Quiet, relaxing home on Lake Watab in beautiful St. Joseph, MN near SJU and CSB Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

Q: Is Quiet, relaxing home on Lake Watab in beautiful St. Joseph, MN near SJU and CSB pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

Q: Where is Quiet, relaxing home on Lake Watab in beautiful St. Joseph, MN near SJU and CSB located?

This St. Joseph vacation home is on the beach, 3 mi (4.8 km) from College of Saint Benedict, and within 9 mi (15 km) of Mississippi River and Saint John's Beach. Quarry Park and Nature Preserve and The Ledge Amphitheater are also within 9 mi (15 km).

8/10 Good

Beth F.

Jun 22, 2025

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

Coming Home

Had a great stay.

Stayed 5 nights in Jun 2025

8/10 Good

Margaret B.

Jun 3, 2025

Liked: Check-in, location

June 2

Very nice. Beds are a bit too hard, need a regular coffee maker, re do back porch for splinters and cushions on the porch chairs. Enjoyed our stay none the less. Thank you.

Stayed 3 nights in May 2025

8/10 Good

Sean K.

Nov 11, 2024

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

SJU Football Weekend

Great location close to St. Joe and SJU campus! Enjoyed the weekend!

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2024

10/10 Excellent

mike s.

Sep 2, 2021

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

Great place to stay.

Stayed with a group of work friends. This place was great place.

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2021

8/10 Good

Tiffany D.

Aug 13, 2024

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

Serene neighborhood

The view from back deck was beautiful! The hosts were very nice. The neighbors were all friendly also. We enjoyed our first visit to MN and plan to come back. Thank you!

Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Melanie J.

Jun 30, 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location

We were in town to watch our son play for the Rox.

The property was quiet and nice. The dock offered a great spot to relax.

Stayed 6 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Gary L., Little Suamico

Aug 7, 2023

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

Family time

Wonderful setting on Watab Lake. Full moon rising over the lake was gorgeous!

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023

6/10 Okay

Linda E.

Jul 7, 2025

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

The lake was nice

Conflict with the host set the tone for an uncomfortable stay. The smoke detector battery was chirping at 1:30 am the first night. We replaced the batteries at our own expense to fix the issue since this type of thing can happen. The gas grill is not for guest use and we mistakenly uncovered it to take a look. We did not use the grill, but the host became very upset with us. Our apologies fell on deaf ears. Guests may use the charcoal grill, but only lighter fluid is provided. You need to get your own charcoal. We did not grill during our stay. Owners were present in their basement unit for much of our stay seemingly unaware of the boundaries they established. The deck is for guest use yet each time we left the property, the deck furniture was re-arranged. The owners do not seem to want to host as minimum effort is put into maintaining the property or making the stay comfortable for guests. The lake was very nice, but we will not be returning.

Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Chris R., Tucson, AZ

Jun 8, 2022

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

Terrific Neighborhood

My family and I loved staying here, the house was perfect. Bedroom space was great, the kitchen was sufficient to cook while we were there, access to the lake was great, the yard was very well kept up. the neighborhood was really nice and full of friendly people. We will come back again next year.

Stayed 7 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Shawn R.

Jul 11, 2022

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

SJU Reunion

Three fellas back for their 35th reunion from all parts of the country. Very comfortable and accurate description. Went for a swim and sat on the dock too. Great location.

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Chris S.

May 29, 2023

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

Amazing!

What a beautiful property. We had a little hiccup with the website so reached out to the owners, John and Cici we absolutely amazing! They were extremely helpful and quick to respond. I highly recommend this property and would 100% come back. Thank you John and Cici, you were awesome.

Stayed 3 nights in May 2023

6/10 Okay

niall c.

Aug 8, 2021

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

Well kept.

Everything was good. The couches were very low , especially for people our age. I have had bth knees replaced and when I sat down I was only about a foot off the ground, but everything else was fine.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2021

6/10 Okay

Cheryl P.

Sep 4, 2020

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, location

Disliked: Communication, listing accuracy

Meh...

Positives: Beautiful location on small quiet lake Easy to find and close to town for extra gas and groceries Rental well cared for with kitchen easy to cook in Concerns: Extra restrictions and rules that were not stated at time of booking. Lack of privacy due to owners dining on patio, coming and going throughout the day, using the dock for their own pontoon boat, and constant questioning of guests during their stay. No place for safety should a tornado warning be announced (which it was). The owner’s residence in lower level is not available even if they are present. Aluminum dock does not have any protection for landing boats which makes scratches almost inevitable.

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2020

8/10 Good

Michael L.

Aug 2, 2018

Good Place in a Quiet Setting

We enjoyed the fully stocked kitchen. The dining table is not very practical at bar height, it's extremely small, and there are only four chairs in the whole house though the house rents for six people. The mattresses are comfortable. Thanks! The AC is not adequate to the house. Certain rooms are comfy while others get little air. Ceiling fans would help a lot too. The bathtub is terribly slippery and grab bars are needed. There are not enough towels supplied for a week's stay when one is not provided a washer/dryer. Nice place overall; fit our needs quite well. Way too many silly rules in a book that people don't read. Shorten the notes to the important things - bullet them - and move on. Quiet neighborhood; good for walking.

4/10 Poor

Chris S.

Aug 22, 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication

Disliked: Location, listing accuracy

Not As Described

First: There are some misleading things about the property post. I will fully admit; I didn't read the whole thing, so I missed the last couple sentences which read: "Owners have a private residence in the lower level of this property with a private, separate entrance so as not to disturb your visit and respect your privacy. They are rarely there." I would not have rented this property if it would have been more obvious that the owners are on site. This should be listed as a duplex, not "quiet, relaxing home." It seems that the owners are saying just enough to not be entirely false, but they're not being entirely forthright either. Other notable differences: The pictures of the home make it seem like all bedrooms have AC units. They don't. The owners say "separate entrance." There is an entrance to their "entirely separate space" within the unit. There is also an entrance to their space at the back of the house. You will see them walk through. The flag pole and number of flags flying has changed from the front picture. There are pictures of a concrete patio, a grill, and chairs; those are off limits for renters. The Ring cameras at the front and back of the house aren't pictured or aren't pictured clearly. There wasn't a tarp on the house in the pictures; when we stayed there, there was a tarp over what seemed like a broken roof which kept 1 guest awake. (I have pictures.) The gas grill is off limits. There is an un-pictured charcoal BBQ for guest use.

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

4/10 Poor

Jeffery M.

Jun 29, 2025

Liked: Communication, location

Disliked: Listing accuracy

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Hayden S.

Aug 4, 2024

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

GREAT LAKE ESCAPE

The stay was amazing. The home was close to all the great things central minnesota has to offer. It was a homey space, and the backyard was stunning. It was peaceful and quiet, nd the lake was very clean. The beach was a huge bonus. Great place. Great area. Even better hosts.

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2024

8/10 Good

Steven D.

Jun 14, 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location

Stay on Watab

Property was clean and appointed nicely. Check in and getting in to the property was easy enough. Other than no bottle opener, the house was well supplied. Property manual was thick. Owners stay on the lower level. We could hear their tv in the evening and I am sure they could hear the crying baby overnight. Main gripe is the large damage deposit (over $3500), which has not been refunded 10 days later. We probably will not choose this property again because of the need for damage deposit.

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Jason H.

Jun 13, 2022

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

Nice solid place

Cute little spot, nice set up. A little bare bones on the amenities/essentials (ice trays, 1ply tp etc )

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Patrick P.

Jun 12, 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, communication, location, listing accuracy

Minnesota vacation with family

Nice quiet neighborhood. Nice lake property.

Stayed 6 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Kelsey S.

Aug 10, 2018

Nice Weekend Getaway

Booked this place back in March. We are from the St. Cloud area, which is only about 20 minutes from this property. I was due with our second child in June, and wanted to be close to home in case we forgot anything or decided to leave early. Took a long weekend at the cabin. It was very nice, clean and cozy. The owners were home during our stay, but it did not interfere with our activities. They were very friendly and welcoming. The slope down to the lake was more steep than we were expecting - it was difficult for our 2 year old and my parents to get up and down it. There wasn't an easy way to access the lake from the shore (only the dock) for our son to play in the water, but there was a park on the lake very close by that we used a few times - it had a nice beach and was very quiet.

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2018

8/10 Good

Wendy F.

Aug 1, 2018

St. Joe rental home

The property is the top part of a family home. There is a private entrance, full kitchen, great room, bedrooms and bath. The owners were in the private lower part of the home for part of our stay and we were notified of when they would be there. This was not a problem for us since we left by mid morning and didn’t return until later in the evening. The neighborhood is very quiet and this property is quite lovely with a large yard, fire pit and dock. There are no laundry appliances available, since we were there for a week, we did not have fresh towels for the whole of our stay. There is a large tv in the great room but no instructions on how to connect to their service. I received a quick response when I sent a request for assistance. Unfortunately, it wasn’t specific enough and we never were able to get it to work. Didn’t really matter to us, but I suggested a written, detailed instruction sheet be left with the remotes. If you haven’t experienced well water in the past, the slight odor of the water maybe offensive. Overall, we were satisfied and would consider staying there again.

Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2018

4/10 Poor

David C.

Apr 18, 2018

Ask more questions before booking

Booked the house for a 2 week stay. We had no idea that we would be sharing the house with the owner. Upon arrival we noticed that the house was split in two. When we arrived at the house we could not get the T.V. to work for us. We contacted the owner and he was quick to reply. He had said that they would be by in a couple of days to fix it. After a few days he had said that he could not get the Apple TV to work but we were able to watch Local channels. So we decided to hook up our lap top to be able to at least watch Netflix. This worked fine until the owner showed up with the wife and kid to stay for the weekend and several other days periodically. All of their devices would connect to the WiFi and it would kick us off. I messaged the owner and he had said that he called the internet company and they were having the same problem downstairs. The owner was very friendly but dose not understand that his stay there greatly affects his tenants stay. The one other thing that made our stay less desirable was the Water that came out of the plumbing had a very bad smell to it. The smell is hard to describe as it smelled like rotting metal pipes or something along those lines. from what I could tell the house has very hard water. When we showered it would take forever to rinse the soap off. if I was asked if I would stay here again I would say NO. The house and surrounding area was Absolutely beautiful! I just think the add posted should give you more info so your not surprised like we were.

Stayed 12 nights in Apr 2018

8/10 Good

Sara S.

Feb 27, 2018

Nice quiet place, good location

I stayed in this home in February, which is probably not when most people are seeking the peace and quiet of Lake Watab. It's a nice home, with a surprisingly well-stocked kitchen. All the pots and pans you need to do all your home cooking with!

Stayed 7 nights in Feb 2018

This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

8/10 Good

Bonita C.

Nov 1, 2017

Peaceful place on Lake Watab

Really enjoyed having a bonfire out by Lake Watab before the snow fell. Charming neighborhood, close to St. Cloud and the freeway. Easy to find. Needed help with the 4 TV remotes and getting the house to the right temperature, but owners were easy to get ahold of to assist. Clean and kitchen was well stocked with appliances and kitchen utensils and dishes.

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2017

Quiet, relaxing home on Lake Watab in beautiful St. Joseph, MN near SJU and CSB

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