Screened Patio, Fenced Yard, & Pet Friendly!

Please don't be alarmed that I only have one 5-star review. I am new to VRBO - I have over 150 5-star reviews on A i r b n b

Please see Instagram @sweethideouts for full virtual tour
Please see the very last photo for a map of driving distances to popular spots from the cottage

Lovely 3 room, 1.5 bath Savannah cottage in Thunderbolt. Affordable option to the pricier homes downtown with free driveway parking, a large private backyard with a screened porch overlooking live oaks, & an outdoor shower for beach days. Map of free downtown parking provided in the home! 3 pet limit, $35/night pet fee. Recommend reading full description, cancellation policies, and house/pet rules before booking!

I know you have many wonderful options & reading through a listing is time consuming, but no house is perfect, so I've put together an honest list of important items to know about the home, so that you book the right place for you & have the best trip possible:

I don't have any TV subscriptions, and it has nothing to do with the cost - I'd be happy to pay it. What I learned was that guests wants to use their own subscriptions, so they logged out of mine. Netflix, Hulu, etc. make is so that I have to give guests my password and approve login just to log back in and I can't hide my credit card info, so this just is not feasible. The second issue was guest accounts remaining on the TVs - I even had a guest buy movies on a previous guests account. I have fixed this by setting up "guests mode" on all TVs, so you will be automatically logged out of all your accounts at check out, so no one else will ever use them.

Infants and children are very, very welcome, but please be aware that there are no special safety measures in place, such as outlet plugs, corner guards, pack-n-play, cribs, or a toddler gate. It has nothing to do with the cost of these items, I would be happy to buy them. The issue is there is no such thing as a safety inspector that I could hire to check the home after every check out to make sure that every safety item was actually working/installed properly and that is what would be needed. I do not want to falsely advertise that I have all of these items if I am not sure that they are working properly, since they are so critical to your children's safety. You would want to book another home if this is needed for your family.

No outdoor grill, sorry!

There is a brief check out list. Most of the list can be done the night before & the most difficult items would be loading and starting the dishwasher and picking up any trash left outside.

Thunderbolt is an easy 10 minute drive from downtown Savannah and about 20-25 minutes from Tybee Island. Traffic will be the worst in the summer and on holidays and may increase these driving times to 15 & 30 minutes. I have a map in the photos section that shows the cottage and driving times to popular attractions. Just outside of Forsyth Park, all parking downtown is free. I personally recommend parking on the outskirts because the city and its homes are beautiful and its a treat just to walk under the live oaks and through the various green spaces and Victorian homes. If you want nightlife/food that you can walk to, Thunderbolt isn't the place for you. It is very quiet and cute, but only has 2 restaurants that serve lunch and dinner only. If you look through the past reviews, you'll see numerous guests have commented on how much they liked the neighborhood. You can watch gorgeous sunsets on the river from one of the benches. It is a fantastic place to walk the dog(s) or just take an evening stroll and look at some of the lovely 1900s bungalows near the river. I genuinely love it and how quiet it is. It is also very safe. Absolutely no issues in the 4+ years I have opened it to guests.

I love hosting pets and nearly all are amazing. I have not had pet damage in over 6 years of hosting. The pet fee is not to gouge guests - it goes directly to the cleaners and is to make sure they are paid fairly for the significant extra time it takes to get all of pet hair out of the carpets, furniture, and beds and to deep clean the rugs/flooring - it is per night because the longer the stay, the more hours of cleaning needed. If you have a dog breed that doesn't shed, let me know and I am happy to discount the fee.

Simple pet rules: all pets are required to be 100% house trained or their crate should be brought - this is standard at any hotel or Airbnb. If your pet doesn't travel with you much, you may want to bring a crate or playpen for if/when you need to leave them in the home alone, as that tends to be when the damage happens. I'm sure you can understand that I can't rent out a home with the furniture, doors, etc. scratched or chewed by pets, so pet damage will be noted in your public review and you will be responsible for paying for the damage. This is very rare and I hope this heads up is preventing this from happening, as I want everyone with pets to have a great and stress-free experience.

The cancellation policy is strict - I recommend travel insurance. The strict policy is to avoid last minute cancellations and cancellations during peak seasons. I am also able to keep a 5-star rating by giving the cleaner the schedule a month in advance and planning out repairs and improvements that I do myself to the house throughout the year based on when it's empty, so the policy is for a stable schedule. No exceptions.

The home comfortably serves 6 guests - if you would like to have up to 8, the two additional guests would be sleeping on the day bed couches in the living room and there is a $30/per night, per person fee over 6 guests. I don't recommend it - the home will feel crowded, but I'm offering it for folks that would like to save money.

There is a brief check out list: I don't ask guests to do anything with bedsheets or towels - I agree that is way too much. I ask guests to load and start the dishwasher and wash anything that does not fit in the dishwasher, to clean up any trash left in the yard, and to put away things like beach gear and TV remotes.

About the space:

I designed the cottage to be very comfortable and clean and nearly everything is brand new. I built the outdoor shower, the screened in patio, most of the furniture. The cottage incorporates the feel of the nearby beaches and historical downtown Savannah. The cottage is only 960 sq. ft., so please keep that in mind. I have 60+ photos of the cottage to give you a detailed and honest look at the cottage.

Indoor Space:
All of the beds are brand new gel memory foam mattresses with soft linens. All three bedrooms have a 32" HD Roku TVs and the living room has a 50" Roku HD TV. The house has high speed WiFi. Bedroom one has a king bed with and office desk and chair. Bedroom two has a king bed. Bedroom three has two twin beds. There are dressers, nightstands with reading lamps, outlets for easy phone charging, many hangers in every bedroom. There are towels, hand towels, and face towels for every person in the hallway linen closet and a brand new washer and dryer with detergent and dryer sheets provided to wash anything you need. A full set of linens, blankets, and pillows are provided with every bed and extras are in the bedroom closets and laundry room.

The kitchen has the following amenities: large fridge with ice maker, microwave, dishwasher, many pots and pans of various sizes, electric coffee maker, french press, coffee bean grinder, small single-person blender, electric tea kettle, full knife set, baking pans, measuring bowls and spoons, tupperware, pizza pan, baking pans, and many other smaller items. Please feel free to contact me for questions about specific items. It has what you need to cover cooking basic meals, but is not a chef's kitchen and has no special equipment for seafood or gourmet meals.

The full bath has a walk-in shower and hand soap, conditioner, shampoo, and body wash are provided. The half bath is newly remodeled and has outlet for hair dryers and space and shelving for getting ready. Paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, dog bowls, and dog treats are all provided.

Outdoor Space:
The backyard is the best. I built a screened in patio with a metal roof for listening to the rain. It has a handmade 6-person dining set and 2 rocking chairs. There is space for a few people to do yoga. Two hammocks for enjoying the peaceful backyard. The backyard is very large and fully fenced with a new 6-ft privacy fence. There is a brand new outdoor shower for rinsing off after beach days or just enjoying a shower outdoors. The house has neighbors on both sides.

Driveway: One vehicle can fit under carport and three others can fit in driveway. Lawn parking is also okay for over 4 vehicles. I cannot guarantee that there is nothing in the yard that could puncture a tire. The neighborhood does not allow street parking, even partial, and enforces it, so all vehicles must fit in the driveway, even if having friends or family over. You are also welcome to park your boat or RV in the driveway or in the front yard, but they have to be under 25 ft, because any longer will not fit in the yard or driveway. I'm sorry, but no semi trucks, school buses, or other types commercial vehicles are allowed. There is a large, vacant parking lot only a 2 min. walk from the house that I can recommend to you where you can park a commercial vehicle.

Extras Provided:
3 yoga mats, beach towels for 6, beach umbrellas for 6, beach chairs for 6, coffee, creamers, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in both outdoor and indoor showers, poop bags, dog treats, and a Savannah guide book with many brochures and travel maps.