Allstar Lodging

Beautiful home and an even better weekend! I would (and have already) recommended this house to friends and family to use again! When booking the trip, the staff was always very friendly in helping to answer all of our questions. Shianna, Carlos, and the rest of their team helped accommodate our large group and we’re always prompt in their responses making sure to follow up when they said they would. This is a beautiful area of Virginia that helps to point out what a great location they really found. I am l looking forward to our stay at «The Majestic View» next year!

My husband and I have rented a few times from Allstar Lodging and each time the process was so easy and they were very up front about their fees. The cabin that we love to rent is always clean and very well stocked with everything we could possibly need. We could not be happier with this company and I do, in fact, recommend them to all my friends. I do find it kind of ironic when I was reading other reviews that gave them a one star that these folks admitted to breaking their rules and bringing more people than they paid for. The cabin that we rent is clearly somebody’s well cared for home that they place in Allstar Lodging’s capable hands. I’m sure the owner’s of these cabins appreciate that they do stand behind them and evict those who abuse these lovely homes. If I were to ever be on the flip side of this business, I know I would trust Allstar to take care of my place as well.

I don’t write reviews often, but our experience was exceptionally bad. Don’t get me wrong — the cabin & location were perfect. But when the management company goes rifling through your stuff, «loses» a watch & earrings, then charges you for a bunch of extras that were not clear in the original paperwork without an itemized list or notice that they would be charging your card — I see no alternative to writing a scathing review.
Avoid these thieves if you value your things, your bank account, or any peace you might have gained from a cabin vacation.
Edit: I’m not sure what party the manager is referring to below in his comment, but it seems there have been several instances of management behaving badly.

Terrible management company. They will charge extra expenses to your card without any notification, and are extremely combative when confronted. They are basically a bunch of crooks. Would never go through them again.

While the cabin itself was nice, management stopped by without notice while we were out and decided to have the cleaning crew come through, resulting in several of our items being misplaced or mistaken as their own property. Took some searching through the cupboards and closets to find all of our missing belongings. Not a pleasant experience and was very stressful.

I would strongly warn against renting through Allstar lodging! During a recent stay at «Heaven on Earth» Allstar decided to evict us for having more folks in the house than was listed on the initial form. However, they made no effort to contact us before the fact to try to work out the issue or discuss the problem. We returned from a lovely day on the river to find all of our belongings strewn on the porch including expensive jewelry, cell phones and hundreds of dollars of food from the fridge. No voice mail or missed call to speak of. Staff was rude and combative and made no effort to engage in conversation upon our return. Worst of all, before we even returned to the cabin, they had charged an additional $ 1,700 to our card not authorized in any way; they did not send us any notification or itemization of the charge, it just showed up on the credit card statement. Luckily, Amex provides excellent customer service and took care of the issue, but this sort of behavior borders criminal. I honestly cannot think of a way they could have handled the situation any more poorly. The fact that they entered our cabin and (man)handled all of our belongings with no attempt to contact us felt incredibly violating. More like «Hell on Earth.»
If you are looking for a cabin in the area, I highly recommend you go with Lion and Crow instead. We have always gone through them in the past and have had wonderful experiences over the past five years, but all of their cabins were booked this time so unfortunately we made the mistake of booking through Allstar. Looking through the reviews, I now see that we clearly are not the only group to have experienced poor treatment and hidden fees charged after the fact and without warning. Definitely won’t do that again!
I see that many other folks have had similar issues with this company over the years (although some don’t come up as «recommended reviews» there are many additional complaints). Since Allstar is a member of the Luray Chamber of Commerce, I would recommend also contacting them with your concerns:

This company manages a wonderful selection of houses. We were SO pleasantly surprised by how well-​stocked the house was when we arrived, how easy check-​in & out was, and generally how perfect the experience was. We were right on the river on the 4^th of July with a hot tub, fire pit, etc– heaven! Additionally, I called a couple times for various reasons and their employees were always really kind and helpful. I can’t quite give them 5 stars because it annoys me how they charge so many add-​ons. What seems initially like a great deal starts adding up– for example, a house that sleeps 10 will be quoted at a price for TWO– and each person after that costs $ 25/​night. That’s a BIG difference– and any electric/​water use does not cost that much, contrary to their stated rationale. It also makes it difficult to compare the prices of houses because some are quoted for two and others for four. Even day guests must pay $ 15/​day. I’m not sure how well-​enforced these things are (no one stopped by while we were there), but the penalty for violating them is in the contract and was steep enough that we didn’t risk it.

Its true, I have experienced better, but I’ve also experience worse. Before this stay I would have given them 3-​stars, but this last stay pushes it to 2-​stars. This is actually the third time I’ve stayed in one of their properties, and some of these issues are repeated from what I observed in earlier stays.
We made them quite a sum of money by getting a group of friends together for the weekend in one of their larger cabins. We mostly played games and cards or went for hikes, we are a bunch of grown, professional men that just wanted an annual weekend away, no hard drinking, partying, etc. I took careful note to pay additional money later when more guys RSVPd. I also paid and extra pet fee as required. They threaten to stop by and check on you so yeah, say what you will about that (imagine a hotel clerk coming up to your room on Saturday and ask to look around your room to make sure you didn’t sneak someone in!)
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Now before I dive into this, let me list the positives first:
–decent website with lots of pictures
–well appointed and comfortable cabins
–simple enough to reserve
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Now for the negatives:
–slow to respond at times, felt like a crapshoot getting them on the phone. Email worked a little better
–they will charge your card for extraneous fees without notifying you first. In my case, it was a week after I left when they charged me another 100 $. I didn’t find out until after the fact
–despite what other posts said, their cleaning crew apparently doesn’t like to do cleaning. I took pictures of main rooms before leaving (because I have had apartment pull that kind of *crap* when moving out), we did all the dishes, took the trash down to the appointed bins (as specified in their lengthy rules posted to the kitchen), we scrubbed the kitchen down, cleaned the grills, other rooms looked fine except for sheets needing washed, etc. .
However, according to their cleaning folks it was «disgusting» and they charged us 100 $ for the cleaning. Wait… isn’t that your cleaning crews job in the first place? So «they» need 100 $ extra to do their job? Again, referencing every other cabin, B&B, hotel, motel I have stayed in, cleaning up the place ourselves isn’t part of the deal… despite the fact that we cleaned the placed up to a standard that exceeded their rules they posted anyways.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that I took pictures of the main rooms, I did not go into every corner of every room, nor did I take pictures of the trash in the trash bins (which they also claimed we didn’t do, but I promise you we did (myself and a friend carried several bags down).
And so it was about a week after I got home that I noticed a charge to my account for 100 $. I contact them and they told me why (aforementioned reasons) but they didn’t tell me this charge was being made until AFTER they already did it.
Anyways, the bottom line (if you made it this far) is that they have quality properties, but the prices you see aren’t the prices you pay. There are hidden and surprise fees, they treat you like a child (threaten all visitors with a surprise inspection? Is this the Army?), their «cleaning crew» apparently can’t clean without extra money (you might as well hire a maid to polish the silverware beforeyou leave, just in case).
Its a shame, because they have a lot of properties in and around the Shenandoahs, but I most likely won’t use them again (I’m sure they could care less too). I’ve stayed in some privately owned properties that were better managed and more importantly– more communicative. Things like surprise charges to my bank account don’t sit well with me. At least a bill of charges, OR an opportunity to dispute would be nice.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY! Our family made reservations to stay in one of the cabins managed by Allstar. Originally, our dogs were going to be joining us, but two months before the trip we decided to leave them at home. When I called to have the Pet Fee refunded they would only refund 75% stating that the other 25% was for their time informing the owners that the pets were not going to be coming. When I brought up their cancellation policy they refused to differentiate between Base Rental Fee and Total Rental Fee saying they were the same, which CLEARLY THEY ARE NOT! There policy is as follows:
CANCELLATION: In the event a Guest wishes to terminate this agreement, the Administration fees are non refundable and 25% of the base rental amount shall be forfeited if the cancellation is made more than 30 days in advance of the arrival date. If cancellation is within 30 days of the arrival date, 100% of the total rental amount shall be forfeited. (This includes cancellation of additional paying guest, pet fees, balance payments or linen fees) Rates are subject to change without notice.
I am upset because I am being charged for services not rendered, and was told that base fee and total fees were the same and we were talking about «semantics». It clearly states on our invoice that the Pet Fee was an «optional fee», and was included in «total fees» according to the cancellation policy. I do not appreciate being taken advantage of, and when I spoke with the manager he was the rudest, most unhelpful person I could have gotten. Please be cautious of this company and their business practices…

River escape was a perfect setting for a relaxing New Years retreat with friends. We rented the cabin for four days and enjoyed the comfortable couch, beds, scenic views, and hot tub. We definitely plan to reserve this space again. The cabin was very clean when we checked in and we experienced no issues with any of the accommodations.

My friends and I have rented the property A Piney Mountain Retreat in Luray through Allstar for two weekends, so far. It is a gorgeous getaway not far from the DC area. It offers family fun for both sunny and rainy days, between the pool, horse shoes court, playground, and game room. The kitchen is well stocked. The beautiful dining room offers a large table that makes it easy for everyone to enjoy meals together. The living room is cozy, with ample seating and is a great place for playing games around the large coffee table. You definitely feel like you are away from the hustle and bustle, yet the décor of the house is a notch above most of the other cabins we have stayed in. It feels like a bit of luxury out in the country. It’s hard to mention everything this cabin has to offer in a short review — the large hot tub, the fire-​pit, multiple outdoor seating options, etc. — as it pretty much covers everything you could want/​need and then some! We love this cabin and recommend it highly to large families or big groups of friends looking for a fun weekend away.

3.5 stars for Allstar Lodging: (as with any contract) you really need to read the fine print on their contracts so you know what the expectations are, AND WHAT THE POTENTIAL FEES ARE, before signing.
Husband and I have spent a lot of time in rustic, basic, non-​modernized PATC cabins since our good friend has a membership and is kind enough to let us tag along; but for Memorial Day weekend we were all looking for something modernized (read: with A/​C in order to combat the lovely Virginia summer weather). We used Allstar Lodging to find a great little cabin for the six of us, right on the edge of the charming Shenandoah River. It was super simple to find a cabin we liked through the Allstar website, which is well-​constructed and easy to navigate. There’s a ton of pictures of each of their 100+ rental properties to help you make your selection.
The property we picked was great and had all the modern conveniences of your own home: fully-​equipped kitchen, full entertainment system (which we didn’t plan on using, but ended up using when it rained one afternoon, and we were so grateful for the DVD collection and player!), A/​C, etc. It was also fully stocked with linens, games, puzzles, books, a canoe, kayaks, innertubes, croquet, badminton, basketball, a hammock, and a kick-​ass firepit.
The best part about using Allstar is that a cleaning crew comes in before you and after you, unlike with the PATC cabins where you’re solely responsible for the cleaning of the property! When you show up everything is spotless and welcoming.
Our only complaint about Allstar Lodging was the misleading pricing. The cabins are listed with a «daily» rental price, but then additional fees sneakily get piled on top of the initial prices, so you end up paying way more than you expected. We thought we’d be paying about $ 500 total for the cabin for three days. We ended up paying close to $ 900: we were charged extra for having 6 people in the cabin (while the cabin is listed as accommodating 6 people, you’re only allowed 2 and everyone else is $ 50 extra); we were charged extra for each of 2 dogs brought along.
And on top of the initial extra fees, you’re threatened with a ton more should you violate any rental rules liiiiiike: leaving your trash in the trash can or rearranging furniture. If you have people over during the day, you owe $ 15 per person, and they have to leave by 10 pm. The rental agent also «threatens» that they’ll stop by unannounced to check on how many people are at the cabin, and if you’re over, you’ll be charged for each visitor!
It’s so much to keep track of. We figured that the agency/​cabin owners have been burned by rowdy or stupid renters who did major damage to some of the cabins, hence the laundry list of rules. We also figured we would rent from Allstar and see how it went — if they «stopped by» to spy on us, we’d never rent again. If they didn’t, we’d most likely rent again. They never popped in. Thank goodness, because they would have discovered we’d set up a meth lab in the canoe shed and were raising roosters to sell on the backwater black-​market of underground Appalachian cockfighting.
We’ll use Allstar again. With our eyes open this time, tho!