We went up for a weekend stay at the end of this April. I brought three of my children (ages 9 to 12) and our chocolate lab up for a fishing weekend getaway and we found a cozy, beautifully finished, modern and bucolic lake front home-away-from-home. The owner is immediately responsive to any and all needs/wants and the location, though nestled away, is only a minute from Tom Thumb's old fashioned indoor/outdoor hot dog/ice cream stand and 12 minutes from a Wegman's. The view of the lake here is absolutely its strongest selling point (the pictures of my children fishing silhouetted against the sunset are priceless).
The home has recently been re-finished with hard wood surfaces, modern kitchen, comfortable furniture and large tv with FIOs cable and internet. One of the three bedrooms is a loft, complete with sitting area and its own bathroom, above a spacious garage; it gave the kids a sense of their own space ("the clubhouse") to hang out. The view from the living room window is a long, level backyard, leading to the shores of Owasco Lake.
Outside, there is a huge screened-in porch with a table and chairs for eating outdoors. The attached back deck catches warming rays of sun by mid-day and throughout the afternoon, tempered by refreshing lake breezes. (My brother visited from a hotel in the city and remarked that the deck is the kind of place you could sit from morning coffee until evening dinner, watching the kids play while reading an easy paper-back.) The yard is expansive and there is a dock for mooring a boat and natural peers from which to cast a line into adjacent coves (where the fish were constantly jumping, driving the dog nuts). The weather was not warm enough yet, but the lake bottom here is soft stone, making it easy on the feet for young swimmers. The shore also has a bon-fire pit with collected dry wood to allow for warm evenings while enjoying the sounds of the lake lapping the shore and casting a line to catch the walleye that team closer-in at night.
Overall, I did not give this the 5 stars it might otherwise deserve because the kitchen did not have a coffee maker and sauce pans I needed; which is likely because we were the first tenants of the new season, before a full amenity check could be completed. I am sure the owner will remedy this by the next visit and you may find a five-star experience awaiting. If you are heading to Upstate, think lake house before B&B, and definitely give this little treasure a try.