Belle's Rest - Up North Cabin with Lake Access

Belle's Rest is a cozy cabin in the heart of Northern Michigan. It is nestled in a neighborhood of cabins by Otsego Lake. Despite the vintage decor, the cabin offers modern conveniences and a great kitchen! You will find Belle's Rest to be a great home-base for your time Up North. Guests will have access to Otsego Lake, and all the Northern Michigan favorites are within 45 minutes to 1.5 hours away! The space Belle's Rest is my newly redecorated personal home! This is my 5th summer renting my house. I worked hard over the 2020 lockdown to redecorate everything so I could rent it while I was working in Alaska. I am the lodge manager for my friend's fishing lodges in Kenai, AK. I will be gone mid-May through the first week of September. I have been super excited about how my cabin has turned out, and I would love to share it with others while I am away! My house is located on the west side of Otsego Lake - you will have lake access, as well as some great nearby options for experiencing the lake. You can see one of the channels to Otsego Lake at the end of the road, as you pull into the driveway. If you walk on the road behind the house, the actual lake is 1.5 blocks away. There is a little entry at that point, which would be great for dropping in a kayak or canoe or doing a little swimming. The neighborhood association is not interested in sharing their lake access lot with Airbnb guests; however, I will provide a pass to Otsego Lake County Park (1/4 mile down the road - very walkable) so you have access to the lake during your stay. It's a beautiful park and campground with a boat launch, picnic pavilions, and a swimming and beach area. The best beach on the lake will be Otsego Lake State Park. It is catty corner across the lake from my house, and it's about a 5 mile drive. It's a beautiful beach! Unfortunately I do not yet have water toys for folks to use, but you can check into Action Outdoor Rentals to rent some! They meet you at the County Park. My remodel is still in progress. I still need to build the wall between the main room and the master bedroom (see pictures for the current set up), replace the flooring, and replace the temporary countertops with permanent counters (I painted and sealed them, but it is a temporary fix). In 2020, I purchased a brand new fridge and gas stove. In April 2021, I installed a new water heater and a brand new washer/dryer combo. I updated the water filter and pressure tank in 2024! There is a system flush mid-day (after a specific quantity of water has been used). It’s best to not use the water while it’s running. If water pools in a bath, it’s still slightly discolored, but it’s much better than it was previously. I will continue to provide purified water in a water cooler, if you prefer to use that; however, rest assured the water is drinkable and usable for cooking/cleaning. The rest of the cabin is newly redecorated (in 2020). I made many of my decorations - including the curtains, shower curtain, tablecloth, pot holders, some wall hangings, etc. Definitely enjoy them, but please treat them kindly! I would love to enjoy them when I return. :) I do not have air conditioning. It is well insulated, so most of the summer it stays pretty cool. Opening windows to get a cross breeze going helps a great deal, and the bedrooms and main room will all have fans. I usually keep the overhead light off in the master bedroom and use the light switch to turn the fan on/off, but you are welcome to do whatever makes the most sense for you! The main room can get warm if you are doing a lot of cooking and baking due to the gas stove. Outside of that, things stay decently cool. I have a bistro set, a gas grill, and a fire pit available for your use. I will provide camp chairs, roasting sticks, and enough firewood for 1-2 fires. Thanks to our ice storm this year, I have an extra wood pile available for your use! Should you need more, you can purchase additional wood around town. Many people sell wood on the side of the road, or you can grab it from the store. The white cupboard in the kitchen is a pantry for your food during your stay, and I have a cute vintage am/fm radio with a bluetooth speaker for you to use. Guest access You will have access to my entire house, minus a couple of dressers, a chest, and a small storage closet in the bathroom. I will be using these items to store some of my belongings. There will be one dresser and a closet in each bedroom for guest use, along with the desk in the 2nd bedroom. The garage is the only thing entirely off limits. It is command central station for my housecleaners and the lawn care worker. They will be using it to clean both my house and my A-frame cabin rental next door (Hephzibah's Haven, also listed on Airbnb). They may need to access the garage occasionally while you are there, but only for limited periods of time. The garage is separate from the house and set back a little bit, so it should not bother you too much. The lawn will be mowed weekly; I will do my best to give you a timeframe on what to expect. Also, you are welcome to use the wine glasses and bowls/small appliances in the bottom of the green hutch. I kindly ask you to refrain from using the decorative dishes on the top. Other things to note If you plan to bring a pet that is used to sleeping on beds and/or furniture, please bring a sheet or blanket for them to lay on. This will greatly help out my cleaners as they clean between guests. I have had to replace the bedroom door two times in the past 3 years, as it has been broken during the summer - once from a dog and once from a human. Please do not leave pets shut in the room if they have a tendency to destroy doors. I will have my cleaners check it after every stay this summer and will submit a claim through the Resolution Center if it is found to be broken.