Great time

This cottage was very cute. We especially liked the spacious kitchen and large bathroom. We grilled out in the large backyard almost every day. The house is very close to the lake. The water was very shallow for quite a distance out and the beach was very clean. We don't have small kids but the kids corner park looked very nice. This was our first trip to South Haven, and we had alot of fun exploring the town on foot and bike, and loved the Kal Haven trail. There are 2 adult bikes, and we rented to more for our girls at a place downtown for $15 per day. Lots and lots of cute shops downtown to explore. Dogs were everywhere, which was really neat. All the stores allowed dogs inside except the ones with food or pharmacies. There was a concert at the pier (not sure if this is something that happens on a regular basis, but was fun). Many wineries are within a short driving distance, we went to St Julians and Warners in Paw Paw. The Michigan City outlet mall was about an hour away. On the day we left they were giving tours of the lighthouse, we're sorry we missed that. We'll definately be back!

My girlfriends and I rented this cute cottage for a weekend away in the fall. We were pleasantly suprised at how close it was to the lakefront. The cottage was so comfortable, cozy and very clean! I would definitely stay again. The price was affordable and we had a fabulous and relaxing stay in South Haven.

My husband booked a week at this home shortly before our arrival date. Upon arriving, we immediately noticed the strong smell of paint. The next thing we noticed was that our socks stuck to the floor. Upon closer inspection we found that a very shiny white paint had been applied to the wood floors over a duller white paint around the area rug, the furniture, etc. (as if someone painted quickly without moving a thing.)
We were disappointed and worried but tried to live with it & began to unpack after opening the few windows that would open and had screens. Before we were even done unpacking I felt dizzy & nauseous & had to sit down. (It was raining so we could not wait outside.) My husband suddenly had a big headache. So he decided to call to see what could be done. He spoke with Mr., who said he had painted 3 days before our arrival. He was very apologetic. Mrs. offered to put us up in a different home accross the highway for a few days, then we could come back for the remaining 3 days after it had aired out more. My husband hesitated. We would not have been able to walk to the park or the beach (our plan) & we would have to pack up and unpack several times. (We have 3 young kids and I am pregnant.) So she said that she was sorry for the inconvenience & then said she would just go ahead and refund all our money! So we scrambled & called other rental companies and ended up farther from the beach in a more expensive house after a lot of trouble.
The day we got back we received a letter from Mrs. that included a check for only the security deposit & 1/2 the rent because she said she lost funds for that week since it was reserved for us (despite our super-short notice rental). I argue that no one else would have tolerated the fumes either, even if she could have found someone else to rent the place in the 2 weeks we had it reserved. Additionally, we made our decision to rent a different place instead of just staying at a hotel for the night and going home based on the promised full refund which we did not ask for, were told we would get & then did not get. We had a horrible, inconvenient day, are worried about our exposure to such fumes, & now we have to pay 1/2 of the rent for that experience despite the homeowners word.

This house is everything we would need for family of four (2 small kids).
The lake is close and we went to the beach several times a day, a backyard has very big trees for the shade in the afternoon, a bathroom and the kitchen are renovated and very spacious.
We would definitely recommend this house for summer vacation.