance issues needed fixing, like wobbly towel racks not secured to the walls in the bathrooms, loose tiles falling off the soaker tub, and dried construction glue smeared inside the one bathtub. A full professional exterior cleaning and a short visit by a licensed handyman would bring the whole house up to the high standard set by the price, location, and interiors. Regarding the bathroom arrangement: the upstairs bathroom includes only a soaker tub (with spray handle) while the basement bathroom includes only a small single shower. The upstairs main bathroom also has a single pedestal sink, so be prepared for the lack of countertop space that would be there if it were a full vanity cabinet. For us (one able-bodied couple), using the bedroom upstairs and the bathroom with shower downstairs was unusual but fine. However, if you plan to stay with more people or have mobility restrictions, this arrangement could cause inconvenience. It was great that they provide a full washer and dryer, but it also is in need of a deep clean, as the units were covered in dirt and the smell of the septic tank on the property was coming back inside via the drain from the sink in the laundry room.