Colorful, Cozy Cottage on Pearl Lake

Great location for a relaxing family vacation.Only issue. Basement bedrooms were too warm with no AC in basement. Otherwise perfect.

We enjoyed the property. The house is down a half mile dirt road, missed the road first time. Spiral staircase going to downstairs two bedrooms kind of interesting. We had 12 people staying and we were able to spread out. The kayaks and paddle boat were a lot of fun.

We always travel to Michigan from Minnesota in a large group to visit extended family annually. We typically book a VRBO near the Frankfort area but also have family in Lake Ann so figured we would change it up this year. Maggie & Sam Hanes' property on Pearl Lake is perfect for those looking for large-group accomodations. The hosts promptly replied to all email communications and were reasonable in their property rules and expectations. It was awesome to have such a great view and a lot of privacy with no issues parking. The location is great for enjoying Sleeping Bear Dunes and Lake Michigan beaches. Also, the lake is beautiful but is more of a fishing lake or a lake to enjoy nature rather than a swimming lake. Be wary of swimmer's itch! Small cars may have difficulty getting down the road to the property, especially in the winter. Also, there is little to no cell phone coverage at the property, and we did not have access to wifi during our stay.

Overall, we were happy. It's on a beautiful lake and the listing was accurate. There were enough rooms that our party (8 adults + 1 infant) was comfortable. The boats were a nice touch and we took those out several time. The location is great, close to Sleeping Bear Dunes and Traverse City. I would only give 3.5 or 4 stars out of 5 reasons. First, the place could be cleaner. One of the beds is on the covered porch and it should have been nice to sleep there, but the windows were extremely dirty. The outdoors patio tables were grimy too, even on arrival. Second, while the property owner was extremely communicative upon arrival, I had a few questions in the months before our rental and they sometimes took ~1 week or more to respond. Third, there is a tight, spiral staircase that definitely would not have been approved if this house was built today to get to the two bedroom basement. We called it the spiral staircase of death. My husband fell down it once and I hit my head on it another time. Fourth, we were only given 1 set of keys for the house. Since the house that advertises fitting 10+ people, you definitely need more than 1 set of keys for when different groups in your party come and go separately. Fifth, the owners wanted me to send a check for $500 for a deposit outside VRBO, which they said they'd destroy if all was well after check out. We worked it out, but I really didn't appreciate being asked to make a payment outside VRBO.

We are a multiple family group- traveling with our elderly parents. We had a very memorable time while staying here and it held our families comfortably! The VIEW was AMAZING and the LOCATION was quiet and very relaxing. Close to Glen Arbor where we spent a day or 2 kayaking the Crystal River(highly recommend) and renting a pontoon for a day on the Caribbean blue waters of Glen Lake (rental from Glen Craft Marine great experience and HIGHLY RECOMMEND) . We anchored on a sandbar and swam all day- GREAT FOR ALL AGES 5years to 77years old!!! Traverse City was close too- just a little busy for us🙂and Sleeping Bear Dunes was super close also- nothing we went to was more than a 1/2 hour trip - at the most!! We loved our visit to Leland and we also spent a couple days at Empire Beach- great swimming there. Clear water, great rocks, and easy access -car lot to waters edge. Plan on eating at Shipwreck while you are there…DELCIOUS, huge sandwiches with fast, GREAT service!! DISAPPOINTED that the swimming beach and dock area at the cabin was not what we had expected. It is more of a deck by the water- and the beach was “too natural” for a great swim(a bit envious of the beach across the lake and just down from us). The kids definitely could not jump off the deck into the lake BUT you will still have a great time here - if you can make those adjustments to your itenerary Sam was very responsive and receptive to all our suggestions- great host! We LOVED our time here.

Really enjoyed our week on Pearl Lake. Val and Mark were great. Appreciated having the pontoon boat right there that we could rent.

Kids loved the dock, jumping and fishing off it. The kayaks and peddle boat were also a huge hit, for all of us. We loved the space the property gave us, especially the sunroom. Traverse City is only a 20 min drive from the cottage. The only issue we had is the fridge in main cottage broke and it was an inconvenience to carry the perishable items back and forth to the other fridge. Mark replaced the main cottage after a day and everything was back to normal. Mark and Val were very attentive to our needs and very kind, we look forward to booking Tall Pines again soon!

Mark and Val were exceptional hosts. They were responsive to any questions/needs our group had. The lake was beautiful and serene. We had plenty of space for our group with the 2 cabins. We realize being on a lake comes with spiders but some overall deep cleaning of cobwebs/spiderwebs is needed behind beds, dressers & in cupboards. Overall we had an excellent time. The beach area was nice and plenty of equipment to use.

You could not ask for a prettier and more peaceful setting on Pearl Lake- wonderful views of the lake from the living room, deck and apartment. We enjoyed eating on the deck (three tables to accommodate us all) and relaxing on the other deck down the steps to the lake as well as the little beach a few steps away. We used the kayak and canoe every day. The main house is a bit quirky but spacious and comfortable. The apartment above the garage a few steps away was perfect for our daughter, son-in-law, and two little girls. We would definitely rent Tall Pines again for a summer vacation.

There are actually two separate buildings, it still worked for us, but the description doesn’t really state that. There is not a beach right in front of the cottage as it looks in the picture, it is off to the side of the cottage and can not be seen from the cottage, the beach slopes quite a bit. The children still enjoyed themselves, but it could be a little challenging for older guest.