Three By The Sea - Perfect for Large Family Gatherings! in South Haven

Great for multiple families! We LOVED IT!!!!

VRBORORG182427 (Chicago, IL)
Review submitted: February 5, 2013   Date of arrival: August 18, 2012

I've been meaning to write for awhile...and now as we plan for this summer I wanted to be sure to get this review posted! If you are looking for a relaxing environment with character, walking distance to the beach and town, this is your place! I stayed here with my husband and 1 yr old along with three siblings + their spouses & kids, and my parents. We would rent again in a heartbeat! Ilse (owner) was amazing - very responsive to my emails & questions and made herself readily available if there were any problems (there weren't any!). The whole property is very family friendly - from the board games inside to the basketball hoop to the bikes, etc in the garage. It would also be great for multiple couples without kids or just a group of friends. It was perfect for us because it has a "lived in" feel...clean, cute, and comfortable. Having a house, apartment, and extra space (Shiela's Shack) was perfect - multiple kitchens and common areas...enough space to hang with the family or get away from the family when needed :) I don't understand the negative reviews - it's a "beach house" - although I wouldn't hesitate to rent any time of year. Shiela's Shack was very clean but had a slightly musty smell. Again, what do you expect from a "beach house"? We just opened the doors & windows to air it out a bit as I'm sure it's not always rented. But it was PERFECTLY CLEAN and COZY. So... if you are expecting top of the line kitchens, appliances, and fancy furniture then look elsewhere. But if you want a comfortable place where you can walk to the beach and walk to town, this is a great rental! If you don't book both of the main units I suppose there is potential to have issues, but there is certainly enough space and separate entrances to minimize contact with your neighbors. One thing - the water is listed as about 3 blocks away. This is true but the entrance to the beach is a little further. Definitely doable - and we had wagons & strollers for the babies & toddlers but the others (4 - 5 year olds) walked just fine. Enjoy it! GREAT RENTAL!!!! And Ilse is wonderful!!!

Recommended for: families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, tourists without a car

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Perfect For Our Family

BigMOFam (St. Louis, MO)
Review submitted: July 17, 2012   Date of arrival: June 2, 2012

Three By the Sea is just perfect for our large family! This was our third year to stay there. Our family comes in from TX, AR, and MO. An easy 7-8 hr drive from St. Louis and those flying in come in to South Bend. Three By the Sea is an easy walk or bike ride to the beach and park and even closer to downtown South Haven. We have plenty of room to spread out between the 3 units and the bikes, basketball goal, and beach gear are in constant use by our children and grandchildren. The owner is very responsive to questions and concerns. We can't wait to return next summer.

Recommended for: families with young children

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Fine, but by no means excellent

aaj18 (Avon Lake, OH)
Review submitted: July 5, 2012   Date of arrival: June 23, 2012

We stayed here the last week of June 2012. We had 10 adults and 2 young children(2 and 9 months). Things I liked about the place: walkable to everything-downtown and the beach. Now we had young children so we had more stuff than comfortable walking three blocks, even with the beach burley they had so we drove down and dropped stuff off. New furniture than the pictures online. The bikes provided were also great, aside from the tricycle my son loved but the push/steer lever on the back was broken so made it almost impossible for him to ride. It would have been nice to know that they provide a bike trailer as well, that was a nice added bonus for us with young children. We liked the basketball hoop and large yard to play in. Here are some things that they advertise but were NOT there: kayaks, we were very disappointed about that, especially since they specifically said they provide them. There is no hammock on the front porch anymore and no air chair that is in some of the pictures as well. Here are things I specifically didn't like: the floors in both larger units were in desperate need of repair. Linoleum was coming up and was a tripping/cut your foot hazard. The carpet in Surfer Joe could use replacing, I am not a germ freak, but I didn't feel comfortable putting my 9 month old on the floor in there without blankets down. The worst thing was probably Sheila's Shack. DO NOT waste your money. I would have asked the owner for a refund for that place but the rest of the family didn't want to. I would not have stayed in there. The screen door was ripped and the place had bugs EVERYWHERE. In the shower, and the bed. We told the owner this when we met her on our last day there and she wanted to blame the cleaning crew, bugs aren't their fault!!! Now when camping or in a cabin in the woods you expect bugs, but not in this type of place. The bathroom does not have a sink or mirror, which was not conveyed in the advertising. The only sink is in the kitchenette. There is NO place in there to put any clothes away or even leave a suitcase on the floor with your clothes in it. It would be nice if they put up some shelves or something to put clothes in or on. My mother-in-law had her clothes laid out on the floor on a towel until she decided she needed to move into the main house. The rest of the family who didn't have young children enjoyed their time here, and we did too, but if I returned to South Haven I would look for something newer and more updated.

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