DH and I are about to book a weekend away. It's only bout 1.5 hours from home, but its on a mountain and we can bring our dogs!

This lady only has one review, but its very positive. She wanted us to pay for the room ($350) PLUS money for a damage deposit... she wants $500 for the deposit.

I told her we would give her a cheque on the day we arrive for the deposit, and she could give it back to us on the day we leave pending no damage. She said that is fine.

Is this the norm? It could kind of be a party place where we are staying so maybe that is why she needs such a large deposit?It's just DH and I so I know there won't be damage done by us. I was also planning to post date the cheque so that if she tries to run off with it and doesn't give it back to us on Sunday, we can put a stop payment on it.

Thoughts?