Serene, Private Waterfront House --Perfect Summer Retreat!

This rustic cottage is tucked away in woodland, on the edge of a small lake in a gorgeous position. It is very easy to drive to shops in Lee, lovely New England towns, such as Stockbridge, and interesting places such as the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Shaker village at Holden, and Edith Wharton’s home. The house was cosy, with a wood stove for extra heating, and the beds comfy. Being able to use the washer and dryer was appreciated. The kitchen is a bit rustic, but very manageable. An electric kettle would have been useful, and we felt that more wine glasses were needed (only two there!) and perhaps some of the chipped bowls replaced. One small saucepan needs to be thrown out as it was very warped on the bottom and couldn't make contact with the stove top. Hopefully these are constructive suggestions, not criticisms. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, and the vision of the glorious fall leaves reflected on the lake will be with us for a long time.

We had a very nice stay in this cottage: nothing luxurious, but a very convenient house in a very peaceful setting

Pros: very simple and efficient lay-out, well stocked kitchen, great wooden stove, nice back porch with gas bbq, super easy use of the canoes, nice back lawn for the kids to play, beautiful area with great hiking trails, fall foliage

Cons: we were off to a slightly chaotic start: we booked a couple of days only before arrival and it seems that, even though our booking was immediately confirmed, the owner did not realize we had booked until just a few hours before we were supposed to check in. We had tried to get in touch with her for some basic info and discuss arrival time but it seems she had not been checking her messages until a few hours before either.

As a result, the house was not ready for our family until 6:45 pm, which threw us for a loop and forced us to do some sightseeing which we would have preferred to do some other day. The owner made up for it somewhat by offering to lift up the cleaning fee and letting us stay two extra hours on the final day, but getting in that late on the first day was clearly not ideal.

Although the kitchen was well stocked up, there is no dishwasher. It did not bother us, but it could be a bad surprise for some. The one thing we did miss was a ladle - a small detail but hopefully easy to fix for the next visitors.

We were also unable to get the first- floor shower to work, but we did not report it to the owner as we found out very late on the first day and did not mind using the tub in the bigger bathroom upstairs.

Despite these problems, our family had a good time for the 3 days we spent in he area and found the house easy to be pleasant to be in. We would definitely consider renting it again - just not last minute!

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House was even better than expected. Bedrooms were large and house was nicely redone. Sound of the brook was so relaxing and atmosphere was peaceful. Definitely a nice retreat away from city.

We booked last minute because our family trip to London for spring break had to be cancelled. After carefully reading the reviews we decided to give it a try. Price was very reasonable, house was clean and comfortable, and we all really enjoyed it. Not much happening out there in mid-April, but the weather was great, the lake is very clean, and it's a quiet and private setting. We ate in mostly because of the limited restaurants in the area but a good kitchen made it convenient. We fish a lot as a family but unfortunately has no luck and really didn't see any movement in the lake. May have been too early.