Houses that allow a large group plus dog are hard to come by, since majority of the houses in Northern Michigan do not allow dogs. Our dog enjoyed the backyard so much. The house is clean and spacious. The guest room is a nice addition for someone who would like their quiet time separated from the main house. The furniture are of nice quilty and well curated, not like other lake front vacation rentals where they put together some cheap furniture and paint each room a different color. This house looks like the owner has lived here with children before, hence the decorations are well thought out. The kitchen has everything you would ever need, newer appliances, good 6-range stove. The fireplace next to the dining table is a nice touch and cozy. Fire wood is available but guests will have to bring their own starter wood and lighter. The house is 45 mins from Traverse City and 50 mins from Sleeping Bear Dunes. The nearest grocery is 5 mins drive away with small selection, if you want larger selection its 15 mins drive away. There is not much to do in town but it can be positive for someone who wants a lay back vacation away from all the tourists. Three things that are cons: 1. Check in. There were no signs leading us to the house and no bright sign in front of the house. It was hard to locate at night when we arrived, the house was pitch black. The code to the lockbox had changed so we needed to call the owner to obtain the new passcode before we could get into the house. 2. Water has a high iron content. There is a metal taste in drinking water and when taking shower, if you wash your towels in this water you will see the fabric dyed brown. We also had to go get our own gallons of drinking water for coffee and tea. 3. No trash pick up, this is harder when you have a large group. The check out instructions also say that you need to bring your own trash out, strip all the linens off the beds and put them next to the beds, which we still do not understand the reason.
Overall our group of 10 enjoyed our stay and would recommend for the cleanliness, pretty view, outdoor amenities, and the house itself.
