Customer Reviews

Eddie Bauer® 15x13' Astoria Gazebo

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

We liked the size and shape of this. We liked the price. I'd never used one of these before.

We had 3 people setting it up, and it took about 1/2 hour. Easy to setup with 3 people! Two people would have taken longer. One person... I venture to guess it would have seemed impossible.

Our package said limited lifetime warranty. This is what is not covered:
"Damage to the product that results from normal wear and tear, abuse, misuse, neglect, natural disaster, or any unauthorized disassembly, repair or modification." Well, it rained ONE TIME and the thing collapsed, causing two of the poles to bend in half with what appears to be the ease of aluminum cans. This was after it had been setup for approx. 3 weeks.

I called customer service, and they say weather damage is not covered. Even though it was only setup for 3 weeks, they implied that the damage was due to 'wear and tear.' :rolleyes:

You know, if I had money I'd have to contact a lawyer regarding their failure to back their lifetime warranty, since a 10 minute rain storm does not constitute 'natural disaster.' I am sure there are more than two customers who have had unsatisfactory results from this product!

Of course, if I had money, I would have bought a more expensive and obviously more reliable screen house!!!

Customer service is also very rude.

Hmmm.... Amazon has a link to the CPSC, maybe I will report this item as unsafe. Because anyone taking shelter in it during a 10 minute rainstorm may find it collapsing on their head.

This screen house is made from quality materials and has a well-thought-out design. We took it on a 4-day camping trip. We had a 13 hour rainstorm, and even though I hadn't had time to seal the seams, it leaked very little, and even then only at the conversion of seams at the top. The screen house is quite large, which is a pro and a con; it's big enough to fit even the largest picnic table under without getting wet, but it can take up most of a small campsite. Set-up definitely takes 2 people and is much easier on grass than a hard surface. On concrete, asphalt, or similar hard surface, the poles don't encounter enough resistance, so they tend to slip apart as you're trying to assemble the frame. As long as you have two people for assembly and a large area for set up, this is a great screen house.

I was attracted to the size, shape, and color, for that I give it a star, but I was soon disappointed. First, it came damaged with a damaged pole and a small tear. I bought it from a Target store; it must have been used and returned (I understand why). Putting a splint on a damaged pole we were able to assemble it in about an hour, but it blew over with the slightest wind, although we were only using 2 of the tie downs. I highly doubt it would stand up to a thunderstorm; as it was down before a thunderstorm blew through. The poles are very weak. Now I see reviews on the Target website saying it came down in the rain. I can see where rain would cause it to collapse. I'm returning it.

The extra hexagonal piece that someone mentioned in a previous review is a template that you place on the ground, to help in proper pole spacing; it's very important for "stablility". This piece comes off, once the screen house is assembled, if left in place it would be a tripping hazard.

This was so worth the money I spent. It looks classy, keeps the bugs out and most importantly, easy to put together. Comes in a nice case with directions sewn into the bag so you never lose them (like I always do). It's also very large and easy to relocate to another area of the yard. ***** Five Stars!!!

Heres what was wrong with it...

1) The roof seams are not taped like it says on the label. It comes with a tube of seam sealant it you want to make your roof not leak. FALSE ADVERTISING!

2) Missing parts. The pole bag was not there and one of the bungees that holds the corner to the frame was not there.

3) Poles come apart way to easily. The shock cords inside need to be much tighter as it pulls apart almost as fast as you set it up.

4) Difficult to set up. I'm good at this, and it still is too hard. The poles pull apart while putting the canopy on, the corners need to be tied to the frame manually with knots. If it's windy you will need 6 people in order to keep it together before it is staked down.

5) It only comes with 3 guy lines, but it has 6 corners. In a windy area you have to secure all 6 corners with guy lines or something is going to break.

6) Bugs can get in. The screens don't completely reach the ground so there is a gap all the way around it. It needs to be about 4" longer so some extra fabric lays on the ground.

7) Quality of stitching is poor. We had two stitched parts come apart in it's first day of use.

8) There is nothing that really holds the fabric that covers the side poles down. If you roll the screens up and use it as a shelter only, that decorative fabric will blow around in the wind.

Here's the good...

1) Held up to very strong winds when all 6 corners have guy lines.

2) Good size for a typical large picnic bench.

3) Looks nice

4) Fabric is nylon tent material, better than the plastic tarp like material used on the cheapest shelters.

5) Pockets along the top to roll the screens up into when you don't need them.

Bottom line...
I'd buy it for $75 but not $200. It is just not worth it's price as it has too many flaws. We returned ours after our one 4 night trip with it. I'm going to buy the Eureka Northern Breeze ($350) and hope it's a keeper.

We were in a hurry to buy this as we had a last minute plan for a camping trip to Assateague Island. If I had the time to wait for shipping I would have bought the Eureka Northern Breeze. We do a fair amount of camping and quality is important to us, so the best shelter would have been worth the extra money. This Eddie Bauer shelter was in stock at Target, and is what I thought would be the best that I could do without waiting for shipping. Wrong. It is very disappointing. Our last shelter was a $50 one from K-Mart that we found ditched (free) at Assateague a few years ago. This shelter is a little better than the $50 one. It has a couple features that are nicer, but it will fail in about the same amount of time.

If you haven't been to Assateague Island, it is surely one of the better testing sites for a shelter. People regularly flee, leaving stuff behind when the weather gets rough. Broken shelters and tents are usually seen around the dumpsters. It is a barrier island beach, with nothing around to slow the wind or shade the sun. This shelter did fine there when staked down properly with 3 extra (not included) guy lines. Our $50 shelter also did fine. The 6 sides on this one vs. the typical 4 sides makes for much more work in properly securing it. I've been watching everyone elses shelters at Assateague for a few years and I think that the Eureka branded ones really do look like the sturdiest. The weakest ones that I've seen are the E-Z up style ones (although not neccessarily that brand) also anything that has fiberglass poles.

This is definitely a 2-person job.

The instructions don't talk about one component -- a fabric strip about 6 inches wide that is angled, but basically a large circle. It has hooks at the angles, which correspond to the vertical supports. It seems intended to go round the outside, but is too short to do so. And too long to go round on the inside.

It lasted ONE DAY, it rain and the whole thing came down ... you get what you pay for... it was not sturdy at all... everything you don't want a gazebo to be

Canopy collapsed, broke and ripped after a rain shower. Very disappointed with the product. Very attractive looking but not durable.

We spent a lot of time looking for something big enough to cover the dancefloor we were going to have at our wedding. After finding a couple of "possible" gazebos, we settled for this one and it was perfect for what we needed. We had to get it ordered within a week of the wedding and even with express shipping, it was going to be too close to the wedding before its arrival. We sent an email to the Amazon Store we were purchasing from and explained the situation and they got the shipment out that day. The gazebo arrived with a couple of days to spare. It was easy to set up. My wife and I were able to get it put together in about thirty minutes and left it up for about a week after the wedding. Tear down was easy as well. I'd recommend this product for temporary use. It's nice, but I'm not sure if it would withstand a strong gust of wind or continual high wind unless you take the extra step to better secure it to the ground as I did. As far as the product, we are very satisfied with it and look forward to using it again and for the merchant, A+++++. We've never had such a wonderful, immediate customer service response. After sending the initial email explaining our situation, it was less than ten (10) minutes we recieved a response and told the item was being packed up and would be shipped out that day. We will definitely be using this merchant again in the future!! Thanks a million!!

For a product that costs this much, I would expect better quality. The main problem is the cheap plastic part that connects the horizontal and vertical poles. I was pretty skeptical that it would be adequate to withstand some wind and rain. One of the connectors cracked when I put it together. The final blow came after about 10 minutes of heavy rain. As another poster mentioned, water collects on the roof instead of draining away. This is the result of the second problem of poor design. I pushed some of the water out and attempted to move one of the legs out by a few inches. There was a loud crack as a couple of the connectors completely broke, and the whole thing came down in a heap. I could try to use the roof as a rain cover, but unfortunately it's not waterproof.

I inherited this one, so I had no choice. This product was made in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, too many consumers prefer cost over quality, and the convenience of buying something new rather than having something that lasts. This practice leads to waste and ultimately costs more in the long run. However, if any manufacturer is listening, I would gladly pay premium for quality, and I'm sure there are many out there who would feel the same.