Notes from the host
Meraki on the Rainbow
Meraki: Greek: "That which is done w/ passion; from the soul", how we planned and prepared Meraki for you. Directly on the Rainbow River - 4.5 miles of crystal clear water with more wildlife than you can imagine. Meraki isn't a typical "essentials only" vacation rental property. You will find it more like going to your place on the river. Spices, condiments, coffee, sugar, flour, rice, cereal - they're all there. Canoe / Kayaks / Paddles / Life Vests / Whistles (required on the river) / Horseshoes / Corn Hole Game - All provided. We used to provide tubes and floats but our insurance company nixed that! Meraki provides a pet friendly ($100 Non-Refundable Pet Fee) alternative to our first Rainbow River vacation rental (Pet Free Chimera: www.vrbo.com/730878). (Maintenance costs are higher at a pet-friendly property.) Meraki is designed and stocked to be especially suited for family or company gatherings.
Two breezeway connected structures for a total of 2,529 sf: The Communal Kitchen / Great Room sports a Large Modern Kitchen / Peninsula Counter / Dining Table, Large Family Entertainment Center, plus one (1) set of two (2) Adult Bunk Beds, one (1) Day Bed, and a small Bath Room w/ Shower. The Bedroom House is 2-stories w/ 4 Bedrooms (two Masters), 3 Baths, Kitchenette w/ Mini-Fridge, Microwave, Coffee Maker, and Bar Counter & Sink (used to be a small kitchen), and a small Entertainment Center. (Lets some guests turn in early while the party animals make all the racket they want to next door.)
Our large Communal Kitchen / Great Room is especially suited for family or friends to congregate and watch TV while Mama cooks as only she can do. Four-legged family members are welcome; Meraki is Pet-Friendly; a Pet Fee applies. Directly on the Rainbow River - Meraki sleeps fifteen (15) in beds and sleeps more on large couches. See Rental Rates and Fees, below.
The Vrbo system doesn't calculate the 4-6 Night Mulit-Night Discounts, so we edit the reservation for them after it is made.
Special sanitizing protocols are employed at both our properties; masks, gloves, antibacterial hand soap and dishwashing soap, and extra sanitizing agent are all provided for your use during your stay.
Inquire for Multiple-Night Discounts for stays of more than two (2) nights. We have to manually input correct rates, so the rates you see displayed when you input your number of nights are overstated for stays of three (3) or more nights. When you Inquire, we edit the quote to reflect a Discounted Rate for stays of more than three (3) nights. See a complete Schedule of Rates w/ Multiple Night Discounts at the bottom of this section.
Meraki is an "Old Florida" style property, remodeled to be modern, clean and comfortable, fully equipped, and provides plenty of space for spreading out. Everyone can gather in the Communal Kitchen / Great Room to cook, eat, watch movies, or just chill. Teenagers with their own movie preferences can hang out at their own Entertainment Center in the Main House.
No dock at Meraki: We tried to replace the rotted dock there when we purchased the property, but the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has a new rule for the Rainbow River that requires new docks to be built five (5) feet above the average high water line, which is about six (6) feet above the surface of the water. This would result in a totally non-functional dock. Meraki is directly on the Rainbow River for swimming, fishing, snorkeling, launching the canoe and kayaks or your tubes or floats. Also, Meraki sports a large sandy, gently sloping river bottom perfect for toddlers (supervised, of course).
The large fire pit close to the water's edge has chairs and a bench for sitting and watching the wildlife and just chilling. Fish, Anhingas, ducks, turtles, owls, eagles, wood storks, and otters are frequent visitors. Bring your rods, live bait, and your Florida fishing license for some of the best bass fishing in Florida! Children with poles, small hooks, and bread can catch bream all day long.
Meraki is the most recently purchased of our two Rainbow River properties, but already has more than fifty (50) 5-Star Reviews. To further see how we pamper our guests, see our original Rainbow River property, "Chimera on the Rainbow", 1.8 miles down river from Meraki (www.vrbo.com/730878). Chimera has over one hundred fifty (150) Reviews, almost all of which are 5-Star as well. Chimera has a Custom Bar, a Game Room w/ Table Shuffleboard / Arcade Basketball Net / 60-Game Arcade Game Machine including PacMan / and a Juke Box w/ genre hits from the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's.
Guests from both houses cooperate providing free river access and exit privileges; you don't have the pay the county $25 to use their tube and enter the water. (They don't let you use your own.) Our guests don't experience this because you can float from upriver Meraki to downriver Chimera, about an hour and a half drift, or float another hour and a half to the bridge at Swampy's w/o paying the county anything!. Meraki guests can leave a car at Chimera, drift there, and drive back to Meraki. Chimera guests can get dropped off at Meraki and float home to Chimera!
Chimera: 18531 SW 108th Pl Meraki: 9585 SW 190th Ave Road
Dunnellon, FL 34432 Dunnellon, FL 34432
US US
Summer Reservations book a year in advance. Preferred holiday dates go pretty quickly also, so booking early is necessary. A large percentage of our current reservations are returning guests.
Rental Rates and Fees:
2-3 Nights $394/night
4-6 Nights $379/night (Inquire for this discount...)
7 Nights & More $364/night
Monthly** $7,500 (Oct - Apr Only)
* + Extra Guest Charge of $25/night/number of overnight guests more than ten (10); Children ages six (6) and under are wecome but not counted.
* + $20/day/daytime visitor - Daytime Visitors must leave by 7:00 pm.
* 4-6 Night Rate will apply to Reservations for eight (8) to fourteen (14) days but include more than two (2) Weekend Days. Weekend Days are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
* Meraki has an RV Electric Connection – no water or sewer. No RV Fee, but all RV guests count as house overnight guests.
* + $200 Cleaning Fee
Taxes: Rent, Cleaning Fee, and Event Fee, if applicable, are subject to 11% Tax (7% State of Florida Sales Tax & 4% Marion County Bed Tax)
**Monthly Rate: Subject to availability; Only for stays beginning 1st of the month Oct– Apr; Extra Guest Rate and Daytime Visitor Rate does not apply. Contact Owner
Holiday Rates: We don't increase rates for Holidays, but:
– Multi-Night Discounts do not apply, and...
– Holidays have a Minimum Four (4) Night Stay.
Holidays are Rental Dates that include any of the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any day immediately before or after one of these days.
Holiday Rates: We don't increase the basic rate for holidays, but holidays have a four (4) Night Minimum and above multiple night discounts don’t apply. Holidays are Rental Dates that include New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and any day immediately before or after one of these days.
Online Booking – Rates: Holiday Rates and Multiple-Night Discounts do not adjust in the Online Listing Sites and will be manually adjusted following inquiry.
There are several very nice golf courses in the area.
Horseback Riding: If you want to have a little diversion from river fun and do something else really enjoyable while in Dunnellon, go online and type in "Orange Blossom Trail Rides". Just thirty (30) minutes away, an eighty (80) acre property plus 53,000 acres in Florida's Goethe State Forest. Sandi, the owner, is most hospitable and provides a wonderful guided horseback riding experience.