Is Secluded Lake Retreat pet-friendly?

Yes, this property allows cats and dogs (limit 2 total) with a maximum weight of up to 50 lbs per pet. Some restrictions may apply, so please contact the property for more details.

Onsite parking is available at the property.

Where is Secluded Lake Retreat located?

This family-friendly Dowling vacation home is located on the waterfront, within 3 mi (5 km) of Bristol Lake, Little Mill Lake and Clear Lake. Mill Lake is 2.4 mi (3.8 km) away.

Secluded Lake Retreat Reviews, Deals & Photos 2026

10/10 Excellent

Caleb S.

Oct 26, 2023

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

Fall Getaway

Very nice cozy place to stay with plenty to do. Beautiful property to enjoy.

Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jesse W.

Apr 8, 2025

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

Quick Getaway

This trip was just for my spouse and I and our pet. It was a colder weekend, but we enjoyed everything. We can’t wait to rent again when the weather is warmer.

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer R.

Aug 24, 2023

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

Wonderful secluded stay

The home is very well equipped and clean, the location wonderful on the lake with so much to do. My family and I really enjoyed ourselves and the owner is responsive! looking forward to staying again!

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Kellie B.

Sep 17, 2023

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

Perfect Lake Retreat

The property was exactly as described, nicely appointed, and clean when we arrived. Perfect lake house getaway from the city.

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lisa J.

Jul 21, 2024

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

A truly beautiful lake!

Pretty lake, very clean, nice house and very quiet. Had a great time enjoying the surroundings. Lake was warm, beds were comfy and house was well stocked! Thank you for sharing your house!

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2024

10/10 Excellent

Kim S.

Sep 12, 2023

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

Private getaway

Absolutley love this cottage!! Perfect location on the lake with privacy. Loved being able to rent the pontoon boat too! We did daily tours around the lake on the boat with many stops for swimming. Had the best time

Stayed 7 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jeanne O.

Sep 23, 2024

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

Peaceful Lake House

Our family of 9 people from 3 states stayed at this house in Dowling for a wedding weekend. The house is very comfortable and the kitchen worked well for all of us. The water is a bit ‘tasty’ so bottled water is a good idea. We enjoyed the early mornings outside.

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2024

10/10 Excellent

Patricia N.

Sep 14, 2023

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

Great Get-Away!!

Nice place! House was clean and had comfortable beds. The beach area was fun for the little kids. Adults enjoyed the kayaks and fishing on the lake. Beautiful views of the lake from the screened in porch. Really enjoyed our time there and would recommend…except for people who have problems climbing stairs. There’s quite a few stairs to get to the lake front. (The only drawback for some people. We were fine with it.)

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Briana M.

Nov 18, 2025

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

Cannot say enough good things about this beautiful home and it's owners! Absolutely delightful last minute booking, wonderful location and amenities, all of us want to return year after year

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2025

8/10 Good

Kyle B.

Sep 8, 2025

Liked: Check-in, communication, listing accuracy

Loved the place! Hot tub was amazing!

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2025

10/10 Excellent

Brian S.

Oct 26, 2025

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

Sue was an excellent host. Everything as described. The perfect fall getaway.

Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2025

10/10 Excellent

Justin T.

Jul 18, 2025

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

Lake stay

The house is great, tons of room. Veiw of the lake is very nice. The area down by the lake is fantastic, lots of space, easy to get in and out of the water.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2025

8/10 Good

Lisa C.

Jul 4, 2025

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

Wonderful Host

Our stay was wonderful. The house was clean and comfortable. The only downfall was the trail to the beach area and the beach itself. The trail had rocks and sticks and was washing in. It is definitely not a good area for someone with bad knees. The water itself has a fast drop off not makong it very kid friendly. But, since we were 2 adults and a teenager, it was good for us. The hot tub was nice! Would definitely stay again!

Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

BENJAMIN K.

May 25, 2024

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

Bristol Lake Stay

We had a group of 8 guys on a golf trip. The accomodations were excellent and we had a great time.

Stayed 3 nights in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Loren T.

Sep 22, 2023

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

Lake house

Had a wonderful time! I will definitely recommend this place.

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Leslie M., Grosse Pointe Farms, Mi. 48236

Jul 15, 2023

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

Great House

A beautiful location with a great house!,VERY CLEAN!, the best equipped house we have ever rented.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Cooper N.

May 30, 2023

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

Memorial Day Weekend

Stayed here with some friends and our dogs. Great stay. Was very relaxing and we had a blast swimming in the lake and wearing the dogs out. Would recommend to anyone.

Stayed 3 nights in May 2023

6/10 Okay

James H.

Jun 16, 2024

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Disliked: Cleanliness

Nice place, just needed cleaned

The property was great, it just was not clean.

Stayed 4 nights in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Charles G.

Jun 12, 2023

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

2023 Family Vacation

This is the second year in a row we have stayed at this property and what a home and property it is. My kids and I love to connect here while enjoying the basement games, the beach, the hot tub and the boat! Beautiful sunrises from the screened in room starts each day off right! Thanks Ray!

Stayed 3 nights in May 2023

8/10 Good

Haley D.

Mar 7, 2023

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

Winter Weekend Visit

The property was as expected and the view was beautiful! Hot tub was perfect for the winter weekend. Loved the screened in deck, cozy living area, games, local guide binder, and spacious bedrooms. Only a few minor negative things to note—the Keurig did not work, water filter on fridge needed to be changed, and downstairs bathroom had a musty smell. Still a great space with comfortable accommodations for a family who will be spending a lot of time on the lake during summer months!!

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023

8/10 Good

John S.

Aug 24, 2025

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

First off, the owners of this property are very attentive and some of the best owners I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with (and we stay at 1-2 different lake homes each year). They went above and beyond to try and right a few wrongs. Overall, this place was great, very cozy and has a rustic, woodsy, lake house feel. It is high up from the water so you do not have a clear view of the swim area and there are some uneven steps down, but there is a hand rail and my older parents (78 and 80) did not love the extra steps but managed just fine. The boat that is rented with the cottage should probably just be included in the base price. It is pretty beat up and only has 5 seats. The pier is small, so you need the boat to hang out if you want to sit over the water. It is not great for this. The engine runs a bit rough, loud and does not move much, but better than nothing for just tooling around the lake. I am sure renting a boat is no fun from an owners perspective, but a clear heads up about its condition would be suggested. Lastly

Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Carolyn K., Lombard, IL

Sep 30, 2020

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

Very clean!

House and grounds were super clean! This was located in a great location with quite a few stairs to get down to the lake. Lake was great, we used the kayaks that are included and fished off the pier. The house lacked a couple basics but the owner assisted when notified. The pans provided are pretty worn and are no longer non-stick. They were very difficult to cook on, keep this in mind if you plan on frying anything on the stove top. The pool table, air hockey table and ping pong table were perfect for our group also. 2 sets of newer washers/dryers, 1 on each floor was super convenient! Would recommend and would return!

Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2020

8/10 Good

sara s.

Jul 26, 2025

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

Overall we had a very great time. We caught plenty of fish at all times of the day. The porch was nice as well, slightly overgrown and would of been better if trimmed up more for a view.The house was spacious for the 8 of us. 1 room was in the basement, just so others know. The basement bathroom is also a full bathroom, as we were unsure with the listing. The walk down,one stair case was overgrown and unable to use it at all. The other one, it is quite a hike. There was tons of stuff in the shed down there to use if items and great to store our stuff while there. The bedrooms were pretty big as well. Having the highchair and pack and play there helped a ton. The beds also were comfortable with plenty of blanket and extra pillows around for us. It would of been nice for the 2 other bedrooms to have tv also. The kitchen had a lot of pans, griddle coffeemaker and tons there, however the stove could use an upgrade, we couldnt get one burner to work at all. The knives could also be replaced, the plastic knives we had were sharper. The basement stairs are pretty seep and smaller stairs, and could be difficult for some coming there, we had one of our guest who couldnt make it there how they were. The air hockey table air wouldnt blow the pucks, but still could play some.The basement was nice of the walk out tho once there. The hot tub i dont believe was at the temp it said it was and was a little cooler, but was still warm and needed after the hikes back and forth the stairs down.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2025

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4/10 Poor

Brenna M., El Cajon, CA

Jan 19, 2018

Dangerous steps down to water

I broke my ankle at this house on the step out to the screened room. Maybe it is best to have a sign there to let people know about the step. The house was nice, it was a little warm in there at times. We liked our stay there but wish we would of known about the treacherous walk down to the water. Our 80 year old mother fell also on her way down the walkway. There was no lights so it was very difficult at night. My broken ankle made it much worse. It would of been nice to be contacted by the homeowner after i fell and broke my ankle to see how i was doing, but we never got contacted, even after we let tgem know. We wont stay here again because of the dangerous walkway that you need to use to go to the lake. In none of the reviews does anyone mention the steep walk path, this is important information.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Ramona A.

Aug 15, 2025

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

Very spacious lake house room for big families! Lots of beach toys for the kids and adults, we had a blast!

Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2025

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