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Updated July 2025:
My family of over twenty people (parents, three siblings, and all our spouses and kids) have been coming here for six years now. Each year, we consider going somewhere else, just for variety and a new experience, and each year, we have decided to come back, drawn in by what a wonderful time we have here, not willing yet to take a risk on a new place. We love swimming in the cold, clean water of the Pine River, kayaking downstream, and taking day trips to other places in the northern lower peninsula (Glen Arbor and Sleeping Bear dunes, for example, is just two hours away). The location and space provide the perfect environment for us adult siblings to reconnect and for our children, ages 0 to 17, to spend time together and play and enjoy the outdoors.
The place is wonderful with many special flourishes that make it feel more like a home than a rental. It scores high marks on essentials, such as the coolness of the interior, private and public spaces, and cleanliness and comfort, but this also extends to smaller aspects such as the quality of the bedding and attention to detail across the whole space.
Mark is also a fantastic host. We appreciate his generosity and communication and clear expectations and rules about the place. We've also been impressed at how he continues to improve it from year to year. He added the sauna a few years back and hiking trails this year, and often I'll find that a new shelf or ledge has been installed in a place where I didn't even realize how needed it was.
As a small note, as a cyclist, I've been happy with the riding in the area. It's mostly country roads, but drivers have given me wide berth. There are trails east that can take you up to and around Cadillac if you like to go that far, or a nice hour-long loop.
My rating for this place is an easy 5 stars. The memories it has built for our family are priceless. One thing we've learned traveling over the years is that, while the location isn't the most important thing, a bad place can ruin a vacation, while a good one can provide the foundation for a great time. This is not a good place, but an excellent one, one of the nicest I've been to. We're very grateful to have found it and hope to continue returning...
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Our extended families, Grandparents, 2 adult children's families, and an adult grandchild and her family, had a great time! We had a wide range of ages and types of people and everyone one was happy. Andrea and Mark were very helpful and caring of our needs. The lodge was clean and comfortable, the yard, trails and river were great. We saw deer, ducks, eagles, and herons. I also must mention that just before we were scheduled to stay I had an issue and Mark was super accommodating and made sure that he offered the solution that I needed, I will forever be in his debt, though I ended up not needing help with the issue. One thing I think people worry about with vacation rentals is is the place clean enough, and yes Edgetts Lodge is! Does the place have a smell to it? No Edgetts Lodge does not! And also very important - will I really get my security deposit back? And yes Mark was super fast and proactive about returning the deposit. Is there a bunch of rules and cleaning expected? No just be considerate and you will have no problems with that. Also, the Lodge was easy to find and the roads were great. We found stopping in Midland at Costco worked great for food, you do not need spices, the Lodge has that covered. I will close with a very heartfelt thank you to Mark and Andrea!
Sandra ( Lodge stay 06-16-24 till 06-23-24)
ps: I think maybe the power went out? Hard to tell for sure as the whole house generator kicked in so fast and it was so quiet, we really were not sure as inside there was no difference, so that is a...
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We have been renting out Edgetts Lodge every winter (except for the first year of the Covid pandemic) since 2/2015! It is truly a magical place. We are a group of 5-6 families who have been making memories at The Lodge for years. The Lodge itself is stunning! When you first walk in, you will notice the beautiful woodwork. There is a gigantic wall of windows in the living room from which we can see the Pine River and nature down below. Some of us put together a puzzle on the sizeable table in the living room. The fire place provides warmth and a place to roast marshmallows. We love to sit in the spacious kitchen area, eat our meals, and chat for hours. The upstairs loft area has its own sitting area where the kids usually turn on the TV and watch their same favorite movies, usually Titanic and Percy Jackson. The older kids congregate in the basement playing ping pong, foosball, or cards. There is a new sauna that installed this year. So nice to warm up after a day of skiing! Some of the kids even tried the Nordic Cycle. Brrr! Too cold for me. There are 6 are spacious bedrooms and between 1(master) to 4 beds in each room. There are 3 1/2 baths that are sizable. The outside property is wooded, peaceful and quiet. I could go on and on about how much I love Edgetts Lodge. And Mark Slavsky, the owner, is wonderful; he is friendly and responsive to any questions/problems that...
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