Fantastic Location

Guest: Kathy (Columbus, OH)
Date of Stay: 08/06/11 Review Submitted: 10/24/11

My husband and I and our 2 children and their families spend a week at this beautiful log home the past two summers. The location is fantastic! The log home is set in a woods with birch trees, hemlocks, maples, etc. overlooking a sandy beach. It is such a gorgeous, secluded spot with all the homes on this gravel road off a main road having an acre or more of wooded property. There is no public beach access, so even in August it is very private with few people to be seen on the beach. Our grandchildren ( 6 and under) loved playing in the sand and lake and going out to a huge boulder in the water just off the beach and jumping off of it. We all enjoyed long walks up or down the beach, finding Petoskey stones, paddling around in the kayak, roasting marshmallows around the firepit in the evenings, watching the fabulous sunsets, and seeing the millions or stars and the Milky Way after dark. The log home is beautifully furnished, with a great kitchen. Our grandchildren loved being able to all sleep together in the neat bunk room in the lower level. The master bedroom and bath is lovely with a small deck with great views of the lake. We could lie in bed and watch lighted freighters passby out on the lake at night.. The surrounding towns of Leland, Suttons Bay and Northport are fun to visit and have nice shops and restaurants. There are also lots of small farm stands in the surrounding countryside where we bought delicious cherries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches and corn. All in all this is a great place to spend a family vacation together!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, age 55+, sightseeing, families with young children.

Wonderful family vacation

Guest: Tammy (Ohio)
Date of Stay: 06/11/11 Review Submitted: 06/20/11

Our family thoroughly enjoyed this relaxing and beautiful home. The owner, Jim, was so helpful! There was plenty of room for our four families which included young children, teenagers and two sets of grandparents celebrating their 47th and 56th anniversaries. It's location, on the crystal clear waters of Lake Michigan, is perfect! We loved walking the peaceful beach and quietly kayaking while discovering unique rocks and Petosky stones. We had the feeling of being at the ocean, without the extreme heat, humidity, shark, jellyfish or hurricanes! Our teenagers rented a wave runner for the day and had a blast. The beachside evening fires while listening to the sounds of lapping waves, crickets and our sons' guitars were incredible. The lovely nearby historic fishtown of Leland has many unique shops. We especially enjoyed a fantastic meal at the Riverside Inn. We rented a pontoon boat and fished on gorgeous Lake Leelanau. The views were incredible on the trails at nearby Sleeping Bear Dunes. We also loved visiting some of the local wineries. Nearby Suttons Bay and Glen Arbor are also fun to visit. There's plenty to do here, while still experiencing an "away from it all" feeling. So many wonderful memories were made here which made it difficult for us to leave and excited about returning!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, age 55+, sightseeing, families with young children.

PERFECTION

Guest: Kasi (Muskegon)
Date of Stay: 09/22/10 Review Submitted: 11/16/10

Our Women's group stayed at this Log Home in late Sept. I really can not say enough!!! There are 18 women in our group and we have been doing this for 13 years and NEVER have we stayed at such a beautiful well equiped home!!!!! Location is perfection as well!! We will be visiting again in 2011!!!! Enjoy!!!! CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!!!! Really felt like we could just sit back and enjoy!!!!

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, families with young children.

Wonderful

Guest: lindalou (Rochester, MI)
Date of Stay: 11/20/09 Review Submitted: 11/03/10

A group of my "girl" friends and I spent a long week-end at this home in October of 2010 and the house was just specatacular. It exceeded all of our expetations. The house worked perfectly for our group of 8 and could easily handle more. Plenty of space for everyone to feel comfortable and a great kitchen for cooking. The view of Lake Michigan from the back deck was breathtaking. I have already recommended this home to other friends.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, families with young children.

Spectacular! Great area...great house!

Guest: kirstenb (Chicago)
Date of Stay: 08/01/09 Review Submitted: 08/18/09

Our extended family vacations together every year...and our group has quite a list of must haves for a house (every family needs a bathroom, allergy friendly - no pets allowed, on the lake, kid friendly, etc). We were a little weirded out by the animal decor...but we're city folk I guess! The house is set up great for three families to have their own space. Our family was in the basement with two rooms, a family room, a kitchenette area and doors to go outside to the beach. It worked out great. The bunk rooms could each sleep 6. If you have kids that would be sleeping in a top bunk, you will want to pack your bed rails from home because the top bunks are open on the sides (no safety rail/guard). The house is set back off the paved roads and it appeared most of the houses along the lake were on the newer side. The house next door, which is lovely also, was rented out the week we were there. We shared a large driveway area and the beach front area with them. It was kind of fun to not feel quite so secluded, but still have a very private setting. The owners, Daratony's, were wonderful to work with and the house was extremely clean. I would recommend this place any season of the year. Fall would be particularly amazing, but I could see winter and skiing be a lot of fun too! The area is great for all ages - and stay two weeks - one is not enought! We have all little kids, but the family renting next door had all ages, including teenagers. I think this house would be particularly good a group with lots of teenagers. Oh, yeah, we saw a cougar (we think!) just north of Leland! Crazy!

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, sightseeing, families with young children.

Guest: tonia4 (plymouth, MI )
Date of Stay: 07/30/09 Review Submitted: 07/30/09

The Lupino's, Stefero's, Laughlin's, and Charnin families stayed at the lodge July 11th-17th. We had a family reunion with all of our mothers side. There was 12 adults,4 children. We had a blast. The house easily accommodated all the families very comfortably. The location was beautiful,secluded, miles and miles of lovely beaches to walk, amazing sunsets, wonderful wild life (eagles,black cougar,coyotes, fox,birds, etc...). The house sits a few steps up from the beach which was very convenient and private. We had bon-fires every night, took walks every morning, swam or kayaked every day, and walked on the beaches every night to witness the beautiful sunsets. It was just perfect. The kayakes and canoe were a plus and we used them every day with the proper equipment (life jackets, etc..)The water was crystal clear and an amazing carribean blue. We swam, fished, drank wine on the patio's, took multiple pictures, picked petoskey stones, cooked amazing meals every day for the group, and just plain hung out with one another. It was a great trip for a get together with the whole family. We explored the many wineries, the two quaint towns of northport and leland -fish town, and visited sleeping bear dunes. We had such a wonderful time. I can't say enough. If your looking for a private paradise, this is it!!!

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Guest: Carl 5 (Dexter, MI)
Date of Stay: 07/29/09 Review Submitted: 07/29/09

An absolutely gorgeous cottage in a quiet, peaceful setting. We rented the home in July 2009 for an annual vacation with the extended family (three generations from grand parents to grand children; 18 people in all). Our entire family really enjoyed the trip, from my 5 year-old niece to my 76 year- old father. The location is great with good access to Sleeping Bear Dunes, local wineries, golf, and the handful of little towns in the area (Suttons Bay was the overall favorite). The home offers something for everyone from a peaceful place to read and relax to activities for those interested in biking, golf, the beach, etc. A handful of tips that may be helpful: (1) For such a large group, we pre-ordered most of our food from the Sam's Club in Traverse City and picked-up the order on our first morning in town. (2) If you bring jet skis, the public access dock on the north end of Lake Leelenau is only a few miles away and easily accessible; the lake is big, clean, and not crowded during weekdays. (3) The wineries of the Leelenau peninsula are very quaint and not overly pretentious; just good people and enjoyable wines. There are a dozen or so within close driving distance and we enjoyed all that we visited. (4) Be sure to stop at a local fruit stand and get your fill of sweet cherries if you visit in July. (5) Visit Pyramid Point in Sleeping Bear Dunes if you get a chance and are willing to walk about one-half mile to the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan (stunning views on a sunny day). (6) Take the time to enjoy a campfire in the fire pit on the beach at least one night during your stay (spectacular sunsets). A great place to stay and enjoy the beauty of northwestern Michigan.

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/08 Review Submitted: 01/14/08

We stayed at this house in September, 2007 for 3 nights, 4 days. The house is gorgeous, the views spectacular and I only wish we could have stayed longer. It was great for a 40th Anniversary trip for the inlaws. We all had our own rooms and plenty of space. The kitchen is great! We all brought groceries and cooked all meals there. The beach area / fire pit was great. Took a picture of myself working at my laptop at the seating area and sent it to work. Take your cameras and tri-pods. We got great family portraits in the front of the house, up the back stair case and down by the beach. To sum it up - AWESOME!!! Muffin is a natural, she made sure she got in all the photos.

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