The property is beautiful, there is a lot of space to spread out and do different activities. There were no deal breakers, but a couple of surprises .
PROs: Tammy is the greeter and communicated well before, during and at the end of the trip. Most anything I texted her was answered quickly. The house had a great layout (better than pictures can explain) to gather for eating, playing cards, putting together puzzles or other board games. The deck is fabulous and underrated in the description. In addition, there are deck chairs, a picnic table, and chairs near the fire pit to use around the yard. An upstairs bedroom had a balcony that was a great place for mom/dad to sit with the 1year old when he was tired and crabby, and they could still hand out with the rest of us. The fishing was spectacular, enough for us to do a fish fry over the open fire pit. Two docks was a nice touch, because he continued to fish 'in sight" while we cooked the fish. We made a day-trip to Mackinaw City and crossed Mackinac Bridge, then down the street to the Mystery Valley and hiked a total of 4 miles. We also brought extra kayaks so we could all kayak and canoe at the same time ( the water was low to the left of the mill house, but navigable), and made a charcuterie board to nibble and relax on the deck.
Cons: People came/left the property more than we were comfortable. Tammy told us to shut the gate, but before we did, some people who were renting the space for a future wedding would just drive in the property to check it out. We didn't like this because the kids were free to roam without risk - unless these people were driving in...so if you stay here, be sure to shut the gate everytime someone leaves for ice etc.)
Also, for as nice as everything was outside, there were some surprises inside. These were not deal breakers, but unusual for comparably priced vacation homes we've stayed at in the past.. The hot water gets EXTREMELY hot in the sink, potentially burn hot. Also, the towels situation felt a bit skimpy for a week long stay. For example, one room had a family and three kids and not enough towels for everyone. When I asked for more, Tammy did tell me some were in the laundry room, but we only found one, and all towels were aged and worn. We though the Mill tour was part of the rental, but it was a $5 chg pp, only two were interested in paying for that extra, and somehow I didn't get a follow up to two texts about scheduling for Thursday morning.
