Welcome to Sunset River Cottage, we hope you find our vintage cottage a peaceful retreat while visiting the area. What makes our cottage a unique experience are the gorgeous water views from just about every room and the sunsets are amazing too! You may even forget that you are in Central Illinois! Our cottage is tastefully decorated with wonderful hand-picked vintage pieces that evoke a very warm and cozy, yet comfortable environment. Beautiful water views and professionally decorated rooms will greet you as soon as you arrive at Sunset River Cottage. We are located on the Illinois River so there are water views from almost every room and the sunsets are amazing! No matter the season, there is a beautiful view awaiting you. In the summer, you can hear the waves crashing on shore or take in the peaceful sailboats and wonderful wildlife including Bald Eagle, Egrets, ducks and Canadian Geese. We try to keep a path through the willows to the waters edge if you are adventurous and want to go for a walk along the riverbank or you can simply take in all the views from the comfort of the cottage or back deck. Fall brings on the warm colors of the leaves changing and against the blue skies and water, it makes for a beautiful sight. And even in Winter, the frozen water has a beauty of its own and you can still enjoy the occasional sight of a Bald Eagle landing in the tall trees out back. Sunset River Cottage is a fully furnished 3 bedroom cottage with two full baths and a fully stocked kitchen. There is a lighted key pad for your convenience when entering the cottage. The covered deck will help keep you protected from the elements when entering cottage in inclement weather. There is a large open deck in the back facing the river where you can sit, relax and take in the views. There is a fire table on the back deck most of the year and a gas grill is also provided for your convenience if that is your preference for cooking. The main living area is all open to the living room, dining room and kitchen and the tall vaulted ceiling make the cottage feel more spacious. The stairs to the loft are open and off the main living space. There are blinds and curtains on most of the windows for privacy if you desire. The family room has a large 50" flat screen TV with Roku TV for streaming and an electric fireplace for a warm glow on a wintery night. We have high speed internet and will provide you the wifi password upon arrival. For family entertainment you will find a few games such as Yahtzee, Dominoes and Uno and there are also a couple of puzzles in the cabinet by entry for your enjoyment. The kitchen if fully stocked with a gas 5 burner stove, small microwave, full size refrigerator, dishwasher, deep stainless sink, open shelves and lots of counter space. We recently added a Coffee Bar with a single Kuerig coffee maker stocked with coffee, creamers, a few to-go coffee cups and lids and tea bags for the tea lovers. There is a bedroom in the loft with a King bed, desk and chair, ceiling fan and a gorgeous elevated view of the river. It has a full bath with stand up shower. Loft bedroom has its own heating and cooling system so you can adjust to your comfort. (The remote control for the heating and cooling unit is mounted on the wall and must be controlled from there). There is also a small walk in closet with hangers, a small shoe rack and full length mirror. We encourage only adults to stay in this space as it is designed more for adults and older children and not suitable for young children. There are two bedrooms on the main floor. The largest of the two bedrooms has a Queen size bed with two side tables and reading lamps, one has a usb plug-in for your cell phone, a dresser, desk and ceiling fan. There are two small open closet spaces to hang clothes and each one has a bench to set your suitcases on and an open space under the benches for shoes or small bags. It also has a small window seat and a full length mirror behind door for your convenience. The smallest bedroom has a full size bed with a side table and a wall of hooks for hanging clothes. There is also a mirror and a suitcase stand for your convenience. There is a small portable fan that you can use in this space if desired as there is no ceiling fan. The stacked washer and dryer is in the closet in this space and can be used by guests. All of the bedrooms have blinds and curtains for privacy. On the main floor, the full bathroom is accessible from either of the two bedrooms via a small hallway. This bathroom has a tub, shower and vanity with a single sink. There are shelves and hooks in there for towels/toiletries and a short cabinet with a drawer for personal items or setting a suitcase on if desired. There is a closet in the hallway with an iron, ironing board and has hangers for you to hang extra clothing if needed. There is also a broom and mop in there for clean-ups. We also provide a cooler with wheels for your convenience. Upon request we can also provide you with a small high chair and/or a portable crib. It is important to let us know ahead of time so we can have it available for you during your stay. You can enjoy the entire cottage (excluding the basement) and water front lot for your pleasure. There is a spacious deck off of the great room with full water views and a covered deck on the side with two adirondak chairs where you enter cottage. Everything you need will be available at the cottage but should you be missing something or need help with a problem with cottage, I will respond to your request asap via messaging through the Airbnb site. Quiet friendly neighborhood with water views. In the summer there are lots of golf carts and bikes going down Sunset Drive so please slow down and be considerate. There is a bar/restaurant called Charlie’s Sunset Cove within walking distance. There is a small circle drive and a short driveway leading up to the cottage. You enter the cottage on the parking side of lot. There is a covered deck at the entrance for your convenience. Places of Interest - There is a new bar/restaurant on Sunset Drive called Charlie’s at Sunset Cove that is right down the road from our cottage. EastPeoria is a short distance at approximately 8 miles away and has many areas of interest. There is a Starbucks and a Dunkin Donuts if you craving a coffee or donut. The East Peoria Levee District has many shops and restaurants. Restaurants in that area include Red Robin, Chipotle, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Moe's, Panera, Jasons Deli, Chick-fil-A and Panda Express amongst many others. It also offers retail stores such as Costco, Target, Ross Dress for Less and Ulta. You will also find other stores and restaurants in East Peoria such as Kroger, Bass Pro, Lowes, Wal Mart, Buffalo Wild Wings, Culver's, Qdoba and Texas Roadhouse. Other areas of interest right on the Illinois River are Jonah's Seafood House and 2601 Oyster Bar which are just a few miles west on Rt 116 as is the Par-A-Dice Casino. If sporting events are what is bringing you to the area, both the Eastside Centre sports complex and Metamora Fields Golf Course are within 10 miles of cottage as well as Disc Golf Tournaments including the Ledgestone Open just a few miles away. And if you need to go to Peoria for pleasure or business, it is just a few short miles away - directly across the McCluggage Bridge. Our cottage has well water and a water filtration system so it is safe to drink. We do provide four bottled waters for those who prefer them although you would be responsible to bring additional bottled waters for your stay. We suggest you bring bug spray if you plan on being outside. We ask that you respect the wildlife here on the Illinois river. The cottage is on the Illinois river so the water level can rise and lower throughout the year so the view may look different than the photos show. If the water level is up you may not have access to the waters edge to walk along the beach. There are Mayfly hatches some time between June and July along the river and the timing of hatch and the amount of Mayflies will vary. There is no way for us to know when and to what extent the hatch will take place so please take a note of this if you are planning to visit at that time of year. Some years are not bad at all, you may not even notice them but some years can be more intense with lots of them filling the air. The good thing is that their lifespan is only 48 hours and they are completely harmless, they do not bite or sting! But please know that we cannot control this as it is an act of Nature so book at your own risk if you are considering staying at this time of year as there will be no refunds. Please do your research if you think you may be uncomfortable with them. FLOODING: our cottage is on the Illinois river so if the river would happen to reach dangerous record flood levels we would have the option to close it down for safety reasons. So please note that if that were to happen and your reservation would have to be cancelled at the last minute for safety reasons due to Mother Nature, you would not be charged for the days we had to cancel your reservation. If you were already staying in our cottage and we decided for safety reasons that you would have to evacuate, we would only charge you for the days you were there and refund any unused days. We however would not be responsible for alternative housing.