We recently held a family reunion at Anthony’s Big House with 17 adults and 3 small children. The house was just perfect for us. The kitchen is well stocked with dishes, appliances (including toaster oven, toaster and waffle maker kept in the pantry) and pots and pans, but could use a few more drinking glasses. The dining room has a large table with benches plus a couple additional drop-leaf tables for extra space. The main living room is very dark – there are no overhead lights- but since we were blessed with perfect weather, we spent most of our time outdoors and on the great screened-in porch. The “dormitory” room upstairs was roomy with 2 double beds and 2 twins with trundle pull-outs. The upstairs bathroom is very nice and modernized. Plus, the dormitory’s air conditioner worked great to cool the entire space. One of the downstairs bedrooms contains a bunk bed, not two twins, and is very small. The other bedrooms were spacious, especially the “primary” bedroom. One nice amenity not mentioned in the home’s description is that all the downstair bedrooms (except the bunk bed room) have doors to the outdoor patio at the front of the house, as well as doors into the interior hallway.
The firepit is gorgeous. We had to buy our own wood and some of the wooden Adirondack chairs are dangerously falling apart. The yard is spacious and we found a treasure trove of lawn games in the garage (where there is also a second fridge and freezer – very helpful for a large group). The dock is in beautiful condition, and the beach is shale stone which is very flat and rounded, so easy to walk on. Plus, there is an enormous grass front yard, perfect for frisbee, croquet, etc. The entire setting of this home is gorgeous.
Garbage from the previous renters had not been picked up, and animals had gotten into it and made a mess around the garbage shed. We contacted the owners and the garbage was cleaned up on the next work day (unfortunately for us, that was 3 days after our arrival).
Be aware that the nearest town for shopping and dining is Penn Yan, about 20 minutes away and gas stations are rare between Watkins Glen and Penn Yan.
Thank you, Anthony family, for sharing this terrific home. We had a wonderful time and are already talking about when we might visit again!