Vance Bay Getaway

We really wanted to give this stay 5 stars. The good: Great location, walkable to everything in town. Plenty of room for the number of guests it hosts. Facilities were all functional, and the furniture, bedding, and towels were clean. Lots of space for parking, and access to the garage. Wi-Fi worked, and the kitchen was well appointed. Great views too! The bad: Perhaps due to our visit during -35 F and heavy snowfall, but there was a pervasive sulfur / septic smell throughout the cabin. Maybe a blocked vent? The downstairs was worse than upstairs, to the point where one of our guests slept on the couch instead of the bed. Other than the septic smell, most of the downstairs smelled like regular old wood cabin, not necessarily a bad thing.

The property was very clean, and the location was great for accessing the snowmobile trails.

THE GOOD: As other reviews mentioned the home is close to town. You can walk to nice coffee shop overlooking the water and several bars/restaurants and grocery store. You can also bike to many activities around town including the North Lakeland Discovery Center which is great for hiking trails. Very close to snowmobile trails that you can reach by sled a short distance from the driveway. The main level of the home is nice. Living room furniture is new and very comfortable, plenty of seating for 6+ people, nice TV, nice dining room table. Wood burning fireplace (bring your own firewood) is nice but really wished it also faced the living room (it faces the dining area) as the living room was the room we spent most of our time. 2 bedrooms upstairs clean, 2 bathrooms upstairs clean but can use updating. Outdoor deck is very nice and the yard is large so plenty of privacy and great views of the lake bay from the property, nice gas grill. WIFI worked great. WHAT TO KNOW: This is a "tier 2" property in my opinion and in fairness it is priced that way so it's hard to be critical, but there are some things that need to be mentioned that I would have liked to know before booking. Fit and finish - almost all of the lamp shades are broken, there is no outdoor light on the front of house (it also appeared broken with missing switch) which sounds minor but when you arrive late in the evening in the winter, there is ice covering the front stairs from the roof run off melt. (Suggestion to owner - leave a bucket of salt by the front door, very treacherous). Probably most important is the lower level containing 2 bedrooms and a bathroom is very rustic. Fine for a guys trip, but not great for families or couples. Also, for families, no door on basement stairs which are very steep (bring gate). IN SUMMARY: If you are looking for a mid-tier place close to town, you will be happy here if you only need to use the main level (or have guests that are not picky about using lower level).

The location is so convenient to restaurants, market, and lake. The interior is beautiful...loved the clean uncluttered space, but a perfect floor plan for my four kids and a spouse. AND, the responsiveness of Vacasa was unexpected! I texted of a minor problem I'd found. Less than 10 minutes later, Vacasa had issued a service order, the next day the repairman called to make sure it was convenient to come and fix the problem!

This cabin was close to a lot great musky lakes. Beds are comfortable. There is plenty of room for fore people.

Great location and home for family of 7 with little ones.