Deer Hill Cottage on 5 Lake Chain

We stayed over labor day weekend 2025. The house was in rough shape (the VRBO photos blur out all the right places) but it was big enough for our family group and was pet friendly. The lock required an app download on your phone which never ended up working for us. I saw other reviews in 2023 mentioning there was not enough place settings but the owner added many more. There are still no dressers or benches or anywhere to unpack clothes. There is also no laundry for guest use which was also a pain (if there is no laundry, there should be more than one towel per person for a week's stay). The bedroom layout is the king bed is upstairs, and the two queen rooms are downstairs. The second bathroom is in one of the queen bedrooms. The day bed is off the dining room and has glass french doors with no curtains. The table now seats 8. There was a gas grill that worked great. Also to note, there are cameras with microphones on the front of the house right next to the picnic table and and back of the house (by the grill) which was NOT disclosed in the listing, (and creepy in my opinion.) When we checked in, we were informed that we were responsible for taking the trash to the landfill (no trash could be left at the house during checkout) which was also not in the listing and not convenient. Overall though the house worked well for us. Great views of the lake! If we were there during warmer days we would have taken advantage of the giant dock at the lake.

Unfortunately, the profile pictures of this place do not match the actual quality. Although the lake and the grass (steep hill) and the location are great, the cottage was super dirty and pretty much every room looked as though it was hastily put together on a dime (ie. Drywall seams, cracks, flooring material applied with exposed nails on the walls and warping, screen door on patio door stuck and doesn’t slide properly, etc.). Also, the smart meter indicated that the filter hadn’t been cleaned in 3 years which is probably why the temperature in the house on very hot days couldn’t get below 29 degrees! If you’re looking for rustic then fine but it’s not presented as rustic at that price. Simply maintaining the furnace, ensuring the place is clean and fixing the screen door would go a long way.

We stayed for 2 nights. Cottage was very nice, clean and had amazing views. We saw 3 deers early morning from our bedroom window. It was a lovely experience. If possible I will come again next year. The owner was very prompt while replying.

Great location on a great 5 chain lake. The dock at the rental is large and would work well if you have a boat to bring in. The cottage itself looks like it was built in the 60’s and is a bit rough. Very few electrical outlets and the flooring and wall coverings had gaps, ripples etc. The furnishings were quite sparse. The cottage sleeps 8 but the living room has seating for 5. None of the bedrooms have dressers. We had a couple of issues come up but my correspondence with the owners was good and the turn around was relatively quick. I think this location could be a diamond in the rough if the owners keep developing/improving it.

The cottage has a great location and nice view on the lake very close from everything, very good space and facilities. One point may easy to be corrected towels and plates were not enough for full house occupancy and washing machine was not available