Absolutely perfect

Completely Satisfied! (Rochester Hills)
Review submitted: August 26, 2012   Date of arrival: August 17, 2012

We spent a year planning a major family reunion to celebrate several key milestones. A nothing could have been more perfect than Fair Haven. The house is magnificent and seemed to have everything we needed for lots of home cooking, games, boating, and general relaxation. And perfectly designed for the purpose - room for a puzzle table, lots of family gatherings around a large table, plenty of room on the covered deck overlooking the lake, a good stack of wood for the firepit pit and smores, and lots of space for each person to have quiet, private time or a good summer nap if desired.

Jen and Mike do a phenomenal job of welcoming you, handling all details, and then letting you have your own time in the house - but they are there if you ever need anything.

Great location to fan out to the magnificent Sleeping Bear Dunes, Mackinac, Traverse City itself. Health care is about6 miles away (we used it) and Meijers (with a Starbucks store) was only 5.1 miles away (can you tell how many times we went there?). Glorious fresh meat and fish and vegetarian dishes, fruits and vegetables all close by. And lots of great restaurants in TC, though we made most of our own in the lovely kitchen.

We also rented a boat to add to the kayaks and canoe provided. Great trips out with the grandchildren on a lake that wasn't too busy. Hummingbirds, glorious flowers, shade and sun, lawns for games - absolutely perfect.

Thank you so much, Jen.

Recommended for: adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, sight seeing

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Helpful votes: 3 / 3

Impressive home, committed service

Douglas (Chicago)
Review submitted: August 14, 2012   Date of arrival: August 3, 2012

The Fair Haven home is every bit as impressive in person as it looks in the photographs. Our family of 14 (a mix of young children, parents and grandparents) stayed here in August 2012 and we had a really enjoyable week.

The home and grounds are kept in top condition and seem almost new, and were very clean on check-in. No smudgy windows, sketchy appliances or piles of dirt in the corners here. The bedrooms are all reasonably well-appointed and the terrific kitchen and porch were our centers of activity.

Our only critical observations: The plumbing seems to be very sensitive; we got a little lecture about not flushing bricks or bath toys during check-in but a little more candor would have been appreciated. And the surrounding area beyond Silver Lake isn't much, mostly busy and unattractive retail corridors. But pull in the driveway and that part just entirely goes away.

About the service: The home managers genuinely seemed to care about our stay and those plumbing issues were attended to quickly and with concern. And we had a completely random problem with a smoke alarm/home security system at 2 a.m. one night and were able to immediately reach Jen and Matt on the phone; Matt was there 15 minutes later to solve it. Really impressive. (It was a defective battery, by the way, and when Matt swapped it out we could see he had dated the battery with permanent marker when installing it in June. He had dated the battery! Who does that? Sort of speaks to the level of detail here.)

There's a great little beach and dock. Jen helped us book a chef for a couple nights and a boat rental. Gorgeous sunsets over the lake. Neato big-screen TV downstairs. Small gas grill worked well. Fire pit on the beach. Thick towels, nice furniture, et cetera.

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Helpful votes: 1 / 1

Impressive place, committed service

Douglas (Chicago)
Review submitted: August 14, 2012   Date of arrival: August 3, 2012

The Fair Haven home is every bit as impressive in person as it looks in the photographs. Our family of 14 (a mix of young children, parents and grandparents) stayed here in August 2012 and we had a really enjoyable week.

The home and grounds are kept in top condition and seem almost new, and were very clean on check-in. No smudgy windows, sketchy appliances or piles of dirt in the corners here. The bedrooms are all reasonably well-appointed and the terrific kitchen and porch were our centers of activity.

Our only critical observations: The plumbing seems to be very sensitive; we got a little lecture about not flushing bricks or bath toys during check-in but a little more candor would have been appreciated. And the surrounding area beyond Silver Lake isn't much, mostly busy and unattractive retail corridors. But pull in the driveway and that part just entirely goes away.

About the service: The home managers genuinely seemed to care about our stay and those plumbing issues were attended to quickly and with concern. And we had a completely random problem with a smoke alarm/home security system at 2 a.m. one night and were able to immediately reach Jen and Matt on the phone; Matt was there 15 minutes later to solve it. Really impressive. (It was a defective battery, by the way, and when Matt swapped it out we could see he had dated the battery with permanent marker when installing it in June. He had dated the battery! Who does that? Sort of speaks to the level of detail here.)

There's a great little beach and dock. Jen helped us book a chef for a couple nights and a boat rental. Gorgeous sunsets over the lake. Neato big-screen TV downstairs. Small gas grill worked well. Fire pit on the beach. Thick towels, nice furniture, et cetera.

Recommended for: age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers

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Helpful votes: 0 / 0

Great for the whole family!

Tom G (Naperville, Illinois)
Review submitted: August 13, 2012   Date of arrival: July 27, 2012

Our entire family of grandparents, four sets of sons and daughters and five grandchildren found an unending amount of things to do and places to see in the Traverse City area. After all of our activities of sight seeing, hiking, biking, wineries, canoeing, restaurants, etc., we came home to the most beautiful, spacious, impecibly decorated home imaginable. The fouteen of us found plenty of space to be together or to find alone places when needed. Fires on the private beach were nearly an every evening occurance. The huge deck for reading, chatting and wine became our family's favorite gathering spot. We loved the well maintained gardens with the enchanting path to the beach. As beautiful as the pictures are, they really don't do the house justice. Personal touches included welcoming flowers, wine and dried cherries and were such a thoughtful treat. Jen Smith made sure we had everthing we needed and was available throughout the wee if we had any questions. We will definitely go back to Fair Haven!

Recommended for: adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, sight seeing, romantic getaway

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Helpful votes: 0 / 0

A piece of paradise!!

IloveTC (Olmsted Falls, OH)
Review submitted: July 2, 2012   Date of arrival: June 16, 2012

Our stay at the Fair Haven was beyond excellent. The house was extremely beautiful and very clean and well-maintained. It looks like a model home. We were greeted with fresh flowers, a bottle of wine and dried cherries. The description of the property is very accurate but one really needs to see the home to appreciate its beauty. Our family truly felt at home while staying at the Fair Haven. We hope to make the Fair Haven our destination for a family vacation next summer. There were several of us staying in the home ranging in age from late 70's down to 2 years of age and the home provided something for everyone. The location of this home is great as you feel secluded from the fast pace of life yet you are only minutes from many of the great activities, shops, restaurants, etc that Traverse City provides. Many thanks to the owners for allowing us to share in their piece of paradise on Silver Lake!

Recommended for: age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, sight seeing

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Helpful votes: 1 / 2