Chautauqua Lakefront Home-Maple Springs-near Bemus, Private Dock, 4BR/3FullBaths

What a great home. It had the cottage feel of my great grandmother's New England lake home. This section of the lake seemed nice and quiet too. The house had window a/c units, but we preferred the open windows and the breeze off the lake through the house. The owners were responsive to our questions. There's plenty to do on and around the lake, but we chose to relax and sample the local foods and beverages mostly. Thanks for a great and relaxing stay.

We always enjoy staying in Chautauqua lake and hope to do again next summer.

The back porch had a great view of the lake. And my husband and I enjoyed our morning coffee on the dock. We used the fire pit almost every night. The location was perfect. It was a quiet neighborhood where you could ride bikes and very close to Bemus Point where there was a cute coffee shop and restaurants. I think this year the lake had more seaweed than normal because of Covid. The owner was available for any questions we had and very accommodating. We would definitely rent this house again. It was a perfect family getaway.

Our Family enjoyed this cottage so much... a gorgeous view everyday of Lake Chautauqua, just a step out the front door and the lake is right there, surrounded by beautiful trees and a spacious yard. We had a nice campfire just about every night and were treated to some beautiful sunsets! The cottage was so nice and comfy everyone just loved it. We had nice walks thru the neighborhood and down to the MIdway and visited the Institution and Bemus Point but most of all we just relaxed outside with the beautiful view and a few cold ones and enjoyed just being together. Thank you to the Bates for making it possible. I hope we can return again. Sharon & Jim Murphy

My family and I have been coming to Chautauqua Lake and staying in this vacation home for well over 20 years. Although we can only stay a few weeks every summer, because of our family's work and school schedules, we consider it our home away from home-we love it that much! This vacation home is very comfortable, always clean when we arrive, and has all the amenities we need to make us feel at home. Some of the features we especially enjoy are the enclosed sun porch facing the lake, the lakeside deck, and the large dock for fishing, sun bathing, and just sitting and enjoying the beautiful sunsets. We also enjoy nightly campfires along the shoreline in front of the home, although if the lake is high due to a wet spring/summer, it can be a bit of a challenge finding a campfire site. We have several kayaks and have never had a problem setting off in the kayaks right from the shoreline. We also have a ski boat and the dock accommodates that well. This vacation home is centrally located in the quiet area of Maple Springs, which I highly recommend for families, as it is very safe for leasurely walks and bike riding. There is also a small amusement park at the end of the town (Midway Park), an easy walk, that our parents, siblings, and our children still enjoy. I fully expect that in the near future two new grandchildren will enjoy it, as well. Maple Springs is also centrally located on the lake to nearby popular towns such as Bemus Point and an easy drive to the wonderful Chautauqua Institution. The owner of this vacation home is very easy to rent from and very accommodating. I definitely recommend it and am looking forward to our stay in several weeks!

While our stay was average at best I would look elsewhere for the following reasons: A. the beach is not a beach at all. No swimming, not even off of dock. The water was full of slime and stinky. During our campfires there were frequent rat sightings on the beach. We had to create a makeshift launch in order to get our kayaks in and out of the water in order to avoid the beach slime. B. Upon departure we cleaned the house as though it was our own. We also own rental property and would expect nothing less of our guests. The cleaning person that the owner hired accused us of being too messy. That is a complete lie. C. The cleaning person also accused us of smoking in the house during our stay. Also a complete lie. Our family is a non-smoking family. We have watched family members suffer through cancer (a few that did not make it) due to this disgusting habit and would never blatantly disrespect someone's property. D. Because the owner took the cleaning persons word for it we did not get out entire security deposit back. Had he kept the entire amount there would have most definitely been legal action. All in all, an average experience at best that ended in total frustration. Save yourself the trouble and pick a different house.