Septembe Serenity, Fantastic Fall, Plan Ahead.

• Amazing vacation rental!

  Amazing vacation rental!

  • Guest Nils
  • Date of stay 09/09/12
  • Review Submitted 09/17/12
  My family's vacation at Thistledew was the best time we've ever had anywhere. The beach is amazing. I've been to lots of beaches in Florida, on the West Coast, and Hawaii and wouldn't recommend those beaches over the private beach that we enjoyed. I can't remember ever having as relaxing a time as was spent on the front porch listening to the waves and enjoying the peace and quiet. The only minor downsides are the walk to the beach and cellphone reception. The path to the beach is quite steep and I would definitely recommend driving the short distance from the house to the beach if you have young children. The lack of cellphone reception could be good (more relaxing) or bad depending on your point of view. We had Verizon and T-Mobile phones and both had bad reception although T-Mobile was better. Seasonal fresh produce is available at several roadside stands and is excellent. The house is very comfortable and the kitchen is very nice. We look forward to someday going back!

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

  Owner response: How lovely to be favorably compared to the beaches nationwide! (Thank you.) We do think our beach with its white 'sugar sand' and private nature make vacations here vastly different from beaches that, while beautiful, are towel to towel with people. From Labor Day on you can look both directions and rarely see anyone. Just you and the sea gulls. We agree the walk to the beach IS steep, as we get older it gets steeper. We walk it less and less and are in awe of those who almost run up and down (can you say 'teenagers' and runners', or, great way to get in shape?). Thankfully two parking spots 'belong' to Thistledew. While the lack of phone makes for mixed blessings, the land line does provide emergency use, any incoming calls, and long distance with a phone card. AT&T coverage isn't much better. Welcome to the boondocks! We do hope you will find a time to return someday soon.

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• Perfect place to relax

  Perfect place to relax

  • Guest Lee
  • Date of stay 09/02/12
  • Review Submitted 09/11/12
  We had a wonderful time at Thistledew and look forward to returning next year! The house was amazing - the kitchen was one of our favorite spots along with the screened in sun room. We had friends visit for a few nights and it was nice to be able to cook together in the large kitchen. The sun room, the sitting area upstairs and the chairs in the upstairs bedrooms provided room for everyone to have their own space if they wanted to read or just gaze out the window. The beach is the best Lake Michigan beach we have ever experienced. Nearly every day we walked all the way to Arcadia Bluffs and waved to the golfers at the above us. Barb and Jamie were wonderful to work with. So friendly and accommodating. We were thankful for the use of the "internet cafe" on their front lawn. My husband and I both needed to check into work, so it came in handy, although I'm sure Barb and Jamie became tired of looking out their door and seeing us on their lawn each day ; ) Ace and the kitties were an added bonus. We are animal lovers and got our fix during our stay. I loved when Ace came bounding over for a treat each day. Such a sweet dog! The bedrooms were all wonderfully spacious and nicely decorated. We ended up using the yellow bedroom so we could hear the waves of Lake Michigan as well fell off to sleep each night. The location of Thistledew is perfect - close to many good restaurants and a pleasant drive to the many wineries of the Leelanau Peninsula. Perfect place if you truly want relax and get away from it all. I'm already dreaming about next year.

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

  Owner response: Our shy cat Mewgo (who is NEVER seen by our guests) made herself right at home twining around these folks ankles, amazing! So they get a 16 paws up for their return from all the critters. Jamie and I agree. Seeing folks using the Internet Cafe gives us an excuse to ask our guests how things are going, if they have found anything new and exciting, or just to smile and wave. We never get tired of them. (Hmmm, just what are we going to do in December?) I'm glad to have our beach get a top rating, but, shhhhhh, don't tell everybody, it's our little secret! Meeting your friends was an added bonus, seeing Beau filling a box with beach stones to take home took me right back to my childhood. My parents finally gave my sister and I a bag each that was our limit on stones, this ensured room for the dog and suitcases on the way home. We are certainly looking forward to seeing you next year, we'll request the same weather, but no promises.

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• Feels Like Home!

  Feels Like Home!

  • Guest Megan
  • Date of stay 08/04/12
  • Review Submitted 08/20/12
  This was our fourth year at Thistle Dew, which I think, speaks for itself. You will feel like Barb and Jamie are part of the family almost right away. The house is comfortable and homey, with a large kitchen that is a blast for all of us to congregate in while preparing a delicious meal after a day on the beach. The sunsets are gorgeous, the beach is private, and the area shopping is eclectic and fun to do on rainy days. Overall, the experiences we have had for the last four years makes this our favorite family vacation destination. I just wish we could do it for two weeks at a time...maybe in 2014?

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

  Owner response: Returning guests always make us smile:no new names to forget, they know where things are, how to get to the beach, where we hide the dish soap and extra towels....all in all life is easier from both sides. That said, we really DO treasure our returning guest/friends. We enjoy keeping up with their changing families, their lives in the past year, and watching the travel tensions being replaced with smiles and 'ahhhhs' as they are welcomed home by Ace and familiar surroundings. It's especially fun to share what's new; this year we have finished the stone on the back of the house and added a small deck area at the beach just for Thistledew guests.

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• Another amazing stay at Thistledew...

  Another amazing stay at Thistledew...

  • Guest Mick's Family
  • Date of stay 07/14/12
  • Review Submitted 07/25/12
  Barb, Jamie, and Ace, Thanks for another wonderful visit at Thistledew. It was perfect...you three are ROCK STAR hostess/hosts! From campfires (and the s'mores you provided) on the beach, to dining alfresco, to stargazing--it was a memorable seven days for all of "Mick's Family" and we can't wait to return next year when we will celebrate our matriarch's 80th birthday! Thanks again for everything, and we'll see you in July of 2013 if not sooner!

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

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• Grit-n-Gravel in Arcadia

  Guest comment entered by owner

  Grit-n-Gravel in Arcadia

  • Guest Luke, family and friends.
  • Date of stay 05/18/12
  • Review Submitted 05/23/12
  Luke and his family came to the area for the Arcadian Grit & Gravel Mountain bike event. Here's what they had to say about their stay at Thistledew: "We had a great time at ThistleDew and in the Arcadia area this weekend. Everyone is all ready commenting that we should just plan to do the bike race and hit the same accommodations next year. The views of Lake Michigan are great and the charm of the area is perfect. Also the house was plenty large enough for my family as well as four other adults." We would like to thank Luke and his family for giving us a try AND for making us aware of one more reason to come to this area. While Mountain Bike racing is way beyond my capabilities I'd love to watch it next year!

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• We loved it.

  We loved it.

  • Guest Lisa
  • Date of stay 05/11/12
  • Review Submitted 05/15/12
  What a beautiful, charming place to stay, we could not have asked for nicer people to rent from. Anything you may have forgotten was provided. She really pays attention to detail. Our dog Ellie was welcomed by their dog Ace, and with treats in the cookie jar. Also she had a nice welcome basket with coffee, coco, and marshmallows that we did put to good use. The cottage and view was amazing, I really felt that I got away for the weekend. I will defiantly return to this property, hopefully next time for a little longer.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, adventure seekers, families with teenagers, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, families with young children.

  Owner response: We are so pleased that Ellie and her family chose us! As a 'last minute' booking we scrambled a bit to make sure all was in order, lawn mowed, people basket filled, dog treats ready (the important things in life!)and warm weather requested. We didn't quite manage to provide great mushroom hunting but we'll work on that next year. As we rarely have 'last minute' reservations it turned out to be a positive experience. Ellie and her family were so happy to be here and share the delightful weather and the festival atmosphere of the Mesick Mushroom Event. We all enjoyed meeting each other. We DO try to have Thistledew 'ready and equipped' for being your HOME. We know how frustrating it can be to have to buy salt&pepper, or 6 ounces of mustard for one sandwich (we just vacationed in one of 'those'. Lovely place but.....). We'll keep the dog treat jar filled and the people basket ready so next time Ellie and family decide to head this way all will be ready!!

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• We Returned for Round Two

  We Returned for Round Two

  • Guest Barbara B.
  • Date of stay 03/16/12
  • Review Submitted 03/27/12
  Because of some snow, we cut our trip a bit short on our last get-away and decided to try it again. What a difference two weeks can make. The weather for mid-March was spectacular -- high 70s and low 80s. Very rare for Northern Michigan -- but then again, it IS Michigan. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful sunsets. We walked on the beach, browsed around in Frankfort (not much going on during the off-season though) and had a great perch dinner at Rosies. The area is very secluded and quiet which was great for us. Jamie, Barb and Ace we great hosts. Everything was perfect and we would recommend Thistledew to all.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, age 55+, adventure seekers, people with disabilities, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, families with young children.

  Owner response: We would LOVE to claim that we will go to any extremes (80 degrees in March?) to please our client/friends! But alas this was just Mother Nature having a delightful hot flash. We were so pleased to have Ruffian bring his humans back for another chance (13 inches of snow and an almost week long power outage are NOT the norm for us!!) as well as a chance to meet them personally. We truly enjoy getting a chance to know our clients, Ace and Ruffian had plenty of run time in the unseasonably warm weather. One of the advantages of this time of year IS the solitude as well as being able to experience the tasty perch dinner without the summer crowds! We look forward to seeing Ruffian and family again.

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• Our Winter Get-Away

  Our Winter Get-Away

  • Guest Barbara B.
  • Date of stay 03/02/12
  • Review Submitted 03/27/12
  We arrived at Thistledew on Friday afternoon and were so pleased by the spaciousness, cleanliness and comfort of this (what seems to be an historic) cottage. The view of Lake Michigan was fantastic. The kitchen had every amenity and was very roomy. Our hosts, Jamie and Barb, even left us home-baked goodies to munch on -- along with treats for our dog. We woke up Saturday morning to several inches of snow. It was so peaceful and the "natural beauty road" was even more beautiful than we could have imagined. I wish we had cross country skis as it would have been an ideal place to do some skiing. Because of the snow, we cut our trip a bit short and headed back home. We will be back for sure.

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, age 55+, adventure seekers, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, families with young children.

  Owner response: We are so glad that the weather (and other natural circumstances) didn't manage to dampen the enjoyment Ruffian and his two footed family found at Thistledew. We look forward to their return.

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• Great Place for a Retreat

  Great Place for a Retreat

  • Guest Anonymous
  • Date of stay 02/17/12
  • Review Submitted 03/05/12
  Just spent a wonderful weekend at Thistledew for a business retreat for our small family business. We managed to do a lot of planning and also enjoy the peace and serenity of this great home. Loved the huge kitchen, spacious bedrooms and bathrooms. We all especially enjoyed the natural fireplace. Though it was cold and snowy outside, we were cozy inside. And our dog, Fritz, enjoyed it as well! Great hosts and a perfect place to get away from it all. We hope to make this an annual event. Thanks for your hospitality!

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

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• Thistledew goes way beyond the name!!

  Thistledew goes way beyond the name!!

  • Guest Joe
  • Date of stay 07/09/11
  • Review Submitted 07/21/11
  This house doesn't just do it is fantastic. From the views to the kitchen to the hosts this place is amazing. We have three little kids (4, 2.5, 4 mos) and traveled with their grandparents to this lovely home. Everyone had a great time. My mother inlaw loved watching the sunsets, either from the front yard or the beach, my father inlaw loved walking the beach with his camera, the kids loved every part of the beach (clean water, great sand with solitude to boot), my wife enjoyed the beach and her book/magazine of choice, and I loved the laughter and conversation that ensued for the whole week amongst ourselves. The walk to the beach is a short but steep one that both of the walking age children could manage. The kitchen is spacious and has all the utensils needed. The living room makes for a great space to enjoy the views, listen to the radio (chicago stations can be heard) as there is no television (woo hoo!!) and just visit with one another. The showers and baths are clean with great water pressure and lake water. We were minutes from Arcadia Bluffs, 1 hr door to door to Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Park, 20-30 minutes to Crystal Mountain and the slide, and about an 8 minute drive to Onekama. I know it seems like I am rambling on but I cannot say enough good things about the Thistledew and the owners. Thanks again for all the great memories and see you next year!!

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

  Owner response: While booking for 2012 seems far away right now, we look forward to Joe and his family returning. The sidewalk art , the squeals and peals of laughter, darling daughter raiding the treat jar for Ace,updates on the fun spots for kids, and more 'mature' adventures to add to our information to pass on to our next guests. Hosting a VRBO vacation home is such a difficult task! (lol)

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Additional information about rental rates

There is a 6% MI use tax that will be added to your rental fee. All rates are subject to change until deposit is confirmed.