Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River

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Photo gallery for Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River

A two-story house with a stone retaining wall, large windows, and a covered porch.
A dining area with a wooden table and chairs, a staircase with wooden steps, and a ceiling with exposed beams.
A covered outdoor area with a round table and chairs, large windows, and a view of trees and a body of water.
A rural road leading to a small house surrounded by trees.
A spacious living area with a staircase leading to an upper level, a dining area, and a view through large windows.

Reviews

9.8 out of 10
Exceptional

Highlights

  • The great outdoors
    Guests love the outdoor space here.
  • Firepit available
    One of the few properties with a dedicated outdoor firepit.
  • Centrally-located
    You're never far from where you need to be with this convenient location.

Popular amenities

  • Patio
  • Barbecue grill
  • Washer
  • Refrigerator
  • Air conditioning
  • Internet
The current price is $147
$293 for 2 nights
All fees included
Sep 28 - Sep 30

Explore the area

View in a map
Alma, WI
  • Place, Big Lake
    ‪11 min walk‬
  • Place, Lake Pepin
    ‪14 min drive‬
  • Place, Winona State University
    ‪38 min drive‬

Where you'll sleep

1 bedroom (sleeps 6)

Loft

1 Queen Bed and 1 Double Bed

1 bathroom

Bathroom 1

Toilet · Shower only

Spaces

Deck or patio
Kitchen
Garden
Dining area
The current price is $147
$293 for 2 nights
All fees included
Sep 28 - Sep 30

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About this property

Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River

Open year-round! Nestled between the small riverside towns of Alma and Nelson, Wisconsin, The Great River Retreat Guest House sits on the backwaters of the Mississippi. What once was a day cabin with no running water or electricity to speak of, was completely remodeled in 2013. Every detail was considered, from the hand-scraped wood floors, the Amish rough sawn pine ceiling, the natural stone marble counter tops, the real stone slate surrounding the free-standing wood stove (there to keep you cozy on a cool night), to the screened-in deck with stunning views of the calm Mississippi backwaters and the trains passing by. You’ll feel like you just escaped into paradise.

The cabin sleeps six people comfortably in it’s one bedroom and large loft area. Enjoy incredible views as the sun rises and sets and watch as the fisherman and water skiers go back and forth during the day. You’ll also have access to the water and use of our dock so that you can fish, swim, or just relax. Experience what it’s like to stay at a truly unique place.

If this place seems a little too tight check out VRBO Listing: 821489 as this is the Main House adjacent to the property that is also available for rent.
Our prices include all fees. No hidden fees.

House Rules

Check in after 2:00 PM
Check out before 10:00 AM
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Children

Children allowed: ages 0-17
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Events

No events allowed
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Pets

No pets allowed
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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Important information

You need to know

Property # 480979
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Onsite parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Safety features at this property include a carbon monoxide detector, a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, a first aid kit, and a deadbolt lock
This property has outdoor spaces, such as balconies, patios, terraces which may not be suitable for children; if you have concerns, we recommend contacting the property prior to your arrival to confirm they can accommodate you in a suitable room

Frequently asked questions

Is Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

How much does it cost to stay at Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River?

As of Sep 27, 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River on Sep 28, 2026 start from $147, including taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.

How much is parking?

Onsite parking is available at the property.

What time is check-in at Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River?

Check-in begins at 2:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River?

Check-out is at 10:00 AM.

Where is Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River located?

Situated on the waterfront, this guesthouse is within 1 mi (2 km) of Mississippi River and Big Lake. Wings Over Alma and Lock and Dam No. 4 Observation Area are also within 6 mi (10 km).

Upscale and modern. A hidden paradise on the backwaters of the Mississippi River Reviews

Reviews

9.8

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labeled.
Learn moreOpens in a new window
Rating 10 - Excellent. 95 out of 113 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 17 out of 113 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 113 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 113 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 113 reviews

9.6/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Check-in

9.8/10

Communication

9.6/10

Location

9.8/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
What a little gem! Spotless interior, and the screened in porch was perfection! Also really nice furniture. The trains were the cherry on top!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2026
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Very communicating host. A few very very minor things we addressed with the host. Good location, yes there are trains!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2026
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Nice place. Could use a bathroom on each side of the main house.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2026
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Fishing paridise

Beautiful location and property
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great stay

We stay in numerous vacation rentals and we loved this place. Very clean, exceptional host and an absolutely beautiful place. My wife and myself had a great time on the water and in the home.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great for a group!

Beautiful house and location, loved the pool table, plenty of space, and great communication. Would love to stay here again!
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Cabin exceeded our expectations, beautiful views of the river and sunset. Easy Check in and out. Will be back!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice little getaway

This was a great spot for our family of 6 to get away for a few days. Kitchen fully stocked, Screened in porch as nice to sit on and look out at the water.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great stay

We enjoyed our stay at the house overlooking the lake. The owners were fantastic to work with and the place was really nice! I would definitely recommend it.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Cute cabin

We had a nice stay and were able to be with a larger group that stayed at the main property yet still have our own area for our family and it worked well for working remotely.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Anniversary get away

Lovely view and charming little guest house. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Thank you.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful winter getaway

My husband and I stayed her in December looking to wind down after the craziness of the holidays. It was the perfect place to watch movies, play yahtzee, and look at the beautiful scenery.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice spot to unwind

We wanted a get away for our family to kick off my oldest son’s graduation week. It was a good place to come together.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

July 25

Absolutely loved the big screened in porch! Great views, conversation and no bugs!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wow!

This property both a fantastic view of the river and backwaters. If you are a train enthusiast, this is the place to stay! Thank you, Jess and Jeremiah. We loved it and will be back!
Stayed 2 nights in May 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Amazing stay

We had sn amazing weekend between the great view of the river and the Eagle Center and shops in wabasha. Though it is set up for being able to make anything at the house, we hit some of the local restaurants. The sandwiches at Nelson Cheese Shop were the highlight. There were about 30 bald eagles in Alma when we were there. There is also a Kwik Trip there which came in very handy.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great location and view!

Our group came up for a fishing trip, of course the first thing you notice is the great views. The property was clean, and we had great communication with the hosts. It is short driving distance from all the good local restaurants. We use these types of services often and we have come across very few that feel this comfortable like your staying at a friend’s place. We look forward to coming back!!
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Cabin on the river

Very nice, comfortable place to stay. The screened in porch overlooking the river was a perfect place to start and end the day. There is an active train track very near by. Not a bother, but people might want know. Lots of outdoor activities near by!
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Comfortable stay

This was our second stay at this property. It is peaceful (except for the trains, which we like) and private. We got a pontoon and went out on the river for a full day. There are also some good day trip destinations from there. Ate at Nelson's 3 times, dining choices in the area are mostly your basic burger joint. Recommend this property.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Relaxing

This property is a little gem. Absolutely loved the view of the Mississippi backwaters and enjoyed the trains too. Mornings with a cuppa coffee, listening to the birds, watching the breeze ripple the water's surface and counting the train cars (had to at least once 😉). We'll def be back!
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2024
Archival

8/10 Good

Awesome escape

We rented this house last minute and we were extremely happy we did. It was clean, reasonable price and coming from Eau Claire it was a nice distance. We have children and busy lives and needed a few days to relax and unwind. The only downfall was that the DVD player did not work and we had brought some movies to watch. Another note, if you are a light sleeper there are trains that go by several times a day - no horns blowing or anything though. It did not bother us one bit.
Archival

10/10 Excellent

Charming place on the river. Awesome!!!

The property actually exceeds what you expect when you see the pictures. It is very nice. The hosts, Joe and Libby were exceptional. They helped us put our boat in, answered all our questions, gave us great recommendations, gave all of us rides on the jet ski, and even gave us a bottle of wine as a thank you for staying. They are very down to earth and easy to talk to. It doesn't get much better than that. The one area we were concerned with was the train tracks so close. Well, after the first night, I didn't really hear them anymore, and our kids kind of liked watching them go by. Having the dock to tie the boat to and to swim off of was a huge plus. We would stay at this place again in a heartbeat.
Archival

10/10 Excellent

Relaxing gem!

Five college girlfriends stayed here for a long weekend and couldn't have been happier! We are in our early 30s and a good mix of outdoorsy types and a little more high maintenance girls and we were all thrilled! The cabin is gorgeous and easily accommodated all 5 of us. We spent a lot of time on the screened in porch and around the fire ring. Two of us spent a lot of time out fishing on the dock...we aren't pros but had fun reeling in some catfish and even a snapping turtle! The neighbor Leigh was a real treat! He always made sure we could get the fire started, fished with us (thankfully handling the snapping turtle), and gave a few of us a tour of his impressive garden on a rainy morning! We loved the small towns near the cabin and made a trip to Slippery's and the bald eagle museum in Wabasha and then to a winery and shops in Alma. There is a train track that gets a lot of traffic right by the cabin but no big deal! We'd all agree that we'd come back once a year if we could! Absolutely wonderful, thank you Joe, Libby and Leigh!
Archival

8/10 Good

Clean and Modern

I recently rented this cabin for a girls weekend trip on the river. We were very impressed and loved how upscale and modern the cabin was. It was clean and had great furnishings, and the cabin owners were very friendly and hospitable. Very charming! It was great to have air conditioning and modern appliances.. you definitely will not be "roughing it"! We loved the screened in porch and took advantage of its bug free views of the river the entire weekend. There is a sound system with speakers throughout the house which was great! The river area is kind of hard to access for certain individuals who may have physical impairments. You go down a hill and a steep flight of stairs, and up and over loose rocks on the railroad tracks, back down the rocks, and then down the hill to get to the river. I would not recommend this cabin if you want to spend a lot of time on the water, or if you are a light sleeper as the trains come by frequently throughout the day and night (but they were pretty entertaining!) This rental was great for relaxing outdoors and had a nice area for outdoor games. It is fairly close to cute little towns with fun "hole in the wall" bars.
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Wonderful place to stay, incredible view, lovely place with huge screen porch. Great location, so close to the most charming river towns. Wish we could have stayed a week.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2026

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