Moondance Vacation Homes

We have stayed with Moondance the past two Novembers celebrating our wedding anniversary and we have reserved the same location already for this year too!
«The Guesthouse» is a comfortable «home away from home» on several wooded acres within just a few minutes from downtown Nashville. One of the very few cabins in the area offering a king size bed — it’s a comfortable night’s rest! Great size for the 2 of us and would also work well for 2 couples or a family of up to 4.
The property has 3 small ponds and walking areas through the woods, wooded view, hot tub & grill on the back deck, fire place and (even with two other rentals on the same property) feels very secluded. Nice to quietly sit in the hot tub and listen to the wildlife or pull in from a day in town to see deer just inside the tree line alongside the driveway. Glad to have this Mini-​Gatlinburg Get-​away only an hour from home!

We stayed at the condo on the Salt Creek golf course… forget which unit it was. As there were 2 of us, there was way much more room than we needed, so we sure didn’t feel crowded. My only complaints are about as minor as it gets. It could use a bit of an upgrade in cookware. Maybe most people don’t really use the kitchen facilities much, but we cooked in for every meal. Having brought some crusty bread, we could have used a bread knife, but got by. So, I really have to be picky to find any problems.
When we got there, the room code didn’t work, but a quick call to their office and I was provided a code that worked. We stayed 3 nights over New Year’s weekend. It may have been the quietest New Year’s I’ve had. Didn’t hear a noise from neighbors, or the bar/​restaurant just across the parking lot.
Got to spend a day walking around Nashville when it was over-​crowded. I’d have no issues with staying there again.

NEVER AGAIN… we rent a cabin every year in Brown county for NYE and this is the last time with Moondance… very bad experience for the second year in a row. Algae cover hot tub… Unkept, dirty, locations and not willing to give appropriate reimbursement for the problems… and the $ 50 so called deposit is actually a fee and non-refundable…NEVER AGAIN… also look at moondance vacation homes on Unilocal… different address but same bad company…

So, we arrived around three at our cabin, SongBird for New Year’s Eve and started to check it over. The hot tub had 3−4″ thick long strands of algae coming out of the jets, filter was absolutely covered, and the return was just all green/​brown with algae. The management did immediately send someone to look; they left after stating they didn’t bring the pump. So, we waited and waited. No call or follow-​up. I spoke to Eric and he stated it’s NYE and I’m not having someone working on it tonight. They’ll be there tomorrow. The man came around 10 and had it filled and «cleaned» by 11:30 a.m. Stated it should be warm in three hrs at 30 degrees winter temp outside. The hot tub finally reached 102 at 11:15 p.m. on the last night.
Needless to say, we could have stayed at our friend’s house in the hills of NE Indy for free without a hot tub. Renting this cabin or this company is pointless – as we know from staying in Brown County EVERY NYE –Most things are closed on Jan. 1^st. You’re in Brown County for New Year’s to enjoy a cabin experience. The refund given on the $ ⁵⁴⁰⁄₂ night stay for the 2 bedroom was only $ 150.00…not acceptable.
You might want to ask for a map of the «trails» across the street or if they still own it, as it’s for sale. The gate to the trails was locked shut.
By the way, the «DEPOSIT» is NON-refundable…Not a deposit, but a FEE and it should be listed as a fee not a deposit.
Additionally, I now see that they also manage a place that we had problems with last year and also have pics. We were not the people that booked, so we did not get involved with review/​complaint. But, the FARM had «lady bugs» everywhere in the upstairs bedrooms where they weren’t vacuumed and mold in the bathroom. Plus, many other maintenance issues.

I want to start this review by saying I love Moondance. I have stayed in most of their cabins, and loved them all. This review is for the big sky cabin specifically.
The entire cabin is gorgeous. I was told by the maintenance man that it was originally built as someone’s residence. As a result, the entire place is of better quality than you’d expect to find in a rental cabin. The counters are nice granite, the fixtures are all high quality. The floor plan is very open, which makes the cabin feel even bigger than it really is. There is a super comfy sectional in the living area. And the kitchen is amazing. A huge sink and top of the line appliances are just a few of the things we enjoyed. It’s big enough for several people to use at once. And between the dining table and counter, there are enough seats for 10 people.
The basement is probably where you will spend your time. There is a pool table, ping pong, and an air hockey table. But the best part is the bar. Complete with fridge and sink, it is really very nice. There is a tv behind the bar as well as one on the opposite wall. There is also a bedroom with king bed and bathroom downstairs.
The master suite is lovely. The king bed has a comforter on it that feels like a cloud. The master bath has a shower with a waterfall head, a handheld sprayer, and side jets. There is also a door to the patio in the master bath. This comes in super handy because you can get out of the hot tub and go right back into the bathroom to change.
Both of the upstairs bedrooms have two queen beds in them. There is also a loft with a leather sofa and a pub table. There is a full bathroom upstairs as well.
I could go on about this place for days, but it still won’t do it justice. So go see for yourself.

We stayed in the Sunset House over Thanksgiving weekend. For the price we paid, I expected a whole lot more. Here is a list of all the things that were disappointing:
1. The driveway is steep and the leaves looks like they had not been raked all year. This was the first sign of neglect. Read on to see more.
2. The beds were lumpy and uncomfortable. We were upstairs when we heard my cousin hop into the downstairs and loudly groan. No one got much sleep the whole weekend
3. The middle of the second day we were there, water starting pouring in on the second floor, soaked the rug and nearly ruined some of our things. The poor maintenance guy was apparently running from house to house all weekend because they are all in such bad shape
4. We were excited about the location because we were told it was going to be walking distance from the cabin our family had rented. Turns out we were lied to, this was a 15 minute DRIVE away.
5. It was freezing so we went to turn on the gas fireplace and it was out of gas
6. We were told the wifi had been cut off about a week before we arrived so the owners could save money (no refund was offered)
Overall, the place was severely neglected and the rental property seemed to respond only when there was a dire crisis (aka, water dripping all over the carpet from an innocuous leak). Don’t waste your time on these properties, they are overpriced and under appreciated by their owners and the rental company.

Rented two houses for a weekend family celebration. Our rental experience was a disaster.
House 1 — Loretta
Rented this large house as the primary family location, we were all especially excited about the large hot tub. Arrived and it looked like the thing hadn’t been cleaned in weeks. It was empty of water, covered in dirt and leaves, and broken. Called immediately to have it fixed, and no one showed up for a day (apparently the heat was out in another house and needed repair. Hey — at least our heat was working). The thing was still not fixed by the time we left on Sunday. The house also had a ladybug infestation issue. Not a huge problem, as we were in a forested area and you have to expect these things, but somewhat gross to find them on the pillows when you woke up.
House 2 — Sunset
This was our TRUE nightmare. The house was at the top of a very steep mud driveway covered with leaves and potholes. Thanks goodness it didn’t rain — I’m not sure we would have been able to get to the house with the car. The WiFi was not working, the gas in the house for the fireplaces wasn’t working, the remotes to the TV weren’t working, 2 of the 3 mattresses in the rooms were so bad we could barely sleep on them, there was no soap for the shower, and last, but certainly not least, the basement bedroom flooded, soaking our things. The poor repair guy came directly from the broken hot tub in Loretta to fix the flood. Said it was the 3^rd time in a month this had happened.
That repair guy deserves a major raise, as it appears he’s the only one to deal with all the regular problems that arise from Moondance cabins.
Soaps, towels, and quality of linens reminded me of a hostel. It’s clear this rental group is just about making money on the least amount of investment. With all the issues, they finally agreed to a 14% discount on the rental of the homes (oh — and a 10% discount on future rentals — as if that will EVER happen). As a regular vacation home renter, this was an unacceptable situation — both from the accommodations provided to the tiny discount remedy.
We will NEVER rent from Moondance again, and this post serves as my civic duty to anyone else considering renting from them. DON’T DO IT.

Wish I would have read these reviews before booking with Moondance. Lesson learned. We stayed at their rental called The Farm. The house is in poor condition and very outdated. The internet did not work. We called the office and the problem was never resolved. The kitchen table chairs had broken arms and backs. The photos online do NOT match what was actually in the house. The refrigerator was rusted and the burners on the stove partially worked. The oven did get warm but not hot. The Christmas tree in the living room was a nice touch for the end of January. A lot of fabreeze sort of masked the old musty/​dirty smell of the home.
There was one plus. The hot tub worked.
We also would like to find a good rental company in the brown county area. It’s too bad this will not be the one.

Me and my sisters rented HeartStone cabin ⁹⁄₂₀₁₂ from Moondance and were so disappointed. We had rented Rancho Valle and a couple of others prior to this and they were always great. Not this one though…
Mouse poop in the silverware drawer, among the dishes, our one roll of paper towels was chewed up by mice. The dish towels were more like rags. Dead bugs in the window sills, BBQ grill unusable, no outside lighting, one of the bedrooms was in the basement… that was a surprise. We would have never booked this knowing one of the bedrooms was in the basement and the sliding glass doors had flimsy locks.
Moondance brought a new grill and rigged the umbrella to stay open but didn’t address the other issues. Oh wait, they did leave a vacuum I guess for me to vacuum up the mouse poop and the bugs… not happening.
We paid for three days but left after two days, I left a message with Moondance but they never contacted me. I sent them a letter and still no contact from them… Never again will I go through Moondance Vacation Rentals.

We picked Moondance for an anniversary weekend getaway out in Brown County. We stayed in the Rancho Valle house, which was absolutely perfect for the two of us but could also accommodate a much larger group. This house had 4 bedrooms, and they have other properties that are even larger. While I can only speak for Rancho Valle, I imagine the other properties are just as immaculate.
This house provided an excellent view across 3 small lakes and into a valley overlooking part of the Yellowwood state forest. This view was accessible all throughout the house, as well as from the jacuzzi outside and the 2 patios. The jacuzzi and pool table were great amenities to have, and were both top quality (rather than the cheapest brand just to get something in place and say that they have it like some rentals).
The house was in close proximity to Nashville, Indiana for shopping (about 10 minutes away), Brown County state park, and Yellowwood state forest for plenty of outdoor activities.
Doug at Moondance was great to work with.
In all, everything about this stay was perfect. The house was gorgeous, clean, and the location and views were great. If you are looking for a good getaway and want to try Brown County, give this home a shot. We will be going back!
The Unilocal listing is quite sparse right now, so in the meantime check out their URL