Island View Cottages — Hotel in Traverse City

First the pros: Great location, in walking distance to downtown and eating/drinking establishments. Also, great for families with kids right on the beach. Kids loved walking a few steps to the lake. ||Now the cons: Our cabin (#5) had a very strong and offensive odor. It was coming from the window AC unit, not the knotty pine as the owners have suggested in other responses to this same complaint. I now know why they have a lot of air fresheners scattered around (they didn't help). I removed the AC air filter (which was filthy) and sprayed about 1/2 a can of Lysol into the AC unit. This helped for a couple of days and I had to repeat it. The owners would be advised to learn how to clean these cheap, little AC units or, better yet, throw them away and buy new ones for $125. Also, this is a common problem with these little units (mold and other things growing in them) and the owners can google the problem and how to remedy it. The bed was something close to a full size or maybe old 'double' but nowhere near a queen size but my wife and I are not large people so it worked. Only two burners out of four worked on the stove. Wifi was good. ||These cabins were probably quaint 75+ years ago; today they're just tiny to the point of being a joke. The bathroom was smaller than one you'd find on a small RV. The kitchen/living room was combined and again, very small. The only place to sit was on a small, fold out (uncomfortable) couch and the "kitchen table" was barely large enough to hold two paper plates. All of the furnishings were on the level of something you'd buy from Goodwill. The place suffers from an advanced level of deferred maintenance with overgrown shrubs and trees and roofs that look like they are on their last legs. All it takes is a bit of labor to keep the vegetation from taking over. ||Cabin #4 was a "2 bedroom" but the second BR used to be a living room that someone plopped down a bed (hard as a rock)in the middle so you have to walk thru one BR to get to the other. Also the 'living area" was the 2nd BR with two chairs; otherwise you sit on the bed to watch TV. Shower stall in the kitchen was another 'quaint' feature. AC unit in this one also reeked. ||I've been in the real estate business for over 40 years (property manager and licensed appraiser) so I'm pretty sure I know why they are milking this cash cow and doing no updates. They would have to get permits and update the units to modern standards. You know, things like decent size bathrooms, getting rid of the asbestos exterior siding and other expensive items. IMO, the best thing for this property is to bring in a large bulldozer, clear the site, and start over with a decent building instead of keeping these cottages together with baling wire and chewing gum. They even have their property sign located where it blocks the road view to the east and you will have to take your life in your own hands getting out. Move the sign back a few feet for the safety of your guests.||We stayed four days and kinda 'got used' to it at the end but I don't think something that you pay good money for is something you should have to get used to. if these cottages were $50 - $75/night, sure. But for just a bit more money you can get a decent motel a few doors down. Not next door, that building is literally falling down. I know these owners can't control what happens next door but redeveloping both of these sites would be the best thing that could happen to this side of...

First let me say you can not beat the location. You literally walk out the door and the beach is no more than 200 feet from the furthest cabin. The beach is very nice. Downtown is literally two minutes away. Obviously Sleeping Bear Dunes and the hiking trails are a little ways a way. But it’s still a relatively short drive.

Regarding the concerns. I suspect all of the cabins are in the same condition, so I will generalize. The cabins are extremely dated and need to be updated. A little paint will go a long way inside and out. Our cabin was missing a screen in the door and had broken mini blinds throughout. These are fixes that literally cost Less than $100.00 from Walmart. Our cabin was in desperate need of a deep clean. There were cob webs in the corners with spiders. We had to move the pull out bed, when we moved it, there were crumbs under the couch. No way, had that portion of the floor been cleaned in some time. IOur cabin was a four person cabin. However there was one window air conditioner in a bedroom for the whole cabin.Therefore if a person wanted privacy and shut the door, the rest of the cabin would be without air conditioning. When you read the sleeping arrangements for each cabin on the website, take that extremely serious. I would not take a chance and bring like a queen size mattress. As I said previously, we had a four person cabin. Separating the bedrooms was the kitchen. The kitchen is extremely, and I mean extremely small. I recommend you bring a camping stove with you. One person can fit in the kitchen. Also, in the back of the kitchen is the bathroom. The bathroom is a half bath, and extremely small. If you are a taller, or larger person, it will be difficult to fit in the bathroom. Next to the bathroom, mind you, you are essentially in the kitchen, is the shower. Again the shower is very small. I would say about the size of a shower in a fifth wheel camper.

Like I said regarding the sleeping arrangements. At the other room of the cabin is the living room which doubles as the other bedroom since it has a pull out couch and where the only tv is located. There is a small table, smaller than a card table to be used for the kitchen table which folds. So if it was a rainy day or inclement weather, you would literally have nothing to do in the cabin as you would not have the room. I would actually make the argument, if the sleeping arrangements say four, I would say two. I would decrease it by two people.

The parking is extremely tight. If people are not parked in straight, or simply willy nilly park, it will be very difficult to get in and out. When you go to leave the parking lot, their sign is at eye level. Be very cautious when exiting the parking lot.

One last thing about the beach. Being there are not many chairs, some of which are in poor condition, it is very easy for a family to monopolize the chairs. So if you want chairs, you need to get out there early or bring your own.

All in all, our stay was without any major incidents. You are only using the cabin to sleep, so my concerns, may not concern you. Due to the cleanliness, as well as the other reasons I listed, we won’t be staying...

The cottages are old-timey. If you are looking for new and updated, look somewhere else. The walls are real wood paneling, the bathrooms are tiny and odd places, the bedroom may double as the living room. But it has charm, a reasonable price, amiable staff, lakeside access- with beach chairs and fire pits, and is close to many activities. You can walk down the beach to rent a paddle board, go futher down the sidewalk to the Nauti-cat for a sail, or go the other direction to do a bit of souvenir shopping. If you don't mind driving (and because of road work, the road was busy), you can take in the downtown (shows were closed while we were there) or go out to the old (renovated) sanitarium, for wine, food and a trip back in time. We stayed in cabin 4. It's a 3 room, 2 bedroom, 2 bath and could easily sleep a family of 5. The kitchen was wonderful- full sized fridge and stove and a great cutting block. In this age of Covid we ate most of our meals in the cabin. The place is owned by a family, and I believe they live on-site so if you need anything, they can get it to you reasonably quickly. Signage is a problem- you'll drive right by it the first time. They share a driveway with a lawyer's office (another family member?) and somewhat...