Great things about this house:
Although small, the kitchen was very well appointed and provided everything we needed to prepare our meals and our morning coffee. It also has a dishwasher and a great deep sink for easy meal clean-up. As the photos show, the game room is awesome and likely the best you'll find in a rental. It provided fun for all and even had the adults competing for the high score on the arcade games (seriously...we were keeping a score card)! The bathrooms & bedrooms were clean with fairly new & very fresh smelling linens. The owner, Danny, was extremely attentive & responsive to all of our needs. He really seemed to care that we enjoyed our stay and provided extensive responses and information to all of my questions pre-trip. Views of the sunset from the two decks was amazing...a very relaxing ending to each day. Penisula Park was nicer than I expected, with a grass area for the dogs and a nice beach for the kids (although, the walk to get there was a little bizarre, as you have to walk through a dock yard). The bottom deck off of the game room is very spacious with plenty of seating and great shade. A very nice place to spend your afternoon to escape the heat inside.
Reason for 4 vs 5 stars:
There is no A/C, which typically isn't an issue in the mountains, but during our stay it was in the high 80's and the house was HOT, even with multiple fans (the owner has equipped the house with several wall, ceiling, and mobile fans). The areas of the house with west facing windows were more comfortable, thanks to mountain breezes, but the rooms with east facing windows were uncomfortably warm. The carpet (especially in the game room) had a lot of stains and there were areas on the wood floors (mostly around and under the furniture) that was very dusty and did not appear to be regularly cleaned by the cleaning crew (aside from these two issues, the house was clean when we arrived). The upper deck is in need of repair, and had me concerned enough to keep the kids off of it (the concerns are not structural, more just disrepair of some of the boards).
Informational:
Lots of stairs - not ideal for older, large-breed dogs or elderly/physically disabled people. The house is built on a steep slope in an established neighborhood, so there is no backyard or flat, forested areas in walking distance to explore...bummer for the kids and our dogs, but our time at the lake made up for it. Lake passes will not get you in to the private beach clubs, so your only option for swimming is Peninsula Park. As a private lake, there are no boats rentals, nor will they allow you to launch your own kayaks, etc. However, it's thanks to these strict rules that keeps this lake so clean and beautiful (the water on the shoreline at Peninsula Park was very clear and clean with a nice sandy shoreline). All in all, we enjoyed our time here and appreciate the owner for all of his help before and during our trip.