Lakeside Cabins — Hotel in Carp Lake Township

Renter beware. We recently returned from a trip where we stayed in these cabins. Booking was easy, and prior to our arrival, everything seemed great. Before we arrived (day of) we even received a friendly text from the manager/ owner. However- upon arrival, he explained that he “had been working on our bathroom all winter” and that “it wasn’t done but was usable…”

In reality- water was not usable. We were able to use and flush the commode (which looked new), however- the water in the cabin smelled like RAW SEWAGE (not sulfur- sewage) We even asked a local friend of ours if that was normal, and he said occasional sulfur smell- sure. Sewage- no, and he confirmed that it had the smell of “raw sewage”.. We let it run for a little but upon arrival- thinking the problem would correct itself. It didn’t. (we had driven 2 full days to get there and stay for the week with friends from all over. our entire group had rented all but 1 of rhe cabins- so our friends were able to verify that it was “not our cabin” that had the problem). We did end up driving 35 minutes to a store to buy bottled water to be able to drink it, brush teeth, and “spot bathe”- but the cabin water was unusable.

In addition, we couldn’t get any of the stove burners to light either, (but we didn’t know about the stove until after we bought groceries for our stay) and as a result, couldn’t cook the meals we had planned, We had no dinner the first night, at all. . Again, no one else in our group could get the burners to light either. (Another party in our group had a cabin in which their stove/ oven didn’t work either, though our oven worked). We reached out to management but never got any response via phone or text (and he wasn’t on site when we were) until the night before we left. He did drain the water heater completely and refill- and miraculously, once we got back, he was on site and somehow got all the stove burners to light immediately, whereas no one else had been able to get them to light previously.

(BTW- the “establishment” promotes that it has vending machines, however, they were empty, unplugged, and clearly not in service). It is evident that there aren’t many outlets - and we didn’t expect “a lot”- but there are only outlets in the main room and the kitchen. We did have to drive 35 minutes to find a store where we could buy extension cords (and adapter) for my husbands CPAP and our fan.

The establishment also promotes each cabin as having an ironing board and iron, and other amenities, that it didnt have.

A 17+ hour drive each way, non usable water, a non usable stove, and “amenities” that were promoted yet didn’t exist, and though friendly- a non responsive manager….. definitely felt like a ripoff at $264. per night. Needless to say/ our first experience in Michigan was NOT what we had hoped.

I don’t like leaving negative reviews- but in this case, if you’re planning a stay there, you need to be aptly prepared and realize that you will need to make additional plans- just to meet your basic needs (and hopefully- have a backup plan for being able to take a shower and wash hands...

I have stayed at Carp lake multiple times and this trip was horrible. The cabin was shady for the money spent. All cement floors no rugs. Showers had horrible pressure, very little hot water and set up so it leaked all over floor. Thankfully we could use the 2 towels they supplied to clean water of the floor. Neighbors had two small dogs and one attacked my dog which is large so I chose to keep him inside 95% of time so we had no other altercation. I did ask owner about leash policy and he said he had none. So then another cabin becomes occupied with 2 more dogs running free while my large dog has to stay inside. The first neighbor was under the influence and decided to skinny dip the first nite there while my 10 yr old was in dock fishing.Owner did address that quickly. Next night she fell down hill and into lake fully clothed. We decided to leave a nite early after back hurt so bad from beds and the 4 dogs constantly barking or toys squeezing horrible sounds. Left at 8 pm and drove 3 hrs for some relaxation after...

Awesome quite place to stay. Cabins right on the water of a beautiful lake. Every day we were out there the lake was almost entirely empty. There are some weedy spots but also some sandy ones. Definitely a rustic cabin, but perfect to disconnect and recharge! Kitchen utensils leave little to desire so if you are planning on cooking, bring your own stuff. There are two restaurants within a less than 5 minute walk as well. Cheesecake is to die for at the harbor lights inn. Pizza is good at Clydes. There are also like 2 outlets in the entire cabin. Mattress aren't great but we made do. A mattress pad may help. Like I said, definitely rustic, but every cabin is on the water and has their own fire pit! Water out front is shallow and sandy for a long ways out. Our boat docked fine, but we had to drift in as it was too shallow for the engine. Public boat launch is right next door to the cabins. Will for sure stay here again if we find ourselves...