The Cabins at the Kona Mansion Inn

Recently, my family had a reunion/birthday party at the Kona Mansion Inn in Center Harbor, New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee. My wife and I have four children, and it was determined that the cabins on the lake would accommodate our family better than the rooms in the mansion.

The cabins were set down the hill from the inn, just off the lake. The area had a secluded feel because of the dirt road that they were off of, but in all reality they were only a few hundred feet from houses that probably cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000. Hailing from upstate New York and having spent many nights in tents in the woods, the location didn't bother me, but for my wife, a Long Island native, it was a little too out there for her.

From the outside, our cabin looked like it could be blown down by a strong wind. Never the less, we decided to give it a shot. We were warned ahead of time that the cabins were a bit "rustic," but I think that someone may have forgotten to tell the staff at the Kona that there is a difference between rustic and rundown.

As I stepped into the cabin, I had a very open mind, if only because I had no idea what it was costing. The door had been left unlocked, so I did a quick run through to make sure that the building was empty and then I brought the family in.

My youngest daughter ran over the rolling floors of the cabin (which fluctuated in height by about twelve inches) with her arms out to keep her balance as if she were running down hill. My son, always the explorer, flung open the bathroom door only to have a window with a broken latch fall in and hit him in the head.

I slowly walked through the cabin trying to absorb the fact that this was where we would be spending our vacation. The kitchen windows wouldn't close because the building had settled so far that the frames were no longer anywhere close to being square. The discolored coffee machine was so disgusting that I would probably resort to waking up and drinking a nice tall glass of bear urine before I would drink coffee brewed in this kitchen. The carpets were so filthy that I could not imagine my one and three year olds playing on the floor.

Then, my youngest daughter turned on the gas stove. She did this twice in five minutes because the stove did not have a safety, a feature that became standard on gas stoves in the mid-seventies. Realizing that she would probably burn down the cabin before our stay was over, I started to evaluate the cabin for safety. Walking the rolling floors where someone was doomed to fall and hit their head, I noticed a big hole in the floor that was covered by tightly stretched carpet. This was a twisted ankle waiting to happen. Then, I checked out the bathrooms. Both toilets were positioned in tight corners between the wall and the exposed plumbing of the shower meaning that if anyone used the toilet after someone took a shower, they could easily burn themselves on the hot water pipe.

Gazing out the front window of the cabin, at the garbage-filled fire pit where we had planned to make s'mores, I tried to decide what to do. The accommodations were filthy and I was afraid that one of the kids was going to get hurt, but I didn't want to start an uproar in the family. I decided that I needed to find out what this cabin was costing.

Expecting to hear $35 to $40 a night, I was floored to learn that it was costing $180 a night. Basically, the cabins were $540 per week, but seeing as how we were only staying for three nights, it worked out to $180 a night. Upon learning this, we had our reservation moved to the inn, which was better, but not much better.