[Muncle]

I know this is very unlikely to happen, however . . . my first winter here, I rented a villa for some visitors. I was a total virgin in this type of deal and contacted one of the many realtors for help. I arranged a patio villa close to my home at a rather exorbitant price (problem was I needed only one week in January --- that's when everyone wants to rent by the month). When we went to the place, it had obviously never been occupied. No cable yet installed. Several pieces of furniture and stuff missing (no night stands, one bar stool, no coffee pot, probably some other stuff and the phone was not connected). When we eventually reached the rental company, they agreed, after many many excuses, to put them in a different villa about 5 miles away. This one was okay except one of the smoke alarms started beeping the first night. For three days, we complained about it. Finally they returned one day to find a fresh(?) battery on the counter. Not installed, just sitting on the counter. And, of course, there was no ladder to reach the smoke detector. And it took over 2 months to get the deposit back.

Next time I have a similar situation, they're staying in the new hotel. Much nicer and actually cheaper.