Third Coast Vacations — Attraction in New Buffalo

We had an absolutely horrific time staying at Ferris House (14438 Spring Creek Dr New Buffalo, MI) from 9/5/25-9/7/25. Upon check in the upstairs bathroom water was shut off, the maintenance worker turned it back on for us (red flag #1) we arrived at the house around 4pm and by 10pm started having congestion & sneezing. On 9/6/25 we noticed mold and water leaking from the basement ceiling, below the upstairs bathroom. The property manager/ maintenance was not concerned since we were ‘leaving the next day’. By the morning of checkout I was in respiratory distress. Photographed: moldy basement ceiling, stain that resembled blood on pillow case, moldy basement shower. Things not photographed: shower and bathroom sink that would not drain, smoke detector with no batteries installed loosely hanging off the basement bedroom ceiling. My husband reached out to the rental company, I reached out to the rental company, and another guest reached out to the rental company… we have not heard anything back. I spoke with Leanne Penny, she was extremely rude and short on the phone. She told me she would ‘look into this’ and hung up on me without getting my name or telephone number. Thank goodness this was an adults only trip, I cannot imagine if my children would have been exposed to this dangerous environment! From the condition of the property to the customer service, everything was a nightmare. I followed up with this company again after receiving medical attention. Leanne Penny answered the phone, once again she was rude and nasty. If I would have been speaking with her in person I would have been in fear. Leanne Penny was extremely harsh, hostile and aggressive over the phone. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and say there’s a possibility she was stressed out by the responsibility of having to answer the company phone, but after the two horrible calls I fear this is how they want their company...

I will preface this with this was not our preferred property, we were 'moved' to it -- which I agreed to -- when the initial property was unexpectedly unavailable 3-days before our arrival as it was this or not take the trip.

The property itself was dirty. Nearly all linens had a scalp smell and I sent the property manager photos of filthy, stained towels. What's more, the first floor shower did not drain, so I had to order Drain-o via DoorDash in order to clear the clog as it was disgusting. As if this weren't enough, the first floor bathroom had a leak under the sink which we constantly had to clean up and smelled heavily of mold. To the point 4 people separately and independently made the comment.

The coffee pot was cracked, so our first pot ended up all over the counter which we had to clean, and there was virtually no kitchen towels or paper towels. So we had to DoorDash that, too. There were also nearly no utensils or cooking gear. If you're sensing a theme, we DoorDashed plastic cutlery and wine glasses since there were maybe enough of the latter to serve 6 people, even though the rental slept 12.

To be fair, the property manager did send over a functional coffee pot which a very friendly young man dropped off, but the point is for the amount charged for a cleaning fee, I expect these things to be identified BEFORE we arrive.

When we moved to this property, I was clear the priority was a hot tub. Guess what? It was warm at best. I asked the property manager what could be done, no reply, so we had no hot tub.

People were pissed, and I looked like an idiot.

Horrible stay -- and again, perhaps I was indisposed to thinking this because it was not my preferred property -- and would not ever use Third Coast again and definitely never, ever stay at...

The only reason I gave one star is location and fire pit area. I booked this beer church (now hideaway) bungalow as a VRBO then it was sold to third coast vacations. The transfer process was positive and they matched the cost. I was hopeful! It was very apparent no one walked through the home prior to us renting. You could tell they spent the least amount of money possible to upkeep the house. The sheets/pillows had lots of hair on them like they were not washed. I went out and bought a blanket and changed the sheets with ones clean in the closet. It was infested with flies. Both big black in the kitchen and fruit flies in the bathroom. To the point where we did not cook. I killed around 15 black flies on Friday at check-in. We hoped that was all, and thought maybe the home was empty so there were some flies. We left Saturday for shopping and came back to another 15-20 black flies in the kitchen. Called the emergency line and she said they would send maintenance out...after dinner, still flies and no follow up call. Not sure anyone even came to the house. Kept bedroom doors shut and did our best to just not be home. Crumbs and sticky drink rings on tables. The blinds were completely broken on the large bay window and all traffic could see right in which was very creepy at night for a group of women. We stacked pillows to block the open areas. Tape on screens. The trundle bed handles were broken making it difficult to pull out as well as missing handles on furniture. Lightbulbs out all over living room some being completely empty with no bulb. Disaster of a stay, and all I wanted was quality time with my family and a break from being a mom in a comfortable space. I can't believe we paid...