Great Family Getaway!

Guest: Steve and Nancy (Minneapolis)
Date of Stay: 07/11/10 Review Submitted: 04/23/11

We had a wonderful week at this cabin in 2010, as we are looking for our 2011 summer vacation plans and hoping to get here again! The property is private, self-contained and modern. The lake, dock, trampoline, basketball, large yard and of course....cable TV gave our 3 kids (and a friend) plenty of activities to enjoy. The adults enjoyed the screen porch, pontoon rides, golfing, cocktail hour on the deck and the grill! The weather was 'almost' perfect, we had several bonfires and s'mores and the cabin is so modern and new, we enjoyed the indoors as much as the outside. The town of Siren is charming with antiques, restaurants and of course minature golfing for the kids. Definitely recommended for anybody with a family looking for a weeks relaxation and getaway. We hope to make this experience a tradition.

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

Lakeshore Property

Guest: Christine (Atlanta, GA)
Date of Stay: 08/20/10 Review Submitted: 10/29/10

Beautiful setting and spacious floor plan and amenities for extended family stay. Property description not entirely accurate: screened porch unusable due to broken screens and heavy mosquito population, ice maker not in working order, dishwasher leaked, dryer not working properly ( LOTS of hair and lint left on "clean" sheets ), library ( ? ) of videos = 3. Left property cleaner than we found it, but deposit has yet to be returned, and phone calls and emails to owner have likewise been ignored.

Owner response:In 2010 we had a difficult time with our cleaning and caretaker team responsible for this property and it was not managed as professionally as it had been in 2008 and 2009. The owner was not available due to personal issues for the entire summer of 2010. These issues have been addressed and our property is restored to the beautiful property it was prior to 2010. We have purchased new patio furniture for the screen porch, new deck furniture and a new kitchen table. We have even purchased a flat screen TV for the living area! There will be landscaping improvements this spring and we expect this property to exceed it original beauty that was so popular in 2007, 2008 and 2009!

Recommended for:

The vacation from hell

Guest: Cristy (Illinois)
Date of Stay: 08/01/10 Review Submitted: 10/25/10

My family of 10 stayed here for 2 weeks in August, 2010, and paid quite a bit of money to do so. There was not one day that we didn't have a problem that required a phone call. From a beehive that the owner knew about to a garage full of two weeks worth of garbage from the renters prior to our arrival to no hot water at night. I could go on and on. The house was filthy and half of the "amenities" in the house were broken. I have pictures. The beds were horribly made. The bedframe in the master bedroom is broken. And my poor husband found a pair of women's underwear behind the dresser, and they didn't belong to us! There is NO beach at all. The screened in porch would have been wonderful however many of the screens are torn or broken so it was a mosquito fest. Upon our arrival there were no supplies. The grill was disgustingly filthy and even after it was "cleaned" we were still unable to use it. We spent a day of our vacation cleaning the house so that we were comfortable with our children being there. The trampoline is falling apart, bordering on unsafe. The toilet in the upstairs bathroom clogged repeatedly to the point that we just stopped using it. One or two of the beautiful windows that overlook the lake are broken as are the vertical blinds that cover the sliding glass doors. In addition, the sliding glass door frames leak into the house when it rains. After all of this we were expected to make sure we left the house in the same condition we got it, trust me when I say we left it better. We were also expected to do laundry for the housekeeper so that it was "easier" on her. And after cleaning as we did I was still charged a cleaning fee. On the plus side, the fishing was good as was the weather. The woman and her family who maintain the property were very nice and always available, unlike the owner. Although it wasn't their fault, it was not always conducive to have them there almost every day. And despite all of the obstacles, we as a family still had a good time. The owner told me that I would get my deposit check back as well as a partial refund however to this date I have neither heard from him or received any checks. I would discourage anyone from renting this property however I would definitely recommend the lake and the area. There was plenty to do in the surrounding towns for all ages.

Owner response:I am very sorry that Christy and her family had a poor experience during her stay. We had 22 rentals in 2010 (12 during the summer) and everyone except those listed on this review had a wonderful time. However, we are only planning on have 6 or 7 rental during the summer of 2011 to ensure it is managed more proactively. From the first day of her stay, it was clear, Christy was not happy with our property and she was looking for something much more luxurious than our property offers. Our lakehome is very new (7 years old) and is very much like a home. I did offer a full refund immediately if they were unhappy and wanted to leave, they declined and said they would have a good experience despite their unhappiness. I wish she would have had a better experience and feel terrible that she left unhappy. I did spoke to Christy everyday, my caretaker responded to her each daily with her requests. One interesting item is that when I recieved my cable bill for the time of her stay, I found more than $150 of purchased pornographic movies ordered during their stay! Each of Christy's issues have been repaired, cleaned or replaced. We also have new patio furniture, new screen porch furniture, a new kitchen table and updated landscaping. The issues have been fixed, they are: 1) lower part of the torn screen doors in screen porch have been fixed (they were torn by the previous renter), 2) the toilet was unplugged (there was a large piece of jewelry that had been dropped into it) and 3) the gas grill was completely cleaned and checked to ensure it was working.

Recommended for:

Nice getaway in a good location

Guest: Jay & Family (Minnesota)
Date of Stay: 06/11/10 Review Submitted: 06/13/10

This house is very nice, though it could be cleaned better. The views of the lake and the lake access were great. The owner inaccurately listed cable and Wi-Fi as amenities. A phone call to the owner with questions when I arrived at the property was never returned during the 3 days I was there.

Owner response:Jay and I communicated multiple times on Thursday (6/10) and Friday (6/11) as payment had not been recieved. It was 'overnighted' to my home on the Friday of their stay. Unfortunately I did not recieve their voice message until Sunday (lthey eft it on Saturday) in regards to the Dish remote not working. It was working properly (I was at property the following weekend and checked it myself), however, as you may know, the remote control of a Dish TV works differently than a remote for Cable TV. I am very sorry it did not work as easily as they had expected. Jay is accurate in that the Wi FI is not operational (due to the city delayed installation). I have revised the amenities to reflect this change. Fortunately, very nearby is a free WiFI coffee shop that is frequently used!

Recommended for:Families with young children, pet owners, families with teenagers.

Guest: Marty McNally (Lockport, Illinois)
Date of Stay: 08/10/08 Review Submitted: 08/10/08

Had a great week there in late July 2008. Very comfortable and beautiful home. Everybody kept busy with fishing, tubing, golfing, swimming,eating,reading...and my favorite napping. Perfect getaway! Thanks for the use of your home. Marty McNally

Recommended for:

Guest: Karen Thell (Somerset, Wi)
Date of Stay: 07/14/08 Review Submitted: 07/14/08

This cabin is perfect. It has everything you could need or want for a week at the lake. Caught plenty of fish, relaxed, swam, kids played basketball, jumped on the tramp. Our granddaughter caught her first fish. Went and had pedicures in town with Becky. Perfect week at the cabin.

Recommended for:

Guest: Mark & Kris Larson (Minneapolis MN)
Date of Stay: 07/08/08 Review Submitted: 07/08/08

We so enjoyed our stay in this lovely Chalet...we had everything we could have wanted or needed at our disposal. The cabin itself is lovely, and provided more than enough room for the 5 of us. The sandy bottom lake was perfect for kids young and old to swim. We found the location to be very peaceful and quiet, but we could quickly be in town if we wanted to see a movie, or run to the grocery store. We will most certainly be back!

Recommended for:

Guest: Brenda12 (Oakdale, MN)
Date of Stay: 07/08/08 Review Submitted: 07/08/08

Gorgeous cabin with ALL the comforts of home. Clam Lake is beautiful and Siren has so much to offer, yet still feels like a small town. Our honeymoon getaway could not have been better. Thank you!

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