We have been renting houses for vacation from Home Away for over 5 years now and this is one of my favorite houses so far. The owner was there upon our arrival and gave us a tour of the house and stated that we can call anytime during our stay if needed. The house was/is BEAUTIFUL! The pictures do not do it justice. The property was very clean and had many updates. We did not need anything. The pool area at night was so magical I felt like I was in a fairy tale. We spent every evening in the outside dinning area playing cards and board games. She had clean towels for us for the bathrooms and the pool. I can not say anymore great things about this property! The house was great and the town of Pine Bush was also great! As we were leaving the owner came by and asked if there was anything that she could change/update that would’ve made our stay even better. I’ve never had a property owner ask me that before. She was a pleasure to deal with and I highly recommend this property to anyone looking to find a relaxing getaway. Thank you Irena for a wonderful experience! Julie

When another rental fell through, we went back to our original search criteria of: pool, dog friendly, and within 2 hours of NYC. Boy did we luck out! Our family was lucky enough to spend a little over a month up at the Lavender Estates in the summer of 2017. The Stone house is a really unique property, with several amenities we took full advantage of. We spent nearly every day out by the pool, and every evening cooking on the grill and dining outside. The owners of the property put a lot of effort into the character of the house and grounds. There’s an herb garden on the side which they suggest you raid for cocktails, there’s a bountiful basket of pool towels by the back door, and mood lighting in all the outdoor table spaces, of which there are four. Grill tools and propane are provided, as are a variety of coffee preparation options. Nearly everything was there and waiting for us and the guests we had visit. Speaking of which, there are three bedrooms upstairs, with one containing some very unique artwork that has to be seen to be believed. The house is located around 15 minutes from the downtown area of Crawford, which has a farmers market on Saturdays, a good sized Hannaford grocery store, tasty breakfast sandwiches at Holeshot Eatery, two separate ice cream stands and great craft beers with equally great food at Crawford Craft. I’d imagine it’s obvious that we enjoyed our stay and would never hesitate to return, but if there’s one more thing I can say to sway you, it’s the thing I’ll miss the most. Smart toilet. I bet you’re checking if your dates are available right now, aren’t you?

We spent 2 weeks in the summer of 2017 at Lavender Hill Estate. The house, the grounds, the owners – all are amazing, one of a kind. Every morning we would go for a walk around the meadow – it’s grass slightly swaying in the gentle wind, butterflies on every leaf, bees and grasshoppers and small birds – oh, just beautiful. We spend almost every day by the pool – nice size, heated, surrounded by beautiful flowers. There are many lounge chairs around the pool, couple of tables where we played board games with kids, outdoor shower, full basket of pool towels in the sun room, plenty of sun, but also plenty of shade. There are big lawns in front of the house and near the pool to play ball, badminton, frisbee. The Minnewaska State Park and Sam’s Point Preserve are very close. In the nearby town of Pine Bush – there is a Hannaford supermarket, very nice all-wood playground for kids, farmers market on Saturdays, ice cream cafe. Richard and Irena are great hosts, taking excellent care of their guests. We had a truly wonderful vacation. Thank you, Richard and Irena!

Richard and his wife were so accommodating and made it very easy to coordinate the weekend away. They were incredibly responsive via text or email if we had any questions leading up to or during their stay. There is literally nothing that they did not think of that a guest may want or need during a weekend away. If you are looking for a sterile and modern home where everything is out of a West Elm catalog, this is not the property for you. This home has a lot of character and charm, we loved the decor and you could feel how loved the home is by the owners. The home was about a 5 minute drive from a Hannaford which was really convenient. We spent all our meals eating outside on the gorgeous patio, it felt like we were in Italy! Thank you for a wonderful weekend, cannot wait to come back!

Driving up the driveway through the gate is magical. The stone house and flowers are picture perfect. Every time we drove up to the house I was amazed at how beautiful the property is. The house looks just like the pictures and the owners are super nice. They stay on the property but in another building and the house it’s self feels very secluded. The kitchen is well equipped and when I did need something a quick text to Irena and she would leave it for me in the vestibule. The beds are super comfortable which is my main concern when staying a long time in a place other then my own. The house is over a 100 years old. But the bathrooms were top notch modern and the air conditioner worked beautifully. We enjoyed the pool, the yard, the small hike to the stream and the the beautiful path that around the property. After months in quarantine just sitting on the back porch and watching the wild life flutter over the fields was magical.