the fantasy biz

I am in the fantasy business. I sell golden summer days and happy families and sex to the sound of the waves. I sell long walks with your lab on the beach and lobster dinners and castles in the sand. I do not sell sunburns and cobwebs and broken outdoor faucets and grills with starter buttons that don't work and doorknobs that fall off and scraped floors and rainy days and squabbling children. Over the course of a season, all of those things happen. But given even one transcendent moment, everyone who books a Block Island rental will remember only the good and come back for more.
     Because everyone's in the fantasy business.

now renting block island

Truth in promotion. There is a very funny slide show showing the difference between hotel rooms as seen in brochures and on websites and the rooms as they look in reality. You can see it here. The message seems to be that you should portray things a little more realistically so that when travelers get there they are not disappointed. I looked for reviews about Block Island stays on Trip Advisor, but they seem to have mostly hotels and restaurants listed. No feedback on Block Island rental houses.

     Claudia tells all: Yes, I do pimp the place out for a photo shoot. I put flowers around or a bowl of steamers that are not there. I shoot the beach out front on a sterling day (above) that doesn't require photoshopping. I suppress the road in the views. And "cozy," as most people know, means small. But on the other hand, you can see warts and all in the home movies of Claudia's and Hannah's. Finally, I decided that if anything, the places are better than advertised. People realize how very few houses in Block Island are on the beach and come back, again and again.