Perfect Weekend Getaway

Guest: Tiffany (South of Chicago)
Date of Stay: 01/20/12 Review Submitted: 01/30/12

My friends and I were looking for a weekend escape. This house was exactly what we needed. We were able to relax and still be able to enjoy ourselves. This house was only 15 min away from Swiss Valley. They were able to get us discounted passes to Swiss Vallley. We only stayed here for 2 days, but we definately plan on coming back. This place had everything from the spices you need to cook to board games. If I could make one suggestion to the owners it would be, we would of liked a television in the bedrooms, but that is the only thing at all. Everything else was wonderful. The process of booking this place was very smooth and the owners responded back right away with any questions or concerns we had. We will definately recommend this place to anyone and everyone we know.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, romantic getaway, people with disabilities, adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers, sightseeing, pet owners, age 55+, girls getaway.

There aren't enough stars to rate this super-great place!

Guest: Jennifer (Crown Point, Indiana)
Date of Stay: 11/11/11 Review Submitted: 11/29/11

It’s true, initially, I was feeling a bit nervous about this reunion. The thought of bringing six adults, four children, and a Labradoodle together left me believing I might need an escape plan. We are four generations that have been separated by over 2000 miles and almost three years. I wasn’t sure putting us under one roof was going to work. After communicating with Ted and Brenda, and then staying at “the Lake House,” I am now finding it difficult to sum up all the joy we experienced that weekend in just a few paragraphs. This might be the easiest way... on our drive home, we each shared our top five (it was too hard to pick just one) favorite things about this trip. Here are some of the things, in no particular order, that made the lists: -Cooking with Mom -Seeing my grand daughter get to know her great-grand mother -Hiking -Watching the dancing light show -Throwing rocks into the water with Bella -Challenging and winning Wii games with my brothers -Photographing a Kingfisher -Eating dinner together as a family -Seeing my mother’s face so full of joy -Reconnecting -Late night talks -Making tea for my nephews -Making jewelry -Sharing new stories and reminiscing about the old ones -Laughing a lot -Coffee and lunch at “Foodies” a new family owned restaurant in downtown Dowagiac, where the food, the service, and the coffee are so good-I am considering driving 98 miles for lunch and a cup of coffee. -A scent-free healthy environment-Thank you again, Ted and Brenda, for appreciating our special needs and your conscious acts of kindness! -Warming up by the fire place -Watching Bella watch “The Panda Sneeze” on You-Tube -Listening to Cortez’s prayer -Finding out the important differences in one’s bed making preferences -Just being together in a house that felt like home

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers, sightseeing, pet owners, age 55+, girls getaway.

TWO WONDERFUL WEEKS WE'LL NEVER FORGET! A WRITER'S PARADISE & A CHEF'S DELIGHT!

Guest: june (Chicago)
Date of Stay: 10/22/11 Review Submitted: 11/14/11

My husband, our standard poodle Juliette and I left Chicago so I could spend two weeks to work on a book I have been writing for the past two years. Peace and quiet was our number one priority so my husband could take his red pen and begin editing my work . Next on our list was lots of space since I figured after two weeks, things could get a little testy if the editing part wasn't to my liking. Well, we found it in this beautiful home with it's five bedrooms in the serenity of the wooded acres surrounding us. Everything was perfect. I also needed two more very important things, wireless internet and good cell service. Both were excellent. Ronald needed a cook's kitchen and a market nearby. Done! In the evening, we sat in the family room and watched DVDs, enjoyed the fireplace in the living room and believe it or not after the two weeks we still loved each other! There was even some red ink left in my husband's pen. Ted and Brenda were awesome about communicating with us through emails. They answered our questions and provided us with a wealth of information about the house and the area. We would highly recommend this house for two people, or a dozen people! It has everything you need. Just bring yourself, your clothes and plan on having a wonderful time. Leave your red pens and your worries at home. Then go for a walk in the woods or down by the lake. I hear there are actually restaurants in the area but I wouldn't know about that since I never left the house the entire time I was there. Hubby cooked 3 squares for me a day plus a snack at night! Am I a lucky woman or what! Thank you Ted and Brenda for making our two weeks on Stone Lake an experience we will never forget. Oh, and Juliette says thank you as well. She is still recovering from seeing her first deer. It was the biggest "dog" she'd ever seen and it nearly scared her to death. Not too sure she is any too anxious to return but we're working on that.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers, pet owners, age 55+, girls getaway.

What a wonderful weekend

Guest: Michele (Naperville, Illinois)
Date of Stay: 10/07/11 Review Submitted: 10/23/11

Everything was perfect! Turning 50 is right around the corner for me and I told my husband all I wanted was a getaway with the special people in my life. I could not have asked for more. Ted and Brenda have a beautiful home and property. From our first contact with them, they were incredibly informative, helpful and accomodating. Don, the property manager was great and made sure we understood everything and had everything we needed. The pictures (as wonderful as they are) do not do the place justice; it is stunning in person. At one point I told my husband I just couldn't get enough of the place. The home is relaxing and has absolutely everything you need for a getaway. In other places we have rented the kitchen was always lacking; I love to cook and this kitchen was filled to the brim with everything I needed. I can honestly say that you can believe every descriptive word about the home and its amenities. Thank you Ted and Brenda for sharing your home with us. It is a weekend we will never forget!

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, romantic getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers, pet owners, age 55+, girls getaway.

Wonderful House, Great Owners

Guest: Tom (Missouri)
Date of Stay: 09/05/11 Review Submitted: 10/02/11

There were six of us (All adults) that stayed in the house. The house was beautiful and it was in immaculate condition. The property that the house was on was beautiful, very wooded and very secluded. I took several hikes through woods, went trail running one morning and even took my sister-in-law, who recently had knee surgery, on a drive through the trails in my 4WD Honda Pilot. We enjoyed a fire every night in the very secluded fire pit alongside the garage, and the grounds keeper was very helpful with using his chain saw to cut up some logs which we then chopped into good size burning pieces with our maul (you definitely should bring a maul if you plan on burning anything bigger than twigs). The walk down to the lake was an easy walk down a gravel trail. Two members of my group had physical limitations and we simply drove them down to the lake without any problems. The seating in the TV room only accommodated 5, and the VHS player only played through a small separate TV instead of being hooked up to the main TV, and there was no way to hook it up to the main TV. The lounge chair by the fireplace was the coveted seat and was used widely by my mom as her reading chair. There was plenty of room at the kitchen table and the dining room table and the kitchen had more than enough room for several people to be cooking at once. The pontoon boat worked without any problems, but the lake was somewhat disappointing. It was EXTREMELY weedy, and I was hoping to be fishing for Northen Pike and/or Walleye, but Stone Lake is known for it’s Bass. My brother caught one small bass, and my dad caught two small bluegill, but it was a very peaceful and refreshing time spent with my family out on the boat. The owners, Ted and Brenda, have been the best owners I have ever dealt with during all of the VRBO’s that I have rented. Even though they do not live close, they definitely made me feel that my vacation was the most important item on their agenda.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway.

Family Vacation

Guest: Katie (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Date of Stay: 08/06/11 Review Submitted: 08/16/11

We had a great time during our week at Stone Lake. There were 10 adults, 1 toddler, and 2 dogs. Ted and his property manager, Don, were very responsive to a coupel small things that came up. One of the things we really enjoyed was all the space we had to either be together as a a family or spread out a little bit. The guys did a lot of fishing and we caught enough Bass and Perch to have a fish fry on Friday - some were even caught off of the dock! We rented the pontoon boat which came in handy as an extra fishing boat, a place to swim off of in the lake and enough space for everyone to go on a boat ride. We also brought our own boat and took it over to Diamond lake one afternoon to look at the beautiful homes and go for a swim. On Sunday we visited Ontwa Baptist Church in Edwardsburg; they were very welcoming of our whole family and not a far drive. Some of the activites we enjoyed; a girls trip to Michigan City to go shopping, biking around Diamond Lake, Golfing at Park Shore, a trip to St Joe, wine tasting, ice cream at Tasty Twirl, Kayaking, fishing, campfires and much more.... Thank you for a great get-away!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, families with teenagers, sightseeing, pet owners, age 55+, girls getaway.

somewhat of a disappointment.

Guest: Carlene (South Whitley, In)
Date of Stay: 07/30/11 Review Submitted: 08/15/11

The home was beautiful and we had plenty of room for all of our 6 families. The kitchen was well stocked and very nice to cook in. . If you are a pet lover you probably would not mind the pet hair. For me it was not something I liked. The swimming area did not meet our expectations and when we complained I felt like we were penalized. We had some issues with a broken refrigerator rack, which we tried to fix. Evidently that was not the thing to do. We should have just left it with a note saying it broke.Our efforts to make a repair were taken as an attempt to hide the incident, which was never our intention.. There was a broken dresser door, that the property manager accused us of breaking, when in fact that dresser was never even used. We feel this might have been in response to our email shortly after arriving to complain about the swimming area being so full of weeds that the 6 of our 9 grand children did not want to swim there. There was also a tear in the leather couch, we feel it had already started to tear before we got there, but of course had no proof of that. The owner lives out of state and we feel did not have a handle on what the property manager really was taking care of or not, in the case of the weedy swim area. I had been planning this vacation for 2 years with the swimming for the grand kids being my main focus. Had I been told there were so many weeds I would never have rented the property. We lost some of our deposit and I am ok with that, since we have no proof of not doing the things we were accused of. We did feel however that some refund should have been offered since the swim area was not what it was suppose to be. We even sent pictures, but obviously their interpretation of tall weeds was not the same as ours. If you rent this property I would suggest taking pictures of all rooms, the pontoon, which the floor was also covered with pet hair, and the swimming area. I know we are the first family to complain and the owners were quick to point that out, but there were things that were not taken care of as I think the owners thought they were. This was not an easy review for me to write, by nature I don't like conflict, but felt I had no choice. Hopefully what we experienced was a fluke and won't happen to any others.

Owner response:The adage, "You can't make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time," is unfortunately quite apt with this review -- our first-ever review that is not 5 out of 5 Stars with either of our two vacation properties on Stone Lake. Very disappointing. This was also our very first instance that we have not returned 100% of our Guest's security deposit. Reason? There were 2 pieces of furniture and a refrigerator with damages: A dresser door hinges were pulled out (as if a young child had hung from it), a refrigerator door shelf was broken, and worst of all a leather loveseat had an 8-inch tear with the padding coming out. This tear most likely could only have happened by a child walking or jumping on the top of the attached back cushion. Worst of all, and most disappointing, is that we were not notified of any of these damages -- nor did our Guests say anthing about them the entire week they were there. We've had other minor damages before - ripped blanket, broken coffe mug, scratched table - and in 100% of the cases our Guests have told us about them before check-out and offered to pay for repairs or a replacement. To date we have thanked them and said not to worry about it - they were accidents. And we were very appreciative of their forthrightness to owning up to the situation. In this instance we first learned of the damages only when our property managers - a local married couple with 3 children who we know very well - contacted us when cleaning the home on Carlene's departure day. They sent us a photo of the torn leather loveseat (which we sent to Carlene) - one could not miss this terrible tear as soon one enters the TV Room. We agonized over retaining a portion of Carlene's security deposit...but the deciding factor was that they never told us about them. In fact they even attempted a repair by gluing the broken refrigerator shelf; it was only discovered during cleaning when the repair fell apart. Regarding our sandy beach area, we are very careful to not characterize it inaccurately, and we work very hard to maintain it. We re-sent to Carlene our email exchange from March 2010 when she first inquired, and nothing was stated about it being 100% free of water plants or daily wash-up from waves. From all the other reviews we have earned, our Guests have been quite satisfied with the beach. Apparently Carlene had envisioned a beach one would find on an open ocean or a great lake, not at a small inland lake.

Recommended for:Pet owners.

Ohio Family

Guest: GG (Perrysburg Ohio)
Date of Stay: 07/23/11 Review Submitted: 07/31/11

We just finished our week at this beautiful lake home. We also rented the log cabin and pontoon boat. I highly recommend this - evening cruises after a day of swimming and fishing are a must. The neighbors are wonderful and put up with our grandson asking a million fishing questions! The deck is stellar! The yard is large and well hidden. We love old homes and this one has beauty and character rarely found. We biked around Diamond Lake and the runners in the family found lots of challenging roads & trails. The house is clean and nicely maintained. We ran into a few glitches the first day, but Ted was immediately responsive. A trip to Zeke's in Dowagalic (per notebook recommendation) was a blast as well as the town fair. We plan to return again next year if Ted & Brenda will let us!

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

Wonderful week at Stone Lake

Guest: Marnie (Port Lambton, Ontario, Canada)
Date of Stay: 07/09/11 Review Submitted: 07/22/11

Our family of 15 just returned from a wonderful week at Stone Lake. Ted and Brenda, the owners, were great to work with from our very first contact with them. They are so helpful and really want you to have a good time. They seem like old friends now. We loved the set up of the house. It was so cozy for all of us. There was lots of room for everyone to spread out. We also rented the log cabin and used it for sleeping at night. It was great. The playground for the children was perfect. The adults could sit and visit on the deck and the children could play. We rented the pontoon boat and had a lot of fun each day taking it out and fishing and swimming off of it. The water in the lake was so warm! Several couples took trips to Notre Dame and Shipshewana. Some also visited the zoo. They were all very close and easy to get to. Several of us brought our bicycles and we made several bike trips into Cassopolis. It is such a quaint little town. The trails behind the cottage were awesome and one day a deer was spotted. All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better week. We were all sad to leave but are happy to say that we have booked the cottage for next year. Thanks for a beautiful cottage on such a lovely lake, Ted and Brenda! We look forward to returning in a year.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers, sightseeing, pet owners, age 55+, girls getaway.

1st Family Vacation

Guest: Harry (Normal, Illinois)
Date of Stay: 06/12/11 Review Submitted: 06/29/11

This was a great place for our very 1st family vacation! There was ample room for 3 families, one family with two little ones. The main houses' upstairs bedrooms were perfect for undisturbed naps for the little ones, while the rest of us visited or enjoyed the outdoor surroundings. The fishing off the pier was great with the oldest daughter catching the biggest walleye ever! My granddaughter and I had a great time walking the woods and she was so-o-o-o excited when we saw a doe with her two fawns. She is three years old and thinks she saw "Bambi" which I'm sure she'll never forget! All in all it was a wonderful vacation for all!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with young children, families with teenagers, sightseeing, pet owners, age 55+.