We stayed in Cabin 14, a newer 1 bed/loft with a great view of the lake from the deck (also one of their designated pet friendly cabins). Equipped with a kitchen (full size range, refrigerator and microwave), living room, flat screen/dvd & sound system. The unit has ample kitchen equipment for people (like us) who actually like to cook. Can't comment on the electronics as we never turned them on. We were looking for a quiet, romantic weekend away from the noise and bustle, and a tv just doesn't fit into that. There IS a selection of board games, which is a lot more fun, and really fits in better with the whole setting. At first glance, everything looked outstanding - the furnishings were new, the cabin was well appointed, and the setting was gorgeous. There is a large deck that wraps around 2 sides of the cabin with a picnic table on the side and two chairs facing the water. Next to the cabin, there is a fire ring and 4 chairs along with a park-style hibachi. Very nice.

First the good: The setting is wonderful. The grounds are meticulously maintained - they even run a water truck over the dirt roads in the afternoon to keep the dust down. There is are two restaurants on the property, if you don't feel like cooking. A seated restaurant serving three meals a day, and a pizza parlor at the marina. We had breakfast at the restaurant, and it was reasonably priced, tasty and satisfying. There is a full bar where you can enjoy your favorite adult beverage indoors or out on the deck (great place to enjoy the sunset. Plenty of activities, particularly if you enjoy the water - swimming, boating and fishing on the lake, and lovely hiking around the lake. Coming from the Lake Tahoe area, we found their rental rates VERY reasonable.

We stayed in mid-September, and the General Store was closed for the season, so I can't comment on that. The shop in the marina had all the usual necessities, and while it wasn't grocery store cheap, they weren't gouging either. Obviously, they're pricing for families, and they are very fair, considering there really aren't any facilities nearby.

Then comes the not so good....

There are a bunch of what I call irritation level things.

The owners work very hard to create a homey-lived in feel for the cabins. Clearly, lots of care has gone into decorating the cabins - my husband and I got a good chuckle of the framed photo of the guy fishing on the nightstand - we kept giving him different family names during the 4 day weekend. The downside is that it's cramped. EVERY surface (table/countertop) has cute things sitting on it. Where to put the suitcase? Excellent question - there's about 18 inches of walking space around the bed, so the knick-nacks went into one of the cupboards so we could keep the suitcase on the only shelf.

The bed was TERRIBLE. The springs were loud, and you could feel them snapping around every time you moved. We are also tent campers, so our expectations were not astronomical. I can honestly say that our air mattress would have been far more comfortable.

There's a table and chairs in the kitchen for dining - which is fortunate, as in the fall it can get quite cool in the evening, along with a significant bug population (hey - it's the woods! Get over it!). It's one of those rough log table and chairs - fits the decor nicely. Unfortunately, it doesn't actually fit sizewise in the cabin. There isn't enough space between the chairs and the refrigerator to get the chairs out to sit. There's a full size kitchen trash can (nice idea) that sits between the chairs and the fridge (bad idea, but there's no other place for it), which has to go somewhere else if you need to seat more than 2 people at the table. These things are irritations, but not a reason to go to management and complain.

On Sunday, it got quite cold and rainy. Hey, it's September, and it's Oregon weather happens. No worries, as they advertise on their website, this unit has a furnace. Well, maybe it has a furnace... there is a thermostat, but the furnace has never actually been hooked up. There is an electric fireplace that works as a space heater, but certainly not sufficient to heat the cabin (or the living room, for that matter) . There were 2 coil type space heaters in the closet, presumably to address this, but because of all of the stuff in the cabin and the short length of the cords, there was no place they could be operated without creating a fire hazard. Using the 'fireplace' we were able to get the temperature up to a cozy 60 degrees. That extended a little beyond irritation.

It's also worth mentioning that we had a conversation with the couple staying in cabin 15, and they called it the cabin from hell - no heat, no stove, hot water was hit and miss.

We liked the bar - with the cool evenings, it was nice to be able to order a Manhattan, and sit on the deck, watching the sun set. First night, great! Second night, I fished a half dozen fruit flies out of my drink, and four out of my husband's (no, I'm not exaggerating). My guess is the cherries got left out overnight uncovered. Yeah, I know it's camping, but it's also professional food service, and in a building, not a tent. Went back in to show the bartender, but he was MIA, so we just went back to our cabin.

It seems like the owners are trying hard, but can't keep up with maintenance, and aren't willing to take cabins out of service when they need repair.

The REAL downer of our trip was the fact that a new cabin was being installed next door during our stay. I understand that work has to be done, but starting at 7:30 in the morning? Literally under our bedroom window - three guys yakking about their Friday night under your bedroom window tends to spoil a quiet, romantic Saturday morning. Friday and Mondays - I get that - those are workdays. But paying to be forced awake on the weekend by workman and power tools before their own posted quiet time is over? If we'd been warned when booking or at check in that we would be dealing with that, we could have made other arrangements. As it was, when my husband spoke with the owner/manager, he did apologize and offer to refund one night's stay, but that hasn't yet appeared, and seemed to have slipped his mind.

On balance, had we been paying the full summer rate of $299/night, I'd be really upset. At winter rates, it still not great, but not hugely awful. Given the little problems, we'll probably bring our tent next year, and camp at the state park next door.