The trip started out with 45 minutes of trying to find the front gate due to confusing instructions from the owner. I struggled to get into the house due to tough gates and worn-out front door and had to call the owner each time to clarify how to handle the gates/door. The owner DID NOT explain how the roads from the main highway to the house are beyond treacherous and require a large car. I have a compact car and off-roading skills but would NEVER have brought my car up knowing that the road was that treacherous. I had to drive 5 mph and still had $400 of damage to the bottom of car due to scraping from the horrible road. From the highway, it took 40 minutes to get to the house and it was horrible listening to my car knowing that the road was too thin to turn around. I would never have rented this property knowing how far from the main highway and in the middle of nowhere this was. Upon arrival at the house, the house was old and not well maintained. I could tell that the cleaning service had done a great job with what they had but the condition of most furniture, beds, sheets, was not up to rental standard because they were worn out. The screen door to the backyard was broken. The quality of the house, rooms, etc. was not clear in the photos. I was shocked upon entering the house and immediately regrated the booking. It was my friend’s first time in Elgin, and I felt bad that their first experience was not a good one. I was not a happy camper and traveling back and forth on that road was awful. I tried to reach out to the owner again to go over things since the service/WIFI was so choppy but did not get a response back. It was freezing outside, the heat did not work, and the hot water was nonexistent. We were not able to shower due to no hot water. Luckily it was a short stay. For heating, they also had a very old-fashioned stove (not a fireplace) that you heat up with chips, and no instructions were provided. We struggled to figure this out but upon lighting what was already in the stove, the house filled with smoke. We, therefore, gave up and had to layer clothes and freeze for the duration of our stay. Upon check out, you have this LONG list of chores required before you leave which includes taking trash to the trash bin on the main highway which again is about a 45-minute journey on a treacherous road. We left the place clean and followed all check-out instructions, but I will not be returning to this property again.