Great Lakefront Home, Steel Lake, Home Sweet Home

I want people to know one thing. Don’t go by previous reviews. I booked this property and then read re Jews. I was a little worried. HOWEVER, what a pleasant experience. The owner Kathy was so sweet. I felt like I had known her my whole life. The place was so clean I could have eaten off the floor. Great views. She even went to look to see if I had left my phone when I left. She brought me a fan the night I got in. Not because it was hot but I am so used to a fan and having air circulating during sleep. She does have the signs everywhere like they say but I was not offended by them. I would do it also. Overall I want people to understand that sometimes people misinterpret why people do the things they do. She was awesome and I hope to stay there next time that I come to Seattle. Thanks for a great stay!

This was a lovely cottage with a stunning lake view. The garden is one of the most beautiful that have ever seen. The owner, Kathy lovingly maintains this unique place to be a visual paradise. The location is very convenient to shopping and transportation.

We really enjoyed our stay:) It was lovely waking up to the beautiful view of the lake off the deck. The fire pit by the lake was amazing and it was so peaceful watching my daughter take the kayak out. We absolutely loved the flowers and landscaping, just gorgeous! The only thing I could say is since there is one restroom, we had to fight over the mirror. I would suggest another mirror in the bedrooms to do hair or makeup. There was also a blanket that had not been washed, we found some dried sour milk on it. We did bring some of our own blankets to use. Other than that, it was perfect. The owner was very pleasant and always responded to messages in a timely manner. Overall we were very happy with the place. We will definitely come back!

Thank you so much, we enjoyed our stay, beautiful ❤️ everything in the home, we meet our needs plus.,. thank you! thank you!

Pluses: Clean, the view, and the convenient location

Minuses: Indoors is sparse and just adequate - not luxurious in any way. The DR table is now a bistro-style table with 4 tall wooden seats (think: bar stools with backs). The only other seating inside are 2 couches (1 was broken before our stay-so if you need it as a bed, inquire ahead). The master bed is squeaky and not very comfortable. There are exactly 4 pillows (on 3 beds, none on the couches) The master now has one tall bookshelf with a lamp on top-- too bad for you if you get the other side of the bed, you can just put your book, glass, phone, whatever on the floor because moving furniture is "not allowed." 2nd bedroom now has similar bookshelf/lamp.

There are signs EVERYWHERE - microwave, oven door, above both sinks, laundry room, all to let you know how to behave. Clearly they had problems with some renters. The "no shoes" sign was my favorite because either you stand in the small laundry room/entry and toe off your shoes, or you walk through the house to the LR to sit on the couch to untie them.

Unfortunately I did not read reviews before our trip, so I was surprised and appalled by the content of the "Welcome" email I received the day before arrival and a full 7 weeks after booking. It starts like this "Very important: No visitors and no more people than what is on reservation. If you have more people than on reservation please let us know and pay for it. If we find more people on the property than reservation and not paid - whether stay or visit -, you will lose the deposit." No information about what it might cost to have said visitors. Yes, people who stop by, you know, like our grandkids who I mentioned lived nearby in my very first request to book. The remainder of the email contains 20 "No"s (a complete list of every misbehavior of previous renters it seems).

This was by far the least welcoming and most sparsely provisioned house I have encountered in 30 years of vacation rentals - not even salt & pepper shakers (a previous renter left pepper and a pourable box of salt). It felt to us like they begrudgingly rent the house and that really they don't want people there.

But most importantly--ask for the full rules, instructions, and costs up front (they are not in the listing and costs are not in the email either). Beware "enjoy with family, friends and business associates." They really mean pay for each and every one of them, even if they only visit- we checked.