Avis #Sunset Beginnings on the TrentSevern w/boathouse suite

What a beautiful spot!~ This is our second time coming to this cottage and we LOVE it!! The yard space is incredible of all outdoor activities! Canal Lake is stunning! The cottage is a perfect cottage to feel outdoorsy yet with the comforts of home! Well equip kitchen large tables, tons of games and the bunny is amazing! (My sisters family comes for 4 days and stays in bunny) I would highly recommend. The only thing is there says there is a water cooler but there is not (2 times we've stayed it states on handbook but is not there-just an FYI)!! Love this place :))

The property is easily accessible (hint -- your GPS will try to take you onto Antiquary Beach Road -- this won't work as there is a wooded separation between that and McKelvey Beach Road. Take the McKelvey Road exit on Portage Road -- the one south of Centennial Park Road -- instead). Only about 15 minutes away from Balsam Lake Provincial Park Beaches and great swimming. The dock is in great shape, and the paddleboat and kayaks got a lot of use. Quiet neighbours, hot water supply is good, and the barbecue is new. Appliances all work and there are washer/dryers (we did not use) in the garage. The only issue we had was that in mid-August it was the season for ants to wander around. Not many, but about five a day made it inside the back door and had to be "encouraged" to leave. Really nothing to worry about and the sundeck was fantastic. We slept seven large adults and a two year old with no problems at all -- the boathouse beds were as good as the main cabin's. Wifi was good. Good cellphone communications as well. And lots of restaurants, food stores, and antique shops withing twenty minutes or so.

Loved the cottage and Bunkie. Everything was perfect and exactly what we were looking for. Would love to stay there again and again. The reason I didn't give it a 5 star is because of the garbage/recycling situation. Having to take your own garbage home for half the vacation stay instead of being able to leave it in the garbage box at the end of the driveway wasn't pleasant. Recycling box wasn't picked up so we had 2 bags of cans & plastic as well to come back with us. Not sure why the recycling wasn't picked up as all cans and plastic containers were rinsed and no paper products mixed in. So driving home for 4 hours with garbage at our feet (only place it would fit in the vehicle) was a little disturbing. FYI - No Landfills open on Friday near Kirkfield.

We had a fantastic time! Host responsive to any messages! Coming from someone who is pretty picky (moi) - We loved the location property size , dock and beautiful Canal Lake. Property was very clean! A few things tho: we had to replace coffee maker as it wasn’t working . Host offered one to be delivered but we had purchased our own ! More inside storage space such as hooks on the back of every interior door would be helpful to keep rooms tidy and things off the floor ! Landscape could be tidied up also as there were some weeds blocking our view! A screen door for the slider would be ideal to let cool Breeze in! We did not have curtains or rods for the bunkie so improvised with garbage bags for early morning sun! Water pressure in both cottage and bunkie were fantastic ! I would also bring paper plates to burn as there is no dishwasher if you are going with multiple people! We will be back! It was a fantastic holiday thank you so much!!

Our family loved our time at the cottage :) perfect location and we loved that we could bring our two dogs with us. The sunsets are absolutely stunning and the kitchen had all the amenities you could need. The dock was great and the kids enjoyed fishing off of it. The access to the canoe and kayaks were great - we even found a nice sandbar a short distance away for the kids to swim weed free. The fire pit was also a lovely feature where you can look out onto the calm lake in the evening. The boathouse is lovely to have some privacy/separation. There were some minor issues that were already mentioned in previous reviews (BBQ was not fully functional but adequate, AC unit drips inside the house, landfill is not open on thursdays and fridays, no A/C in the boat house but that was mentioned in the listing and was expected) but that did not hinder our enjoyment!! Minor things for management to iron out but overall was a great cottage and would come back :)

We had a great time at the cottage, it was a perfect week with the family, some minor things that could be done/added but overall it was great!! Sure there are weeds but if you have water shoes and swim off the end of the dock its fine; we enjoyed the paddle boat; a nice campfire; and many water fights on the huge lot!! They have kayak to use as well but we did not use them. Lots of space to sleep and the boathouse was perfect for my parents as a separate space to stay in. I would definitely go back!!

Impressed with both the indoor and outdoor cleanliness.

The cottage itself was fine. I'd say the description of the property and the amenities was fairly accurate. We had a major problem on our first night, however. It was cold when we arrived so I turned the heat on. Unfortunately after the cottage warmed the baseboard heating would not turn off, even when the thermostat was turned off. The heat continued all night long, forcing us to open windows and run the A/C all night. Even then the cottage was stuck in the mid-to-high 80's all night (not exactly comfortable). The property manager didn't provide a phone #, so I attempted to message him first thing in the am via VRBO. After several hours of no response, I disconnected the wire to the thermostat and messaged him again to let him know. Very shortly after that I received a message back threatening that he would charge me for having to send an electrician to reconnect the thermostat. He left his number, so I called him to explain the situation but he was still very threatening and accused me of "re-wiring the cottage". I was pretty upset by his tone and attitude. In addition to the cottage feeling like a sauna, the baseboard heaters were so hot I was worried one of my kids or dogs would burn themselves, or worse that maybe it could start a fire. After that incident, the rest of the stay was fine. Some of the items around the cottage could use minor repairs, like the BBQ and the A/C (which constantly dripped water during the latter part of our stay). As well, the info package provided could use updating. It said that the breaker panel was in the "basement", but it's actually behind a panel in the bathroom. If I had known that I would have attempted to find the fuse to turn off the heater that way. Hopefully some of these items were repaired before the next family stayed there.

We had a very wonderful stay over a week here. With two large yards, beautiful sunsets, tons of water toys and sports toys, board games, foosball table, and a large deck with umbrellas, there were endless ways to unwind. Even on the rainy days! The kitchen is well stocked with everything except for a real coffee machine or a kettle. (Come with keurig pods if you want use the one in the kitchen.) The house is spacious and the bunky is really nice inside. That being said, there are a couple things we would have wished were done better: Communication was not clear about the house alarm and garbage. The house alarm going-off on arrival may have been an exceptional occurrence, but nonetheless preventable with better instructions. The garbage issue, as other reviews have mentioned is more complicated. It is picked up on Wednesday morning at an unspecified time, two bags max. There are special rules about how things must be packaged (only clear bags for garbage, no bags for recycling). The closest dumping site was not open when we were leaving Friday so we had to drive it down to a further one. The beds were also really soft and caused all of us pains. The waterbed is really mossy so water shoes are recommended. But it was otherwise nicely warm and calm water, perfect for all water activities.

This property is simple, but everything necessary is there. The swimming is good, although restricted by the weed. The outside area and the backyard are very nice.