The Hillside Hideaway at Crystal Lake is a luxurious northern Michigan cabin on top of Eden Hill, just outside of the cute little town of Beulah. The cabin is on a very private, serene, and beautiful lot surrounded by trees. This cabin has an incredible large deck with a seasonal view of Crystal Lake through the trees. The huge private deck also has outdoor dining furniture, a gas grill, a propane fire table, and a lovely private year-round spa / hot tub right on the deck!
NEIGHBORHOOD:
Another great feature of the cabin is Crystal Lake and the cabin's proximity to both it and the nearby public beach on Crystal Lake. Crystal Lake is a beautiful, clear, clean, and deep lake with lovely hills around it. The lake is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful lakes in Michigan. It is very family-friendly and is a popular location for swimming, fishing, and boating.
The cottage is also located just a short drive from downtown Beulah. Beulah is a cute little northern Michigan town located on the east end of Crystal Lake. The town was founded name in 1880 by Reverent Charles E. Bailey and its name is actually Biblical in nature. It has a cute little main street (Benzie Blvd.) which has a nice collection of shops, restaurants, cafes, a post office, and a couple of bars. We would particularly recommend Ursa Major Bistro and L'Chayim Delicatessen in terms of places to eat in downtown Beulah. One of the neat surprises in Beulah is that there is a wonderful interactive children's science museum called COGnition in the downtown area.
Outside of Beulah, the cabin is just a 10-minute drive from Frankfort, Frankfort Public Beach, and Lake Michigan to the west. To the north, the start of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is just a 10-minute drive north from the cabin. For additional dining, shopping, and entertainment options, downtown Traverse City is just a 45-minute drive from the cabin.
GUEST ACCESS:
A portion of the basement is locked off for storage of the property owner's personal item. There is also a detached garage on the property that is not available for guest usage. Apart from this, guests have full access to the entire house and everything on the property.
THE SPACE:
In addition to the outdoor deck, there is also a very nice fire ring / fire pit on the property with Adirondack chairs around it, which works great for having bonfires and s'mores!
Inside this vacation home, the cabin is beautifully decorated with Western wood-themed design and artwork throughout the cabin. The cabin has 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and sleeps 8 adults comfortably. The cabin has both a large living room downstairs (featuring a beautiful wood fireplace, which is available for guests to use) as well as an upstairs family room that features a large flat screen television. The cottage has both cable television as well as Wi-Fi. The cabin has a complete kitchen with an electric range, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, sink, island, and lots of counter space and cabinets. The kitchen is stocked with a good supply of cooking and dining utensils. There is a nice dining area with a dining table and chairs just off of the cottage. The cabin also has a lovely den / reading room at the front of the cabin with an additional television. The cottage also has its own clothes washer and dryer.
The master bedroom (with a queen-size bed) and one of the bathrooms are located on the main floor. The second bedroom (with a king-size bed) and the second full bathroom are located on the second floor. In the large basement, there is a queen-size bed and a twin-on-full bunk bed. The washer and dryer are also in the basement along with a half-bathroom. Note that the half-bathroom in the basement does not have a door to it. It is in a private corner of the basement (not visible from the main living area in the basement) for a bit of privacy. Please also note that the downstairs beds work great for adults or teenagers, but, being in the basement, might be a little scary for young children.
The cabin is also pet-friendly, air-conditioned, and has an open design with a beautiful wood fireplace on the main floor. This is truly an exceptional vacation rental property in a fantastic location!
TRANSIT:
Public transportation is available, but it is highly recommended that guests have their own vehicle.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
1) DRIVEWAY: The cabin is along a long driveway that runs from Eden Hill Road up to the top of Eden Hill. The driveway serves 4 houses on Eden Hill and is quite steep, narrow, and curvy. PLEASE DRIVE VERY SLOWLY ON THE DRIVEWAY AND BE VERY CAREFUL ON THE DRIVEWAY! There are a few other properties that use the same driveway and neighbors may be walking on the driveway (which does not have much shoulder space). To avoid issues, PLEASE USE EXTREME CAUTION ON THE DRIVEWAY AND BEWARE OF NEIGHBORS WALKING ON THE DRIVEWAY! Also, we have the driveway privately plowed, salted, and sanded in the winter, but it occasionally can still be difficult to get up the driveway in the wintertime. As such, we do suggest that guests utilize vehicles with snow tires and/or 4-wheel-drive when coming to the cabin in the winter.
2) LOWER LEVEL: We originally listed this property as a 3-bedroom house, but, as shown in the early reviews, some guests did not feel that the downstairs "bedroom" qualified as a bedroom and rated us quite poor in terms of "Accuracy". Thus, we changed the listing to only being a 2-bedroom property. The "downstairs bedroom" is now listed as a third living room with 3 beds in it.
3) PET POLICY: Up to 3 dogs are permitted at the property. If bringing 1 to 3 dogs, please make certain that they are included on the reservation and that the pet fee is appropriately paid. More than 3 dogs is strictly prohibited and any pets other than dogs are also strictly prohibited.
4) NUMBER OF GUESTS: Please note that our pricing is based upon the number of guests, with pricing being higher with each additional guest that is included on the reservation. Please make certain that the correct number of guests is specified on the reservation so that the pricing is correct.
5) EARLY CHECK-IN: Our policy is to allow early check-in on the day of arrival if the property is available for check-in. We will not know until the day before arrival whether or not the property will be available for early check-in or not. You can check with our local property manager the day before arrival or on your arrival day to see if the property will be available for early check-in or not.
6) LATE CHECK-OUT: We maintain a very strict and structured cleaning schedule. As such, late check-outs are strictly prohibited.
