We had a very nice week at Watercolor cottage, which we felt lucky to find since we booked late in the season. It's cozy, clean, and very cute, with a nice deck to sit on and enjoy the sunsets. Loved the fire pit. The dock and access to the owners' kayaks was perfect and we really enjoyed kayaking around Crooked Lake, which is very pretty; it's shallow and a bit mucky though, so we didn't swim. This served as a very comfortable and convenient home base for our week exploring the Petoskey area, which we highly recommend. Only 15 minutes to town. The owners were super friendly and accessible and stayed in touch to see if we needed anything and to offer recommendations for area activities. We were initially a little surprised at how close the surrounding cottages/homes were but they were mostly empty all week so we got lucky and had a quiet stay.
The only big bummer was that the washing machine was out of order, which was pretty inconvenient during a summer beachy vacation with a toddler who goes through a few changes of clothes a day. Overall this cottage is great for adults and older kids but I wouldn't really recommend it for small children as we had some safety issues with the steep open staircase (we blocked it off) and the tall dining room chairs, which were much too tippy and unstable for her use (we had to fold them and put them away). There is also an unsecured, decorative slatted door leaned against one wall that our daughter managed to pull away from the wall--thankfully it hit the back of the staircase or it would have flattened her. We didn't need to use the upstairs rooms but will say that with the peaked roof they're a bit cramped and only seem suitable for kids.
Overall we were happy with our stay and with the location, and the home is very cozy.